Tajarin
Tajarin are a fresh egg pasta in the form of very thin, very narrow tagliatelle, originating in the Langhe and Monferrato areas and extending as far as the hills along the Po; they are recognized among the traditional agri-food products of Piedmont.[1] In Piedmontese the name means «cut», and translates as «taglierini».[2][3]
Origins
They originated in the farmhouse culture of Langa, Roero and Monferrato, where flour and eggs were always available at home; the date of their first appearance is unknown.[1][2][4] A 1934 source already mentions them in use in the fifteenth century in the diet of wet nurses, and the journalist Paolo Monelli noted that they were widespread between the Bormida and Tanaro rivers.[2] They are cut with the «essia», a knife made from worn-out scythe blades, and their preparation was traditionally a woman's skill.[2]
Eggs and truffle
The amount of eggs used has grown over time, from about eight per kilo of flour in old recipes to the forty yolks per kilo attributed to the cook Maria Pagliasso.[2] Thanks to the white truffle, tajarin moved from peasant cooking to bourgeois cuisine: paired with Alba truffle, they are today the signature dish of Alba's cuisine.[3][2] With Piedmontese emigration between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they also spread to Argentina.[1] In 2022 Luciano Bertello dedicated a book to their history, «Piccola storia dei tajarin», with a preface by Carlo Petrini.[3][4]