Afterword

Hello, good evening, and good night, this is Inumajin.

Thank you so much for buying the third volume! I’m so glad to see you all again!

I’d like to start off by introducing you all to an easy recipe that appears in the story! What? Of course I’m not running out of material to use for the afterword. Mutter mutter.

Today we’re looking at the garlic toast with fatty roast pork that was served in the pub.

I say “toast,” but it’s actually a type of food from Italy that’s called bruschetta. It’s a simple dish, with ingredients like meat or vegetables piled on thinly sliced bread, but with so many practical uses, it’s the perfect snack or party food.

What you might have found unusual in the story was the cured, salted pork fat.

I wrote it as cured, salted back fat, but it’s actually a processed food called Lardo, made by curing pork fat in salt and herbs and then smoking it. It’s the local specialty of the Italian town Colonnata.

The outside is thoroughly rubbed with spices, and it tastes just like cured ham.

It has a little quirk whereby the part closest to the skin usually has a bit of a crunchy texture, while the part closest to the meat is so soft it almost melts. It’s incredibly delicious. It’s great on its own, but when it’s served over bread or pasta, the fat gets warm and melty, and it’s so tasty it’s almost unbearable.

You can find it in a lot of supermarkets in the foreign foods section, so please search for it.

Now I’ll give the ingredients and explain how to prepare it.

Ingredients: French bread, olive oil, roasted garlic (in a bottle in the spices section), Lardo (you can buy it in chunks, but it can be difficult to slice, so it’s easier to buy packs of thin slices).

Preparation: Slice the French bread into thin slices and heat in a toaster until just before it turns brown. Add a splash of olive oil to the baked bread. Rub the roast garlic deep into the bread. Top with thin-sliced Lardo. And complete.

Huh? That’s not enough? That’s fine! Simple and delicious is the best!

If you’re looking to take it one step further, I’d recommend topping the Lardo with rosemary and pink pepper to give it a boost in appearance and flavor. With just this one little step, you can make people think it’s a much more elaborate dish. Seriously. It’ll trick them. (I’m onto you, chefs.)

Anyway, that’s enough for today. See you all again in the fourth volume!

2018.5 Inumajin