Autumn is mushroom season and its king is the porcino. There are many recipes with porcini mushrooms but that of Capranica Prenestina is truly unique. This mushroom is the main feature of a recipe with cod.
Capranica Prenestina is a charming medieval village not many kilometres from Rome perched 900 meters up on the Prenestini Mountains and was built around the church of the Maddalena. This church is famous among art lovers because it is dominated by the famous "Cupolino" which is attributed to the Bramante school.
The town was founded around the 10th century when the popes created fortifications to stop the invasions of the Hungarians and Saracens. It then became a fief of the Colonna family for over 400 years.
Its history follows that of the family itself and of the power struggles in the Holy See, including the destruction ordered by Pope Boniface VI to remove power from the Colonna family. The Colonna returned after the ascent to the papal throne of Martin V (Oddone Colonna) and in this period the bell tower of Capranica Prenestina was erected.
After a pause during the reign of Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, Capranica passed to the Barberinis who only in 1870 gave up their feudal rights and ceded them to the municipality.
A curiosity links this mountain village famous for chestnuts with the cultivation of strawberries. Around 1920 an economic crisis pushed the inhabitants of Capranica to leave the town and found to Carchitti, a village of Palestrina, where they began the cultivation of the famous strawberries which are still among the best in Lazio today.
Recipe for ‘Lane Pelose’ with porcini mushrooms and baccala (cod)
This recipe takes a long time just because you have to soak the baccala (cod) from the night before remembering to change the water often.
The preparation of the ‘lana pelose’ begins with the dough which is made with a mixture of rye flour and 00 flour. Water and salt are added and kneaded patiently until a thin sheet with an unmistakable scent is formed.
The real secret is that this dough is not cut but is torn by hand.
For the dressing, we start by cleaning the porcini mushrooms, especially if they come from our woods, which are then cooked with garlic and oil.
The previously soaked cod is added to these while the pasta is cooked in a pot of water.
At the end of cooking the cod, add the pasta which is left to flavour and the dish is ready.
In the glass we will put a Shiraz of Lazio of Tellus or of Casale del Giglio. Shiraz is a spicy wine reminiscent of red berried fruits and pepper and its vine comes from Persia, but has found its best in the soils in Lazio and Tuscany.
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