Benvenuti In Galera (welcome to prison) is a documentary about a restaurant. It's a special restaurant because it's inside a prison, and the first of its kind. In the first segment, various kinds of food are mentioned so we thought it would be helpful and/or interesting to discover something about the dishes being served. 

At the beginning of the film, we see and hear the kitchen crew as they shout orders back and forth. There are some unusual dishes on the menu, and the server-inmates have to deal with some odd names. The customers, too, are curious about the dishes they are about to be served. 

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Alborelle in carpione

No no, è il carpione d'arborella [alborelle in carpione].

No, no, it's carpione d'arborella.

Caption 22, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 1

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Alborella or arborella (Alburnus arborella also called "bleak") is a European fresh-water fish in the carp family. 

The dish is typical of the Piedmont and Lombard regions, with their many lakes and streams where fish in the carp family are prevalent. Since the In Galera restaurant is in Bollate on the outskirts of Milan, we can consider it a traditional local dish. 

In carpione indicates a particular method, commonly used with carp, of conserving freshwater fish to to be consumed at a later time. It involves a marinade of sautéd onions and peppers seasoned with sage, bay leaves, and other aromatic herbs, with the addition of vinegar which then evaporates. The marinade is added to the fish after it has been cooked (fried). That's the main characteristic of in carpione (carp style). The marinade is also useful for masking the muddy taste carp can have since it feeds at the bottom of streams and lakes. 

Here, you can find a recipe in Italian.

And here is a rough English translation: 

Clean the fish, wash them, dry and flour them.
Fry them in plenty of oil, drain them and place them to dry on absorbent kitchen paper.
Prepare a mixture with the onion, peppers, garlic and capers.
Take a glass jar large enough to comfortably contain the fish and fill it halfway with extra virgin olive oil
Pour the oil measured in the jar into a large pan; add the anchovies cut into small pieces and the previously prepared chopped mixture, the bay leaf and the mustard.
Heat over very low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring continuously.  The oil should not smoke or reach a high temperature. 
Add the red vinegar in the proportion of 2 parts vinegar to 1 part oil.
Raise the heat, stirring well until the liquid boils is reduced by a third.
Fill the jar with the fish and cover them with the liquid.
Leave the jar uncovered for a few minutes to eliminate any air bubbles by topping up with the leftover liquid.
Close and store in a cool, dark place for five days before serving.

Salmerino confit.

Mi dici cos'è, Davide, per favore? Il Salmerino confit.

Will you tell me what it is, Davide, please? Confit of char.

Captions 28-29, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 1

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Salmerino

It's called Arctic Char in English and is part of the salmon family.

Confit (from the French verb confire (to preserve) is another way of conserving food. In this case, it's in oil, at a low temperature. 

Scottadito

Un salmone e un polipo, seguono cinque risi, segue un maiale e uno scottadito.

A salmon and an octopus, followed by five rices, followed by a pork, and a grilled chop.

Captions 41-42, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 1

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Scottadito is a fun word. If we take it apart, we get scottare (to burn) and dito (finger). So we are talking about something hot, right off the grill, that someone could burn their fingers on. It implies being eaten right away. The term is traditionally used for abbacchio (suckling lamb chops) because you can hold them by the bone (burning your fingers). The mode of cooking is alla brace (referring to the embers) or ai ferri (referring to the iron grill).

Scottare can also mean "to parboil," "to scald."

Let us know in the comments of the video or write to us at newsletter@yabla.com if you enjoyed reading background material connected to the video.

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