This famous sausage whose name is unquestionably of Italian origin (it means salted sausages – in the plural) would however not have been born there, but in Germany. The Lombards, a Germanic people from the Baltic, who invented this method of preserving meat (salted and dried), then brought it to Italy, where they settled in the 6th century. They filled guts with salted meat so that they could be preserved.
Italian-style salami is made with pork (fatty and lean), salt, herbs and spices. This technique then spread throughout Europe, where there are many versions of salami, with peppers, chilli, garlic, beef, smoked or even cooked. In Lyon, the rosette is made, very similar to salami.
The pink color of salami, like that of many hams, is due to the presence of nitrite salt, an additive used for preservation and which is now known to be harmful to health. This preservative arrived after the war with the development of industrial deli meats. It has been authorized since 1964… In Italy, salami is used in cooking, notably with pasta al salame.
Pasta al salame recipe
Ingredients :
300 g of spaghetti
200 g dry salami
200 g of cherry tomatoes
1 robiola or 1 fresh sheep’s cheese
1 white onion
Salt pepper
Start cooking the pasta in a large volume of salted water at 10gr per liter
Sauté the chopped onion in a little olive oil
Skin the salami and cut it into pieces
Brown it in the pan and add the tomatoes
Let simmer for 5 minutes
Add the cheese and let it melt
Add a small ladle of pasta cooking water
Pepper
Put the pasta in the sauce and coat well