Piedmontese cuisine is rich and varied. Rich and varied in terms of the influence of the Savoy court where very rich dishes were served at sumptuous banquets. But equally tasty in the poorer, peasant traditions.
Starters range from vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce) to CAPONET, and for starters the world-famous truffle tagliolini and PANISSA. For main courses, the famous bolliti misti and the equally famous braised beef with Barolo. Piedmont is also the home of BAGNA CAUDA, a very special way of eating vegetables and meat. For desserts, finally, the delicate baci di dama biscuits and CRUMIRI.
Veal in tuna sauce
Needed for vitello tonnato
1 kg of veal shank
2 glasses of dry white wine
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
300 g tuna in oil
1 celery rib
5 salted anchovies
3 hard-boiled eggs
2 spoons of parsley
2 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
the juice of 1 lemon
olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
Preparation of vitello tonnato
The day before, marinate the meat in white wine and vinegar. Add bay leaves, cloves, chopped celery and a sprinkling of freshly grated black pepper. Turn it 3 or 4 times to season it well.
In the meantime, prepare the anchovies, which must be washed, the head and the central bone and the tail removed. When the veal is marinated, place the meat in a saucepan, strain the marinade through a colander, then pour in enough water to cover the meat, adjust the salt and leave to simmer for at least an hour. Then add the anchovy fillets and continue cooking until the stock has reduced considerably. Remove the meat from the heat and allow it to cool before cutting it into thin slices.
Arrange the meat slices on a serving plate. Now prepare the sauce with which to season the meat.
Strain the cooking juices from the meat, chop the tuna, boiled eggs and anchovies very finely. Add the finely chopped capers, a tablespoon of vinegar, the lemon juice and the oil. Pour this sauce over the slices of meat and leave to season for at least an hour before serving.
The CAPONET
Another typical Piedmontese appetiser, tasty rolls stuffed with meat, wrapped in Savoy cabbage leaves and baked in the oven.
Needed for the CAPONET
300 grams of minced veal
10 cabbage leaves
1 clove of garlic
a few sage leaves
a pinch of nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
80 grams of grated Parmesan cheese
100 grams of pork sausage
1 egg
oil, salt, pepper and butter to taste
Preparation of the CAPONET
Boil the Savoy cabbage leaves in plenty of salted water for 3 to 4 minutes, remove the leaves from the water and dry them with paper towels.
In a bowl, cook the veal and chopped sausage in a little oil with a clove of finely chopped garlic and the sage leaves, salt and pepper and cook very slowly for about 50 minutes.
Remove the meat from the heat, add the Parmesan cheese, egg, a pinch of nutmeg and chopped parsley. Stir everything to mix the ingredients and form small balls of the mixture. Place these balls on top of the cabbage leaves and close them by turning them in on themselves. Place the prepared leaves in a buttered baking dish with butter flakes on top. Adjust the salt and pepper and place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees until the vegetable cones are golden brown. Serve hot.
We now move on to the first courses with the famous truffle tagliolini and PANISSA.
Tagliolini with truffles
A very simple and easy first course. The recommended truffle is undoubtedly the white one, although the cost is really high.
Ingredients for tagliolini with truffle
400 grams of egg noodles
1 small piece of white truffle
butter, salt and grated Parmesan cheese as needed.
Preparation of tagliolini with truffle
Cook the tagliolini in plenty of salted water. Drain and melt a knob of butter in a pan. Add a pinch of salt and when the noodles are ready toss them in the pan with the butter. Add some grated Parmesan cheese and toss the pasta well again. Place the pasta on plates and cut a fair amount of white truffle on top of each plate.
LA PANISSA
This is a speciality of the Vercelli rice fields. It is also considered a unique dish.
Needed for the PANISSA
grams 500 of rice
grams 500 of cooked beans
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
grams 120 of lard
1 sprig of rosemary
grams 120 of salami in fat
100 grams of pork rind
2 glasses of red wine
olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
Preparation of the PANISSA
Cook the chopped garlic, onion and lard in a large saucepan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the rosemary sprig, which must be removed when cooked.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the meat and beans over a very low heat. When the beans are cooked, remove the salami and pork rind and cut into very small pieces, which should be added to the sauté. Sprinkle with a glass of red wine, add the rice, adjust the salt, stir several times and leave to flavour for a few minutes. Now add the beans with their broth and continue cooking, pouring in the second glass of red wine a little at a time, cover and finish cooking, checking that the rice does not dry out too much. Serve piping hot with a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper.
Braised beef with barolo
Needed for the braised beef with Barolo
1200 g beef
80 grams of finely sliced bacon
a sliced carrot
enough flour
for the marinade
one bottle of Barolo
one onion
one carrot
one celery rib
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
black peppercorns
for cooking
oil, butter, salt and pepper to taste
a glass of meat stock or stock cube
Preparation of braised beef with Barolo
First prepare the marinade for the meat, which must rest for at least a day.
Then make small holes in the piece of meat to put small pieces of carrot or bacon inside.
Place it in a rather large bowl with the onion, celery, cloves, a few black peppercorns and bay leaves. Add the whole bottle of Barolo and leave to rest for 24 hours. Turn the piece of meat at least a couple of times to even out the maturation.
The next day, remove from the bath, flour the meat and brown it with a little olive oil and butter in a saucepan. Add the marinade liquid, season with salt and pepper and simmer for at least 3 hours. When it is time to serve, cut the meat into slices, arrange them on a serving plate, heat up the cooking juices and pour over the slices of meat to season.
BAGNA CAUDA
This is an ancient dish, created to celebrate the end of the grape harvest. The massive presence of garlic is as essential as the freshness of the anchovies or the goodness of the olive oil.
It is a convivial dish, to be eaten in large company. In fact, one must have a low heat cooker where one can place the bowl of BAGNA CAUDA, which must never boil. Diners dip vegetables and all the other ingredients, which can be very varied, into this sauce.
Needed for the BAGNA CAUDA
250 grams of salted anchovies
8 cloves of garlic
a glass of olive oil
grams 100 of butter
Regarding the vegetables and other ingredients that can be brought to the table and flavoured in BAGNA CAUDA, preference should be given to seasonal vegetables. Potatoes should be boiled first, as should peppers and other vegetables. Polenta, fried and chopped, can also be used. But some also use chopped meat.
If the garlic, given the large dose, should remain a little indigestible, it can be marinated in milk for a few hours to make it more digestible.
Preparation of BAGNA CAUDA
First clean the anchovies under running water, removing the head, bone and tail. Put the thinly sliced garlic cloves in an earthenware casserole dish, pour in a glass of oil and add the butter, then, stirring with a wooden spoon, over a very low heat, heat the oil and fry the garlic until it disintegrates and a white cream begins to form. Add the chopped anchovies and try to melt these too until a light hazelnut-coloured cream forms. The BAGNA CAUDA is now ready to be placed in the centre of the fire.
Piedmontese Bollito Misto
This is one of the main Piedmontese recipes that have many variations in the types of meat to be used and especially in the spices.
Ingredients for bollito misto piemontese
1200 grams of beef such as shoulder and breech and veal such as tail, tongue, head and brisket
1 onion
1 carola
1 celery rib
a bunch of parsley
a clove of garlic
peppercorns
coarse salt
Preparation of the Piedmontese mixed boiled meat
Put water in a very large pot, add the chopped vegetables, coarse salt and as soon as the water boils put the meat in. First the beef and after about an hour the veal. Cook for another hour or so and once the meat has been removed from the stock, slice and serve steaming hot sprinkled with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. It is served with sauces of various kinds.
BACI DI DAMA
These are crumbly butter biscuits joined together by a layer of chocolate. They are irresistible.
Ingredients for the DAMA'S KISSES
grams 250 flour
grams 160 sugar
grams 200 of butter
grams 150 of toasted hazelnuts
grams 160 of dark chocolate
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
Preparation of the BACI DI DAMA
In a large bowl mix 3 quarters of the flour together with the cocoa powder and sugar. Add the butter (already melted) and chopped hazelnuts.
Knead this dough until it becomes firm and elastic. Once ready, form into balls slightly larger than a hazelnut, lightly flour them and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for about 20 minutes. As soon as they are cooked, leave them to cool.
Meanwhile, very slowly melt the dark chocolate. With this chocolate, join two balls together on the flat side to form the classic BACI DI DAMA
CRUMIRI biscuits
Ingredients for the CRUMIRI biscuits
grams 300 of flour
grams 350 of yellow flour
grams 400 of butter
grams 180 of sugar
5 egg yolks
one sachet of vanilla powder
Preparation of the CRUMIRI biscuits
Mix together the two flours and then the vanilla and sugar. Place the flours in a fairly large bowl and add the freshly melted butter and egg yolks. Knead carefully to obtain a smooth and soft dough. Let it rest for about an hour covered with a cloth.
Grease the oven tray and cover with a light layer of flour.
Now take the dough and place it inside a pastry bag with a ribbed nozzle. Make many biscuits no more than 8 centimetres long. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. They are generally served cold.
