{"id":32857,"date":"2022-02-26T18:09:41","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T17:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/?p=32857"},"modified":"2023-10-07T14:48:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T12:48:09","slug":"bustrengo-cake-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/en\/bustrengo-cake-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Bustrengo cake: a pantry staple recipe from Romagna"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bustrengo cake is a pantry staple recipe from the peasant tradition of Romagna. But it is widespread beyond also.<\/p>\n

It is an ancient recipe that the gastronome Graziano Pozzetto, an expert on the cuisine of Romagna, defines as the cake of the peasant family because prepared with the ingredients usually available in the pantry.<\/p>\n

\"Traditional<\/p>\n

A pantry staple recipe from the Romagna tradition<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It is a typical wintersweet. It is poor but rich in ingredients. The\u00a0<\/span>bustreng<\/span><\/em>, in the Romagnolo dialect, is not to be confused with\u00a0<\/span>borlengo<\/span><\/em>, a completely different preparation from Emilia. But it is related to Umbrian\u00a0<\/span>bustrengolo<\/span><\/em>, and it is known, besides Romagna, in the contiguous Montefeltro area.<\/span><\/p>\n

The origins of bustrengo are very ancient, and it isn’t possible to identify the meaning of the name, probably from the barbaric era.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if the sweet presents some differences from area to area, the cornflour is one of the ingredients that characterize the preparation.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are some exceptions. For example, in Valmarecchia, in Romagna (Valmarecchia means Valley of Marecchia from the name of the river Marecchia that crosses the area), chestnut flour replaces cornflour.<\/p>\n

In other places, chickpea flour or rice flour substitutes for polenta.
\nAmong the other ingredients you can usually find in the bustrengo are welcome to breadcrumbs, honey, dried fruit, citrus fruits, and apples. The presence of apples is not a constant, but it occurs frequently.<\/p>\n

The version of bustrengo with some cocoa and spices is recent.<\/h5>\n

It is a sweet that, when cooked, has the consistency of a bread cake.
\nBefore cooking, recalls a soft polenta and, not by chance, once was cooked in a copper pot.<\/p>\n

There are also savory versions of bustrengo with grated Parmigiano and rice.<\/p>\n

\"Bustrengo<\/p>\n

Nonna Sara’s Bustrengo cake recipe<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Grandma Sara used to make it by eye. There are no written notes about bustrengo cake that indicate the ingredients or even the quantities. And it could not be otherwise because she prepared it by opening the pantry and using what was available.<\/p>\n

She put all the ingredients on the table and, usually, did not even weigh them.<\/p>\n

In a bowl, she combined the dry ingredients and, stirring, added the milk, forming a soft polenta where she then added lemon zest, raisins, and nuts. And apples. Grandma used to add in grated apples not cut into small pieces.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To make the cake, I did as Grandma would have done.
\nI opened the pantry, grabbed the ingredients, and laid everything out on the table.
\nBut, differently from nonna, I weighed each ingredient so you could make this cake.<\/p>\n

As is often the case with poor flours, corn, chestnuts, or chickpeas, processing calls for water or oil. Butter was too expensive for the poor farmers.<\/p>\n

Last note on honey. Spread honey with a brush on the surface of the warm cake, and let cool before cutting.<\/p>\n

Buona cucina, Monica<\/p>\n

Cook with me<\/strong><\/h5>\n

On the blog, you will also find the recipe (HERE<\/a><\/strong>) for Castagnaccio cake, known as the bread of the poor. Another sweet of the peasant tradition, made with little sugar, chestnut flour, and water.<\/p>\n

Keep in Touch<\/b><\/h5>\n