I’ve been fortunate enough to play the part of a ‘lady of leisure’ this week and lucky for me JT is also in between jobs, which means plenty of time to make a mid-week trip to Pino’s Dolce Vita Fine Foods in Kogarah. It’s run by Pino Tomini Foresti, an artisan producer of small goods. His store is filled with different types of meats and you are hit with this amazing fragrance of herbs and spices as soon as you walk in. He’s not your typical butcher and you can really see the devotion Pino has to his art. Pino’s wife Pia was also kind enough to provide us with a sample of their produce and because we weren’t after anything in particular she recommended the prosciutto, bresaola, salami and a cured lard. I also picked up some marinated anchovies.
I combined the lard with olive oil, garlic and chilli and stirred it through some spaghetti. A really simple dish but the herb-infused lard added so much flavour. It might just be my new favourite ingredient to cook with. Lard for everyone!
Hehe, lard is so good! Not for modern-day health, but it was fine back in the day when people ate very little meat and spent laborious hours in the fields or mountains.
I know – it’s definitely not good for the heart or the waistline. But it is one tasty dish!
The idea of lard stirred through pasta doesn’t seem all that appetising up front but fat is where the flavour is, right?
Do the sheets of lard remain in tact or does the fat break down into oil?
It’s actually so full of flavour. It breaks down into oil but there’s a bit of jelly like substance as well. That doesn’t sound that appetising but it’s really delicious!