{"id":7416,"date":"2019-12-13T13:42:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T20:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=7416"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:39","slug":"sancarlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/13\/sancarlin\/","title":{"rendered":"Sancarlin: A Cheese Spread from Piemonte"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 13, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Back at home, after spending five months in Italy this year expanding my culinary skills and repertoire, we settled on a technique to keep the process going.<\/p>\n

Each month we randomly select a region of Italy by pulling a slip of paper out of a jar.\u00a0 For a month, unless there is an overriding reason, I cook all our dinners using traditional recipes of that region.<\/p>\n

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Small, dried spicy red peppers (peperoncini) from our garden add zip to many dishes.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first region we selected was Piemonte (Piedmont).<\/p>\n

Piemonte is in far northwestern Italy.\u00a0 It borders France and the cuisine shows a definite French influence.<\/p>\n

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Piemonte is one of the coldest regions of Italy.\u00a0 Since the climate is not conducive to growing olives, animal fats, such as butter and lard are commonly used.\u00a0 There are some dishes, however, that use olive oil based on historic trade between Piemonte and neighboring Liguria.<\/p>\n

Piemontese foods tend to be hearty and rich, appropriate to the colder climate, especially in the mountainous areas.<\/p>\n

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Two of the Piemontese cookbooks that I relied on for the month of cooking Piemontese food.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our month of eating the foods of Piemonte included:<\/p>\n

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  1. Bagna Cauda (anchovy, butter and olive oil dip for vegetables)<\/li>\n
  2. Brasato di Manzo in Barolo (beef braised in barolo wine)<\/li>\n
  3. Budino Freddo Gianduia (chocolate hazelnut cakes\u2026 literally \u201cpudding\u201d)<\/li>\n
  4. Cipolline d\u2019Ivrea (braised pearl onions with white wine and butter)<\/li>\n
  5. La Panissa (risotto made with borlotti beans and some sort of cured meat)<\/li>\n
  6. Patate ai Capperi (potatoes and capers)<\/li>\n
  7. Peperoni e Pomodori alla Bagna Cauda (sweet peppers and tomatoes with anchovies)<\/li>\n
  8. Polenta e Fontina in Torta (layers of sliced polenta and fontina cheese baked together)<\/li>\n
  9. Pollo con Acciughe e Peperoni Arostiti (chicken with anchovies and roasted peppers)<\/li>\n
  10. Pollo in Fricassea Bianca (chicken braised in milk)<\/li>\n
  11. Risotto al Gorgonzola (risotto with gorgonzola cheese)<\/li>\n
  12. Sancarlin (a cheese dip and\/or sauce)<\/li>\n
  13. Spinaci alla Piemontese (spinach with anchovies and garlic)<\/li>\n
  14. Tajarin con Gorgonzola e Ricotta (long pasta with a sauce of ricotta and gorgonzola)<\/li>\n
  15. Tajarin e Zucchine (long pasta with zucchini, garlic, and Grana Padano cheese)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As you\u2019ll note, these are almost all substantial dishes.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not as if I purposely chose dishes that were hearty. \u00a0Almost all of the cuisine of Piemonte shares this characteristic.<\/p>\n

    Piemonte is famous for truffles.\u00a0 I avoided dishes with truffles as they were out of season the month I cooked Piemontese food.\u00a0 Good ones are also very expensive.\u00a0 Plus, I ate mountains of them while at the Italian Culinary Institute this year.<\/p>\n

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    Two excellent regional Italian cookbooks. It’s amazing how different the array of recipes is for the same region.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Piemonte is also known for hazelnuts and for the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate, the most famous brand of which is Nutella.\u00a0 Note that the one Piemontese dessert that I made during the month (only one because I\u2019m still working off the weight I gained over five months in Italy earlier this year!) is a combination of chocolate and hazelnuts which is generally known as gianduja or gianduia.<\/p>\n

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    Piemonte is one of the great wine-producing regions of Italy.\u00a0 It is known for Barolo, Barbaresco, and Asti, among others.<\/p>\n

    Sancarlin (Piemontese dialect for San Carlo) is a spread or dip made from cheese.\u00a0 It\u2019s great as part of an antipasto with grissini (breadsticks), another Piemontese food.<\/p>\n

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    If you cannot find artisanal ricotta (check a cheese shop), Polly-O is among the best of the supermarket brands that I have tasted.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Sancarlin is also excellent tossed with diced boiled potatoes and served as a contorno (side dish).\u00a0 How many times can I say \u201chearty\u201d in the same blog post?<\/p>\n

    If any of the Piemontese dishes that I mentioned above interests you, and you\u2019d like me to post a recipe, just leave a note in the comment section below and I\u2019ll schedule it.<\/p>\n

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    Though not traditional, goat cheese adds complexity to the Sancarlin that would otherwise be provided by the traditionally used sheep’s milk ricotta.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>
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    Sancarlin: A Cheese Spread from Piemonte<\/h2>\n
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    Sancarlin is traditionally made with ricotta di pecora, sheep\u2019s milk ricotta. It is nearly impossible to find sheep\u2019s milk ricotta in the United States. You will get good results with a high-quality cow\u2019s milk ricotta. Though not traditional, you can add an ounce or two of soft goat cheese to the recipe to increase the complexity of the dish. If you have access to sheep\u2019s milk (which I don\u2019t in northern New Mexico), and you feel ambitious, you can make your own ricotta! A link to my recipe is in the Notes section below. Adjust the amount of garlic and red pepper to taste. Serve with grissini, crostini, focaccia or tossed with boiled potatoes<\/div>\n
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    Prep Time <\/span>15 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
    Total Time <\/span>15 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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    Servings: <\/span>1<\/span> cup<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Ingredients
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