Brother and sister Candido and Clotilde Passamonti continue a family tradition that was started by their grandfather in the early 20th century, butchering 4-5 middle-white pigs a week in Monte Vidon Combatte, a small hilltop village some 10km from the Adriatic coast in the Marche region of Italy.
Their kitchen and curing rooms are in a large, 18th century building, part of which used to be a convent. Everything in the ground floor kitchen is stainless steel or pristine white tiling but up on the first floor two simple brick rooms are used for curing. In one a fire in a large open fireplace helps to dry and lightly smoke the meat for 48 hours for the smaller salamis and 3-4 months for the prosciutti. Next to it a large basket is filled with branches of bay and rosemary. These are put on the fire to make the smoke more aromatic.
We bring over their ciauscolo, the most traditional marchese salami, that is eaten soft and spreadable. The meat is minced very finely and then seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh garlic and orange peel before being cured for 6 weeks. It has the consistency of paté and is delicious on toast, the heat bringing out the delicate flavours of citrus and garlic or on crostini. Their long, thin fegatino is the same mix but with 20% liver added and is like eating a very delicate liver paté. It’s a great shame they don’t make it all year round!