Venice Recipes and Curiosities
from the Venetian Cuisine

El Peruz e
i Biscoti da Ostaria

Baked Pear and Tavern Biscuits

Ingredients:

various

Dolçi venetopagoti

Venetian-Alpago´s Sweets

My ancestors came to Venice centuries ago, carrying wood from the Alpago in rafts down the Piave river. They were dealing the trunks of a coppice they owned in Carpineto, a village in the circumdary of Chies, before the Italians came, and requisitioned the wood to became property of the State... Nice people!

Some of my forebearers remained to work in the Arsenal, two of them opened a squero (boat building yard) in rio terà del Rosario (Salute area): Others started jobs like the baker and the pastry cook.
I am going to talk about this last ones, of course, as they were my direct forefathers: Granddaddy was baker in the Giudeccam and daddy the pastry cooker in Rialto. My brothers, instead, one at the Toletta and one in San Giovanni Crisostomo.

I am now going to explain how to to the Pevarini the ancient way, and the Zaleti and the Peruz.

For everybody to know, the aged Alpagotti (inhabitants of the Alpago Highlands, 80 Km. North of Venice) that one could see (decenniums ago) selling Forti, Pevarini, Zaleti and Peruz, around the Venetian taverns, were almost all my relatives.

Here the way to cook the Pevarini and the Storti:

EL PERUZ

We need the Cannelline (Russets?) that particular kind of pears with a rust brown peel, medium sized.
Just dust - don´t wash - them!

Put sugar in a tall baking tin, enough for the quantity of pears, and one-two glasses of water with a pinch of salt. Envelope with gauze two cloves and a fragment of cinnamon and put them in the pot with the pears on the fire; cover the tin with a lid or greaseproof paper.

When the pears start wrinkling, they are cooked.

It was once use to eat them standing, on a piece of greased paper, that was licked after the pear was gone…
My uncle, who was a Peruz dealer, used to walk around with a mirror-polished copper, and he would run a birch stick through to sell each pear; biting it, the juice would flow down the chin...

I PEVARINI

Molasses was used once, but as of now it is quite difficult to be found, so we´ll use sugar instead.

So: one Kilo of molasses, or sugar, 100 grs. of refined lard, a couple of spoons full of fine grinded white pepper and three of ammonium carbonate (you find it at the chemist´s. Otherwise use brewer´s yeast, that of the baker.

Wheat flour enough to make a soft paste out the whole ingredients.
Cut the paste in the desired cookie size an flatten the biscuits side to side on a paper sheet greased with butter, and then in the oven at moderate heat.

Just out of the oven, brush their tops with sugared water.

I STORTI

Similar to the previous, but the spices are more, and more abundant their doses. Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon; then roughly grinded almonds, nuts and pine-seeds. The dough in this case must stand at less for 24 hours before baking the cookies.
A good compromise between molasses and sugar can be half sugar melted in water and half honey.

To turn off the hot from the mouth after eating this cookie, it is advisable to bite some fresh apple.

I ZALETI

We take 125 grs. of yellow maize meal and 125 grs. of wheat flour, 100 grs. of butter, 75 grs. of sugar, two eggs, 50 grs. of sultana raisins moisted for a couple of hours in a shot of grappa (one may try other aromatic spirits, indeed). The grated peel of one lemon, a pinch of vanilla, milk as necessary and a pinch of salt.

Mix aside the maize an the wheat.
Whip eggs and sugar, put the salt, the raisins dried on a canvas, and all of the other ingredients.
Knead it well and keep on working the dough for five minutes. If needed add sips of milk.

Shape the dough in little loafs and set them on the paper greased with butter; put in the oven at 180° for about 15 minutes.
Out of the oven, let them warm down and sprinkle with abundant icing sugar.

Versione Originale in Veneziano:

Dolçi Venetopagoti

I me antenati i xe vegnui a Venexia secoli fa portando zò da l’Alpago el legname del boschetto che i gaveva a Carpineto, in comune de Chies, co le zatare par la Piave. (co xe rivà i ‘taliani i ‘na robà el bosco parchè i lo gà demanilizà… barva zente!).

Serti i se gà fermà andando a lavorar in Arsenal, do i se ga verto un squero da barche a la Salute, in rio terà del rosario, e antri i se ga metuo a far i forneri o i scaleteri.
Ma mi vojo parlar de sti ultimi, che xe la me assendensa diretta: ne nono fava el forner a la Zuecca e me pare el scaleter a Rialto, me zarmani, invessi, uno a la toleta e stantro a s.Zuane Grisostomo.

Deto questo, ve vojo insegnar a far i PEVARINI come che se usava ‘na volta e i ZALETI e el PERUZ.

Par chi che no lo savesse, i veci Pagoti che zirava par le ostaria a vendar Forti, pavarini, zaleti e el peruz i jera me parenti… e i se ga fato un saco de case col peruz e co i storti…bontà lora)

Alora par far i PEVARINI e i STORTI, che squasi xe la stessa roba, se fa cussì:

I PEVARINI

Lori i doparava la melassa, ma siccome no se la trova più, se la sostituisse col zucaro, anca se no xe proprio la stessa roba…

Donca: un chilo de melassa, o de zucaro, e un eto de struto raffinà, un per de bei scujeroni de pevare buanco masenà fin e 3 scujeroni de carbonato de ammonio (se lo tiol dal spezial, o farmacista…), o si nò del lievito de bira: ma quelo del forner.

La farina che ocore par impastar tuto. La pasta la ga da risultar bea morbida. Se la riduse a la misura che se vol e la se piatisse, se sistema i pevarini su ‘na carta imbutirada e se li mete in forno a calor moderà.

Apena che se li cava fora, se li spesela co aqua e zucaro.

I STORTI

Come sora, ma se ghe zonta anca broche de garofano, nose moscata, canela, mandole, nose e pignoli tritai, ma se li lassa a riposar par almanco 24 ore.
Volendo far un impasto mejo, al posto de la melassa se pol usar metà zucaro descolà n l’aqua e metà miel.

Par chi che ga el palato delicato e no tiene l picante, dopo magnai el pol tior un spigolo de pomo…

I ZALETI

Ghe vol 125 grami de farina de polenta zala e 125 de farina de fior, 1 eto de butirro, 75 grami de zucaro, do vovi, mezo eto de uveta sultanina fata rinvegnier in un bicerin de senapa, la scorza de un limon gratada, u spissego de vaniglia, late quanto che ghe ne ocore e un spissego de sal.

A parte ti smissi le do farine.
Ti sbati i vovi col zucaro, ti ghe meti el sal, l’uveta sugada su ‘na canevassa, e tuto el resto.
Ti impasti ben tuto e ti lo lavori par 5 minuti. Se ocore ti ghe zonti ‘na scianta de late.

Ti fa de le pagnochele de la misura che ti vol e ti le meti su ‘na carta imbutirada e ti li meti in forno a 180 gradi par 15 minuti o par quelo che serve, data la misura che ti ghe ga dà.
Co ti li gà cavai ti lassi che i se intiepidissa e dopo ti ghe dà ‘na bea spolverada de zucaro a velo.

EL PERUZ

Ghe vol i pereti canelini, quei co la scorsa rusene e che no i sia tanto grandi.
Se li spolvera: no se li lava!

Su ‘na tecia alta ti ghe meti su caro quanto che el te ocore par la quantità dei peri, e un goto o do de aqua, un spissegheto de sal e su un tocheto de garza ti ghe meti do broche de garofano e un tocheto de canela in cana, ti meti dentro i peri e ti coversi co el covercio o co ‘na carta oleata.

Co i peruz i scominsia a far le grespe, alora i se coti.

´na volta se li magnava su un toco de carta oleata e in pìe…e dopo ti licavi anca la carta…
El Barba del peruz el zirava co sta bea caldiera de rame lustra co fa un specio… e co un steco de betulla el te impirava sto peruz… che el te bagnava el barbusso…