Moggio Udinese Brovadâr

Brovad‰r, or broved‰r, is a traditional fermented white turnip dish from the mountains in the north of Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. There is no word the Friulian language that corresponds to the term, and the variant broved‰r also refers to the pot in which the turnips for the better known brovada, are fermented. The origin of these terms is unknown and we have no certain evidence of how the dish originated. What we do know is that it was born of the need that has always characterized life in the mountains to preserve foodstuffs through the long winters. Turnips have been grown in the mountains ever since very ancient times, well before potatoes, beans and maize, which arrived later from the Americas.
Brovad‰r is made with small round turnips with purple collars. The seed is reproduced every year by the families of Moggio Udinese, a village surrounded by the Julian and Carnic Alps at the confluence of the Canal del Ferro and the Val d’Aupa. The best turnips to use are those with plenty of leaves and sparse roots: the leaves, in fact, are fermented with the turnips and are the distinctive ingredient of the dish. The seeds are sowed gradually in rows or broadcast, starting from the end of July. The harvest begins in October and continues until December.
As in the case of other processes of lactic fermentation, like the one used to make sauerkraut, any spoiled or yellowish parts are removed from the turnips, which are first washed thoroughly in cold water, then lightly blanched, left to cool, arranged in layers in preferably wood vats and pressed by hand. Cabbage leaves are laid under and over the turnips and covered by a wood board. Cold salted water is then poured into the vat to cover the turnips and a weight is placed on top so that they are covered by the preserving brine throughout the fermentation period. Once the turnips have fermented, the brovad‰r has to be finely chopped for consumption. The resulting fermented pesto is used to flavor local dishes such as bean, barley and pork soup.

Season

Available all year round