In the area of Pavia, the “culture of pig” is deep-seated: quand’s gà fam, ghe’l pän e salàm (“when you are hungry, you can have bread and salami”) is still a common saying. In the past, breed a pig meant having a life insurance and when it was killed, once a year, in order to check whether the meat prepared to make salami was good, a little part of it was used to prepare a risotto.

Traditionally, rice was present in Norther Iran cooking and in the houses of wealthy, while in the rest of the Country bread was the main element. Nowadays, the most appreciated varieties of rice thanks to their flavour are the ones cultivated in Northern Iran. The proposed recipe is Meigoo Polow, a dish cooked in Southern Iran.

It is a vegetarian dish where meat has been replaced with dried fruits, such as prunes, apricots and raisins.

Gelin Budu, or “bride’s thighs” is the Turkmen-Iraqi name given to these soft and brown meat croquettes. The unique feature of this dish is the crust of rice worked with flour, that provides the croquettes with a unique taste and consistency.