This simple, uncomplicated and humble peasant dish must be one of the quickest and easiest recipes ever. You will only need three ingredients to make it, olive oil, red wine and some kind of dry-cured meat, and a couple of minutes to spare to cook it.The recipe originated in the Slovenian region of Karst, and it was prepared in the olden days by the housewives for their husbands upon their return home hungry after working all day in the fields and with the animals, and needed a quick and filling meal.

This dish was cooked using the ingredients that were exclusively homemade, types of dry cured meats changed according to what was available in the households.

It is a very much-loved simple dish that can be found in this region on the menus in local run family rustic restaurants referred to as Pršut z Refoškom, Pršut z vinom or Teranov toč (word vino meaning wine, and Refošk and Teran are the two typical full bodied red wines produced in the Karst region).

It is usually made with Kraški Pršut, a dry-cured non-smoked ham from the Kras (Karst) region in Slovenia, with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This region is blessed with a continuous breeze and relatively low humidity, creating perfect conditions for drying meat, a strong tradition that has been kept alive among local people since the earliest settlements.

This is how a well renowned and famous Slovenian polymath John Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor described in 1689 the Karst region and the traditions of its humble culinary customs.

This good people help

themselves as they can live

poorly: they are very happy if they

have a piece of pork fat (which they can digest due to their

ardours work), onion, and a

piece of plain, coarse, brown,

rolled bran bread.

I am sharing here a family recipe for this unique recipe that travel only a few kilometres from inland Karst region to the Slovenian Istrian coast, where it became part of local repertoire of recipes.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or olive oil
10 thinly sliced dry-cured ham (you can use dry-cured sausage like Italian salami or French Saucisson for example)
100ml full-bodied red wine
knob of unsalted butter, optional
black pepper, optional
fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped, optional

Method

Put the olive oil in a fairly large frying pan and heat it up a bit.

Place the slices of dry-cured ham in a frying pan and cook them on a medium heat very briefly, just until they change the colour, it will literally take seconds.

Then pour the wine and cook for further a minute or two, or until the alcohol evaporates and the sauce thickens slightly. When it is cooked you can add a knob of butter if you wish to make the sauce creamier and richer.

Season with some black pepper if you wish, however, there is no need to season this dish with additional sea salt as dry-cured ham is already naturally quite salty.

Serve immediately hot or warm with slices of rustic bread or on a bed of soft, cooked polenta.

Just a thought

This dish is best eaten immediately after it has been prepared, and it is not suitable for freezing.

Frittata with dry sausage is a quick and easy midweek lunch or dinner and a great weekend breakfast or brunch option. Fantastic eaten hot but often served at room temperature and perfect to make ahead for picnics and larger groups. Serve it with rustic bread or polenta and a salad. Great also as a sandwich filling.

To me, however, this simple dish is more than just a quick meal solution.

Both my grandfathers loved frittatas, and not without a glass of red wine! They would normally have it upon the return back home late morning after working in the allotments or in the olive grove.

My paternal grandfather really liked dry sausage frittata while my maternal grandfather was really keen on wild fresh herbs frittata but both really liked wild asparagus and pancetta (or without) variation. All three typical in the region.

This simple dish, similar to an omelette, is Italian in origin (frittata is an Italian word and roughly translates to “fried”) but due to such a close geographical proximity to Italy, frittata found a huge popularity in a local cuisine and could be referred to as Fritaja s klobasami – Fritata or Frtalja s klobasami and Fritaia con le luganiche in Istrian dialect. All these names come from the Venetian word fritaia.

Amazingly, this simple frittata with dry sausage, is a speciality in Istria and also has a deep meaning in a local folklore. This type of frittata is typically made especially during Carnival period (festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent). In rural areas and particularly in small villages locals dressed up in different Carnival costumes. In groups they would walk from house to house singing traditional folk songs accompanied by sound and the melodies of the accordion, usually played by one member of the group.

As a sign of appreciation for entertaining and lifting the spirits, they received food gifts which consisted of fresh eggs, dry sausages, salami, crostoli, fritole (typical Carnival sweet things) and also wine.

When this simple Carnival procession was over, the participants would gather in somebody's home and frittata with dry sausage was made and other dishes were prepared with everything they received.

All the food was displayed on the table, shared and enjoyed, often ending up in excessive consumption of alcohol and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. There was a lot of singing and dancing, this is how local people came together and enjoyed each other company, the festive period and the the end of harsh winter.

My nona Nada also shared with me a lovely story, telling me that this festive season also provided the opportunity for young men and women to casually meet and possibly fall in love...