Pestìth

For centuries Pestith has been an important meal during winter times for the inhabitants of Val Cellina and Val Vajont. It is obtained from the maceration of the purple-collared turnip, Brassica rapa rotunda.
According to tradition, the turnips, whose seeds are selected from one year to the next, by preserving and flowering the best turnips, are sown between the 20th and 26th of July or between the 10th and 15th of August depending on whether you want to promote the development of the root or the leaves. There is little work that needs to be done in the fields and the young plants are protected from parasites using ash or macerated nettles.
They are harvested between the end of October and the beginning of November, depending on how many there are. Once washed, the larger turnips are cut into 3 or 4 pieces and blanched for about a minute. Then they are arranged in layers in a container, with coarse salt, a sprinkle of vinegar and a few grains of corn. The cooking water is added to prevent the turnips from remaining in contact with the air, the container is then closed with a lid and a stone is placed on top to compress everything. A few days later, after having verified that the maceration has begun and that there is enough water, the container is closed and placed in a cold place, where it is protected from frost, until the Christmas period.
There are many different recipes found in the valleys that are used to consume this fermented turnip, and it has many different names. In Andreis it is pestì, in Claut, Cimolais and Erto pestìth, in Casso pestìf, in Vajont it can be known as either of these two names, while in Barcis it is most commonly known as pastì.
Once the maceration is complete, the turnips are washed and pounded on a “pestassa” or “pestatha”, which is a large hard wood cutting board. They are then ready to be fried in butter or oil, with onions, salt and pepper. Ten minutes before they have finished cooking, a liquid corn polenta called “Brout”, “suf” or “scot” is added. In some cases, crumbled sausage, speck or pancetta are added to the pan. Once ready, the pestith is served as an accompaniment to polenta, musetto, pork ribs or salami cut into thick slices.

Season

Preserved pestith is available year-round.