"The Royal Navy used to have all its rope supplies manufactured in its own dockyards, and all dockyard-made rope did indeed have a distinctive (but not red) strand (not thread) running through the middle. However, the purpose of this "rogue's yarn" was not to identify sunken ships, but to identify the rope itself as Navy property, and thus to make it harder for corrupt dockyard workers and boatswains to steal and sell it."
cfr.William Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine, 1780, ad vocem:
ROGUES-YARN, a name given to a rope-yarn, of a particular construction, which is placed in the middle of every strand, in all cables and cordage in the king's service. It differs from all the rest, as being untarred, and twisted in a contrary manner, by which it is easily discovered. The use of this contrivance is to examine whether any cordage, supposed to be stolen or embezzled, has been formed for the king's service.
Da cui: qualunque fosse la sua funzione c'era un filo ( rosso?) che correva lungo tutta la lunghezza di una gomena, una linea di vita dal suo inizio alla sua fine.
...we cannot find a fitter transition than through a simile which suggested itself to us on contemplating her exquisite pages. There is, we are told, a curious contrivance in the service of the English marine. The ropes in use in the royal navy, from the largest to the smallest, are so twisted that a red thread runs through them from end to end, which cannot be extracted without undoing the whole; and by which the smallest pieces may be recognized as belonging to the crown. Just so is there drawn through Ottilie's diary, a thread of attachment and affection which connects it all together, and characterizes the whole. And thus these remarks, these observations, these extracted sentences, and whatever else it may contain, were, to the writer, of peculiar meaning.
Aggiunge la illustre linguista:"Ma la cosa curiosa è che il traslato di Fil Rouge in Inglese si traduce con unifying theme. Si è perso l’originale dell’espressione, privilegiandone il significato."
Certo una perdita significativa anche nello stile, e nel filo rosso che lega ogni britannico e la sua lingua alla tradizione marinara del Regno Unito.
La studiosa coltiva la passione della scienza in cucina, conservando così il "filo rosso" che la lega alle tradizione gastronomiche scozzesi e italiane. Seguendo questa linea, si tiene ben aggiornata sulle novità culinarie, e ci segnala che lo scorso anno una coppia italiana, anzi bolognese, ha partecipato all'annuale concorso gastronomico natalizio del seriosissimo e serissimo quotidiano edimburghese "The Scotsman", piazzando le proprie creazioni al secondo e terzo posto. Le ricette, ispirate alla tradizione italiana e britannica, il cui unifying theme è il prezioso Haggis, sono tuttora in linea nella prestigiosa sezione Heritage & Culture, agli idirizzi:
http://heritage.scotsman.com/haggis/Haggis-recipe-Haggis-polenta-and.6060259.jp
Con l'autorizzazione degli autori, M.S e G.F. Il Gastronomo Educato vi offre la versione originale dei due piatti di successo:
Haggis recipe: Haggis, polenta and balsamic vinegar
Ingredients:1 Haggis, 500 gr.
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar For the polenta
1 1/2 litre Water
10 gr. Salt275 gr. Yellow cornmeal ( polenta)
50 gr. Butter
Method:
Cook the haggis according to instructions and keep warm without opening.
Bring water to the boil in a non stick pan. Gradually whisk in the "polenta" with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to low, stir and cook until the mixture thickens at stiff puree consistence.
Turn the heat off, add butter and stir. Spread the polenta approximately 1 1/2 cm thick onto a large wooden chopping board or stone surface. Let it cool.
Cover the polenta with greased aluminium foil, turn it over an loosen with the edge a blade.
Cut into six circles with the help of a large glass. Place on a greased baking tray and grill until top is golden.
Cut the haggis and spoon it over the polenta discs. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.
Ingredients
230 grs. puff pastry sheet (defrost according to instructions)
1 egg yolk, beaten or 3 tbsp milk1 haggis, grs. 500
6 tender kail leaves, thinly sliced
1 shallot or small spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
Salt
Method
Cook the haggis according to instructions and keep warm without opening.
Lightly boil the sliced kail and drain well. Gently fry the onion or shallot in butter, until golden; add the kail, stir, season and turn the heat off.
Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface. Spread the kail mixture. Open the haggis and carefully spoon it on the middle of the pastry dough, lightly press it with a spoon.
Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg or milk. Wrap the pastry around the haggis mound, as for making a parcel. Place the pastry-wrapped haggis on a greased baking tray . Brush the outside again with beaten egg or milk. Lightly prick the pastry with a fork. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 35-40 minutes in a moderate oven. The pastry is ready when it is golden and crisp to the touch.
Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Per quanto riguarda l'Haggis, e che cosa significhi per gli Scozzesi, si rimanda a Robert Burns, (Alloway, 25 gennaio 1759 – Dumfries, 21 luglio 1796) che così ci invita a salutare l'arrivo in tavola del prelibato insaccato:
Address To A Haggis
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
...
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
...
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