In Liguria, preti e frati (priest and friars) doesn't refer to just men of the cloth. These stuffed cabbage rolls are a wintertime favorite.
What are preti?
While recipes vary, preti are composed of savoy cabbage rolls generally filled with boiled potatoes, eggs, milk-soaked stale bread, cheese, and marjoram. Though it's not uncommon to also find versions with chard, prosciutto, or mortadella.
The rolls are closed with a string, then slow-cooked in tomato sauce. At Locanda del Cavaliere in San Bartolomeo del Mare, a seaside town located between Genoa and San Remo, the chef cooks the preti in broth.
The local
Hailing from Hungary, Agnes Nagy, or Aghi, lives in San Bartolomeo with her partner Flavio Roggerone. Together they grow artichokes, zucchini, tomatoes, turnips, broccoli, green beans, and other vegetables that they sell in the village. Locals even show up at their door to procure vegetables straight from the source.
Aghi's mother-in-law, Giovanna Rota, taught her all the family recipes. Though Rota passed away a few years ago, the pillars of the family's cuisine live on thanks to Aghi. According to Flavio and his brother Stefano, Aghi's dishes taste exactly "like mom used to make them."
One of these dishes is preti, a dish that Ligurians make less often nowadays as it's quite time consuming.
Aghi’s recipe for traditional Ligurian preti
Begin at least 2-3 hours in advance. The indicated measurements make about 30 rolls, but they depend on the size of the preti and the amount that each person will eat, which is usually more than expected.
Ingredients:
1 head of curly savoy cabbage
2 potatoes
1 Swiss chard bunch
4 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
3 large eggs
1 garlic clove
1 jar tomato sauce (better if homemade)
prosciutto or mortadella (optional)
marjoram
parsley
salt
pepper
bay leaves
Method:
Simmer the tomato sauce.
Boil the potatoes and mash them.
Boil the savoy cabbage and separate the inner leaves, which will go into the stuffing, from the outer ones, which you will need for the rolls. If you find any hard bits, remove them.
Boil the chard and chop it.
Soak the stale bread in milk.
Mix all the ingredients for the filling together: potatoes, inner savoy cabbage leaves, chard, bread, beaten eggs, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and, if you wish, chopped prosciutto or mortadella.
Season the filling with salt, pepper, parsley, marjoram, a bay leaf, and a crushed clove of garlic.
Start preparing the rolls by placing a small ball of filling in the center of the outer cabbage leaves.
Roll up the leaves, folding them to the sides to close, then tie them with kitchen twine cross-wise.
Once you have prepared all the preti, let them cook for 90 minutes in the tomato sauce.
Aghi recommends making meatballs with any leftover filling. Just roll them into balls and sauté in a pan with a little oil.