Bela Rosin
Ingredients
Dough:
“Le 5 Stagioni Pizza Napoletana” 00 flour
“Le 5 Stagioni” type 1 flour
Water
brewer’s yeast (20% liquid culture mother yeast)
sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Topping ingredients:
Jerusalem artichokes (40g per pc)
Alta Langa Toma cheese (25g per pc)
Bra sausage (12g per pc)
shallot (10g per pc)
Lemon
Oil q.s.
Salt q.s.
Frying:
Olive oil and peanut oil
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Introduction
First mistress and then wife of the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II, La Bela Rosin was Countess of Fontanafredda (Serralunga d'Alba) and Countess of Mirafiori, location of the marvelous Mirafiori Castle and the Mausoleum, a copy of the Pantheon that the King built for her. Not far away is the ancient medieval village of MiraFlores, where the Court servants lived and where the Southern working class and peasants lived in the 1960s. Bela Rosin is a montanarina (fried pizza) telling the story of the territory from the province of Turin to that of Cuneo. The crispy shallot and the oven-baked Jerusalem artichoke chips (nowadays also served with bagna cauda, a typical Piedmontese dish made of garlic and anchovies), describe the woman peasant soul, because of which she was as isolated at Court as she was loved by the people. The fascination experienced by the people is reflected in the creaminess of the Alta Langa Toma cheese, with its herbaceous hints and refined taste that meet the delicious Bra sausage, a reminder of noble life. An exquisite balance of flavors that portrays the dynamism and multifaceted character of a woman who had the ability to be at Vittorio Emanuele II side without ever denying her origins.
Proceedings
Dough
In a wooden cupboard or bowl, pour the water and dissolve the previously diluted yeast. Then pour in about 40% of the flour. Knead flour with water by applying pressure to dissolve lumps. As the mixture becomes homogeneous, add the flour. Leave about 10% aside. Keep kneading the mixture, using fists and rotating the bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil and then the salt and the rest of the flour. After the dough detaches from the walls of the bowl, continue to knead it on the counter until it is soft and homogeneous. Let it rest on a counter covered with a damp cotton cloth or plastic wrap for about 1 hour. Divide the dough (staglio), forming loaves of about 250 g. Put them in a box for 4 hours and then in the refrigerator at a controlled temperature of 6-7°C for about 12 hours. Then put the dough back at room temperature; after about 4 hours it will be ready for baking.
Preparing topping ingredients
- Oven-baked Jerusalem artichokes: using a small brush, wash the Jerusalem artichokes without peeling them and, using a mandolin slicer, cut them into slices of about 2mm, placing them in water and lemon juice for 15 minutes. Place the Jerusalem artichoke slices in a baking pan and season with oil, salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes; halfway through cooking turn the slices to ensure uniform baking and browning.
- Alta Langa Toma cheese: Melt the Alta Langa Toma cheese in a frying pan over low heat for about 15 minutes, until you obtain a creamy mixture.
- Crunchy shallot: Preheat a little olive oil in a frying pan and, in the meantime, cut the shallot into very thin slices. Cook them in the pan over high heat until golden brown.
- Bra sausage: Cut off about 2 cm of sausage and remove the natural gut casing in which it was stuffed.
Frying the montanarina
Pour the oil in a pan and heat it to 180°C. Take the dough out of the box and, after slightly stretching it by pressing with your fingers, cut the montanarina with a pastry ring of about 7cm. Put it in the pan and, with the help of a skimmer and a spoon, turn it over after a few seconds and sprinkle it with oil continuously, until it has puffed up and has a uniform golden color. Place it on straw paper in an aluminum container and proceed to the composition. Place the Jerusalem artichoke chips – grown in the Turin area -, the Alta Langa Toma cheese, the Bra sausage and the shallot.
Pizza chef's tips
Observe the dough while it is rising as room temperature may affect leavening time. Cut Jerusalem artichokes in slices of the same thickness in order to ensure homogeneous cooking. When frying the dough, use a thermometer to avoid exceeding the smoke point.
