By Chris De Santis
photos by Chris De Santis
As we travel across northern Italy from Venice in the east, through the cosmopolitan city of Milan and the mountain country of Lombardia, we enter the first of the northwestern regions of Italy, Piemonte. In Turino, the capital, the people still find the time to carry on the gastronomic traditions of the region in the small restaurants and cafes of the city. They have never wavered from insisting on the finest and freshest ingredients.
Fresh garden produce is essential in every kitchen. Cream and milk products are used in many dishes and Piemonte produces a host of fresh cheeses, most notably Robiole and their most famous, Fontina. Butter is the cooking fat of choice everywhere in Piemonte, and is the connecting point to the influences of the cooking of France.
However, although it cannot be denied that the food culture of Piemonte is tied to the traditions of French cuisine, the simple tastes of the Piemontese cooks have allowed them to preserve their homey, honest culinary traditions. Not to say those traditions do not include rich and complex dishes.
One of my favorite dipping sauces that is enjoyed in many small taverns and cafes is Bagna Cauda, a mix of garlic and anchovies. This wonderfully simple dish of butter, a touch of olive oil, sautéed garlic and anchovies, with the addition of truffles in season, is served warm with cardi (cardoons) and other raw seasonal vegetables.
I still make a simple lunchtime recipe that my father used to make for us when the cardoons were in season – early fall when the weather cooled. My father would remove the leaves, and strip the fibers from the stems, like you would celery. He’d chop the stems, blanch them and mix them with breadcrumbs, dry oregano and grated Parmesan cheese and an egg or two to bind it all together. The mixture would be fried in olive oil like a pancake-like frittata (omelet). On a slice of thick, crusty Italian bread. What can I say?
To the northwest of Piemonte, bordering Switzerland and France, the tiny region of Valle d’Aosta has its own version of northern Italian fondue, Fonduta. I’d like to share my version of Fonduta with you.
The cooking of the “rich” has always been varied based on the contributions of different cultural histories. In the case of Valle d’Aosta, many of the culinary traditions come from the contributions of Romans, French and the Swiss. But there are many elements of this Alpine cuisine tied to the history of the land. The food culture of the people is tied to fresh seasonal vegetables, rye bread, milk, the hunt, and the raising of farm animals, such as pork and beef.
In both Alpine regions of Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta guinea fowl and pheasant grace the tables of home kitchens and restaurants, along with wild mushrooms and hearty rye flour breads. From the rivers and streams perch and trout filets are dipped in beaten egg and flavored breadcrumbs and fried in butter and fresh sage. All accompanied by the hearty Barolo wines of the region.
In contrast to these two northern regions is my favorite northwestern region of Italy, Liguria. As our train arrives in the coastal city of Monte Rosso, the first town in the chain of five known as Cinque Terra, we can actually feel the difference in the air. Protected from the cold air by the peaks of the Alps to its north, Liguria has the feel of a warm seaside destination. The restaurants of the coastal towns feature many dishes emphasizing the fruits of the sea – clams, mussels, prawns, eel, sardines and a variety of fresh salt-water fish. In most, if not all kitchens, you will find two classic Ligurian seafood soups or stews, burrida and ciuppin (tomato and seafood soups similar to the French bouillabaisse).
Our first night in Liguria Mary and I decided on, what else? Seafood. Mary started with an antipasto of octopus salad, polpo, with small boiled potatoes and black olives in a light olive oil dressing. For me, tiny fresh sardines, no, nothing like the ones in a can. These are tiny filets of young sardines with radicchio and fresh basil and parsley in a lemon and olive oil dressing. For our primi piatti, seafood stuffed ravioli with a thin tomato-basil sauce and spaghetti frutti di mare – clams, mussels and head-on 6-inch long prawns in a light olive oil and tomato sauce.We enjoyed the meal so much that we did something we rarely do: we went back the next night to the same restaurant. This time for whole grilled branzino, sea bass, and coniglio in umido, a hearty rabbit stew. Both nights’ dinners are a portrait of the food culture of the coastal areas of the region of Liguria.
The warmth from the currents of the north Tyrrhenian Sea and the Bay of Genoa, and the protection from the colder weather by the Alps to the north allow Ligurians a growing season to accommodate olives for the production of some of the finest Italian olive oil. The temperatures also allow for herbs like basil to flourish. Perhaps that is why pesto, the combination of basil, olive oil, pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese originated in the region’s capital of Genoa.Once again climate, geography and history contribute to the diverse traditional food culture of these northwestern regions of Italy.
Until next time, ciao.
Copyright © 2011, Chris De Santis. All Rights Reserved
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