Thin sliced salmistrata tongue and sweet and sour vegetables

The salmistrata  tongue  is an ancient recipe, I would say secular.

It is a typical recipe of Veneto, but later spread to neighboring regions such as Lombardy, Emilia, Friuli and Trentino. This preparation was originally born to preserve the bovine tongue as long as possible as there were no modern methods that we have today, but then over time it has become an excellence of the Venetian popular tradition widespread and known throughout Italy.

The term "salmistro" is a popular name attributed by farmers to salt, the essential ingredient for the preparation of this product, necessary for its preservation. But the preservation and peculiarity of the recipe is that saltpeter is used, which is none other than potassium nitrate. This preparation involves that the beef tongue is left to marinate for a specific period in salt and saltpeter. During this process, the tongue is massaged several times to let the ingredients penetrate inside. Once this procedure has been carried out, the tongue should be boiled together with the aromas and then served in slices. It has a typical reddish color with a delicate taste. The flesh is compact and soft. As you have understood, the procedure is a bit long, but it is not difficult at all. The tongue falls into the fifth quarter cuts, along with tripe, liver, heart, kidney and brain. Cuts considered poor, but if cooked in the right way are very tasty.

Ingredients

1 Salmistrata  tongue 

250 g carrots

250 g celeriac

200 g apple cider vinegar

160 g white wine

100 g red wine vinegar

30 g sugar

3 Shallots

3 radishes

2 green celery stalks

peppercorns

horseradish

juniper berries

garlic

honey

herbs

rosemary

laurel

Fresh horseradish

salt

Pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Procedure

Clean the shallots and cut them in half. Peel the carrots and celeriac and cut them into sticks, clean the green celery and reduce it to spools, wash the radishes that you will keep whole. Bring the wine to a boil with the two types of vinegar, 1/2 glass of water, sugar, 20 g of salt, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of peppercorns, 4-5 juniper berries, 1 clove of garlic and 1 sprig of rosemary. Cook the vegetables separately, by type, each for a few minutes. Drain gradually, let them cool then combine them and season with salt, pepper, a few drops of honey and fresh herbs. Boil the salted tongue in abundant boiling water for about 3 hours. If it is too salty, change the water halfway through cooking (as with a cotechino). Drain the tongue, peel it and let it cool. Slice it thinly and serve it together with sweet and sour vegetables, seasoned with a drizzle of oil and grated horseradish.