Andula: A Czech take on nduja
Amaso: Guaranteed quality meat
Andula salami from Amaso in Jenč has roots in both Italy and Spain, but its delicious flavour comes from lard and pork from Přeštice black-pied pigs, as well as a spice blend created by master butcher Vojta Kalášek. “Andula is inspired by Italy, where I first encountered ‘nduja salami. When I later came across the Spanish cured meat sobrasada in Prague, I decided to make something similar at home,” says Vojta, adding:
“’Nduja comes from Calabria and tends to be very spicy, since local chilli peppers are added to it, while sobrasada is ground without chilli peppers and is a bit sweeter. Our Andula falls somewhere in between — we use fresh hot peppers and crushed chillis, but the sausage’s spicy notes mellow during the drying process.”
From the smokehouse to the drying room
Andula’s key feature is its fat content — it contains 70 to 75% pork back fat. The rest consists of lean meat combined with hot peppers, garlic, red wine, and chilli peppers, fennel, plus sweet and smoked paprika. The fragrant mixture is stuffed into beef casings and fermented for two days at 24 °C and 90% humidity. It's then cold-smoked, and sent to the drying room.
“We dry the Andula for two months, but it could hang for up to a year. Thanks to its high fat content, it doesn’t lose weight, and there’s no risk of it spoiling quickly. On the contrary, the longer the salami matures, the better all the flavours blend and develop,” explains Vojta.
Sugar aids the salami’s fermentation. It acts as food for the bacteria that are naturally present on and around the meat. The end of the fermentation process is indicated by the salami’s pH; the ideal value is around 5.3.
Nice and fine
The production of Andula begins by combining fat and meat, which are ground together using a kidney-shaped grinder, resulting in a coarser texture. The mixture is then placed in a food processor with all the other ingredients — this releases proteins from the meat, which make the mixture sticky, allowing it to better absorb the spices. Finally, the mixture is ground on the finest plate.
“After the final grinding to 3mm, Andula takes on the consistency of a pâté that spreads easily. But first, it must be left to come to room temperature for a short while. In Italy, the salami is warmed over a candle flame before serving,” explains Vojta.
Andula in the kitchen
For your first try, try spreading on a toasted slice of bread, perhaps with fermented vegetables or currant compote. You can use the fat to make scrambled eggs, or simply top them with thin slices of the salami. It’s also excellent in an omelette.
Don’t burn it! Let the Andula melt slowly over medium heat — the meat in the salami could easily burn to the pan.
In Italy, nduja is sliced and baked on pizza or added to risotto, and used to season fried arancini. It’s also used in gnocchi and pasta in the aglio e olio style—tagliolini or spaghettini need nothing more than spicy salami and its fat, a little Parmesan, and a handful of fresh herbs.
A real treat is pesto made with Andula salami, olive oil, crushed walnuts, garlic, peeled tomatoes, and wine vinegar. For every 100 g of walnuts, 40 g of salami is enough; add a clove of garlic mashed with salt, 3 tomatoes, 5 tablespoons of olive oil, ½ tablespoon of vinegar, salt, and thyme leaves to taste. The salami can also be successfully diced into romesco and other pepper sauces or dips.
Don't be afraid of creativity. Andula can be incorporated into bread dough, focaccia and fillings for savoury pastries. Slice the salami into a grilled cheese sandwich with cheddar or into fried bread rolls. At Pult, they serve it as part of the tartare.
It’s often served with bruschetta in a thick layer, topped with mushrooms or fresh goat cheese. Following Italian tradition, pork “pâté” is also paired with seafood and can be used to enhance a variety of dishes, including mussels in wine. As soon as the steamed mussels open, the smoked sausage is added to the pan, where it melts and thickens the dish just as butter does. Alongside fish, both the buttery beurre blanc seasoned with Andula and the drippings from the smoked sausage itself really shine.
Andula enhances less flavourful poultry, too — it can be applied directly to the meat, under the skin of a roast chicken. Diced smoked sausage can be used to garnish soups and legume dishes. The fat from the salami will melt over them while hot, releasing a pleasant aroma.
The heat of the hot peppers and the smoked paprika make Andula ideal for use in Czech cuisine — chefs sauté it to form the base of dishes such as chicken with paprika or Szeged-style goulash. Spicy fat also elevates traditional dishes like dumplings in egg, sautéed mushrooms, or halušky, as well as potato gratin, grilled corn, and other roasted vegetables, for example young cabbage.
Source: Ambiente Chefs, Amaso
