Cooking without waste: The Fifth Quarter: a treasure trove to discover

Red, white, game: every Eu citizen consumes on average 300 grams of meat a day, a total of 109.5 kilos a year. For a healthy diet, the recommended amount is around 500 grams a week. So each of us is eating for more than four. This has heavy environmental costs and is also a clear example of inequality. Some people are eating to excess while others are going to bed hungry. Furthermore the vast expanses of land and grain needed to feed and raise the animals for those who overeat meat is often taken from those who cannot afford to eat it at all. 

The pleasure that food gives us cannot be complete if it causes harm and hunger around the world, nor if it endangers our health because we eat too much or animal welfare is poor. Consumers have great power. They can redirect the market and production through greater awareness of the impact of their choices. The solution is in front of us: eat less meat, eat better meat and pay a fair price. 

In the Master of Food: Cooking without waste courses you will learn how to cook the less noble cuts of meat that will nonetheless blow you away with their delicious flavors. In the meantime, try out this recipe that Francesca Cianchi, chef of the Bistrot del Mondo da Bobo all’Acciaiolo in Scandicci (near Florence), will show you during our event The Fifth Quarter: a treasure trove to discover, which will be held on Monday, the 29^th at 11:30. 
Don’t miss it! 

Fried “Poppa” Crostini with Spicy sweet and sour sauce 

The “poppa” is the mammary gland of milk cows, which is sold pre-boiled. It has a more or less regular, globular form, roughly the size of a small watermelon and of varying colors, from a light cream to intense orange. It is not unusual to see Florentines, mainly the older generation, eat this typical product prepared quite simply: sliced and cut into small pieces with a dash of salt. More often than not they eat it directly in the butcher’s shop on oiled paper, using a toothpick as a fork. 

This recipe from chef Cianchi uses this unusual cut to prepare a crostini, ideal to serve as an appetizer.

Serves 8
4 certaldo onions (or other red onions)
1 green chili
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
8 slices of fresh mammary gland
flour for dusting
1egg, beaten
8 slices of Tuscan bread (rustic white bread without salt)

Instructions
Slice the onions into half rings and the pepper into thin strips and brown them together on a high heat in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and if the mix gets too dry, add a drop of white wine and continue cooking until the onions and peppers are soft. Add the red wine vinegar and brown sugar and continue to cook until a creamy sauce consistency is achieved. 

Lightly flour the mammary gland slices, then dip them in the egg and fry them in olive oil.

To serve 
Toast the slices of bread and top with the fried meat and a spoon of the onion sauce.