Piedmont gastronomy: Cheese, hazelnuts, truffles, and other excellence

Talking about Piedmont, and in particular, Langhe Roero Monferrato, and not talking about gastronomy is… a crime! The gastronomic products, the cuisine, the culture of good food, and respect for the cycles of the land make Piedmont a pantry to discover!

I want to take you on a sensory journey: The scents, the flavors, and the colors of my land that follow each other at the rhythm of the seasons, I’m sure, will fascinate you.

Those who visit Piedmont are enchanted by its territory, vineyards, and hills, but when it sits at the table, it is enveloped by magical sensations.

Then I ban on diets. Ops! I’m going to talk! Are you coming with me on this journey?

Guide Langhe Roero and Monferrato

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GASTRONOMY: MEATS AND CURED MEATS

Gastronomy Tour

Idea for you: Finding the truffle

Hazelnuts: ROUNDED AND GENTLE

In our areas, we do not speak generically about hazelnuts. Here we talk about ROUNDED AND GENTLE: The name already makes you understand how much we love them! CORTEMILIA, IN THE HEART OF THE LANGA, is the CAPITAL OF THE NOCCIOLA TONDA GENTILE OF LANGA, an IGP that attests to its quality.

Alta Langa is the ideal cradle for hazelnut. Its shrubs cover much of the hills towards the Ligurian coast. Hazelnuts, like vineyards, are kept with care and order. They are precise and geometric and distinguish the territory between the Bormida and Tanaro rivers.
The harvest is at the end of August. It crosses sometimes with the harvest. How is hazelnut consumed? It prefers toast to enhance its flavor. The core also has another feature much appreciated in our parts: it promotes the birth of the precious truffle, both black and white!

WHITE TRUFFLE: THE KING

And since we’ve nominated him, let’s talk about it! The truffle, indeed Mr. Truffle, is a fungus (hypogeous for experts) that lives in symbiosis with the roots of some plants and therefore, underground. That’s why it’s hard to find, and the man has to get help from a dog to look for him. Trained dog with a well-trained nose!

The scent of truffles, especially the white one of Alba and the Langhe, is very intense and particular: either you love it or hate it. If you are among those many, who love him, you have a decisive reason to get to our side. SlowDays, which does not like experiences without a soul, those “made in series,” looks every year for new “trifolau” and new ways to make this jewel known.

You can look for it, you can study it and smell it, but above all, you taste it! With two eggs in a pan, a plate of noodles with butter, or a creamy fondue, the wedding with truffle is perfect! The truffle hunting season lasts all year round for the various types that mature depending on the seasons. The most valuable can be found from the end of September until the first frost.

The Alba Truffle Fair is famous, as well as the various events during the autumn period. Very recall has the World Truffle Auction that always gets dizzying figures and sees protagonists’ restaurants worldwide! Founded in 1999, it has reached, year by year, record revenues and audiences. In 2018, the amount of income was 400,000 EUR, donated to various charities. The last lot, the most important, was purchased by a Hong Kong restaurateur!

PIEDMONT CHEESES

Chapter vast! I will name a few, but they will undoubtedly be too few. The Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato have a tradition that is lost in history for producing goat cheeses, sheep, and vaccines.

Especially in the Langhe and even more in Upper Langa, Albese and Astigiana, we find the Robiole or Tume. Two denominations of Protected Origin (Dop), especially with the Murazzano tuma and the Robiola of Roccaverano.
Murazzano is made with sheep’s milk, while Roccaverano’s robiola is mixed milk.
Then there are the excellent Robiole (not Dop) of Bossolasco, d’Alba and the Langhe.

Each has different taste and pasta characteristics, but they are still palpable and pleasant!

The ricotta in the Langhe, called Seiras, is a very delicate and fresh cheese, also used as a filling for ravioli. Very good along with polenta! Another typical and particular is the “brus,” the tasty cream made by fermenting the robiole in a small crock agrees.

Then there is Mr. Castelmagno, the Raschera, the Bra, the grana-padano, the gorgonzola. Each of these deserves a separate chapter, and I refer you to the sites where you can get detailed information.

Indeed a visit to our areas is worth a cheese tasting accompanied by the excellent red and full-bodied wines that enhance its flavors!

A Cheese used to pay taxes: the Castelmagno cheese!

The origins of Castelmagno

Have you ever heard of Castelmagno cheese? It is a famous cheese from Piedmont, a region that fits well with the “cheese” philosophy and, in the culinary culture itself, plays a rather prominent role.

Before the product and the various delicious pairings, I would like to dwell on this food’s excellent first historical relevance.

It is 1277. From then on, the small town of Castelmagno must pay an annual fee of a certain amount of money to the marquis of Saluzzo. How much money are we talking about? None at all! The sum would be paid in quantities of Castelmagno.

As it was easy to guess, the cheese was named after the production commune, a small town of only 61 inhabitants; on the other hand, we are over 1,000 meters above sea level! Aside from the charming Sanctuary – pictured here on the right -it is a stop for many trekking enthusiasts who aim to continue upwards (for example, the “Curnis Aouta” trail).

Piedmontese gastronomy and another major player

Castelmagno DOP is a semi-hard, full-fat/semi-fat cheese of short to medium maturity.

As mentioned, its historical origin dates back more than a thousand years, the production of which took place right in the village of the same name, at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters.

It is a product with an intense, recognizable flavor and is a must in Piedmontese cuisine. Hardly whoever comes to Piedmont can give up tasting it, and, precisely in this regard, Slowdays is gearing up to make this kind of experience available as well, but let’s not anticipate more…

Having its important texture, it can also be eaten on its own, without any accompaniment, as well as, of course, it can be paired with first courses and full-bodied wines – a Nebbiolo wouldn’t hurt at all… -.

Recipe: Gnocchi with Castelmagno cheese

The combinations with Castelmagno are many, but it is impossible not to mention the combination par excellence: Gnocchi al Castelmagno.

This dish is as simple as it is irresistible, and anyone visiting Piedmont cannot pass up tasting it. But what are the ingredients, and how is it made?

Gnocco is a “simple” potato dumpling made with flour, potatoes, and eggs. They are served with a cream consisting of castelmagno cheese and cream and is a recipe just typical of the Grana Valley, in the Castelmagno production area itself.

From there, the goodness and ease of preparation led this dish to become a tradition in Piedmont and to be repurposed in major restaurants throughout the region.

Piedmontese Gastronomy: The Typical Cheeses of Monferrato

Let me tell you about one of my field trips. In Monale, Raffaele takes care of his little goats, who are a bit naughty, but with their milk, he makes award-winning cheeses!

On one of these early spring days, I got in the car to meet Raffaele, owner of the Cascina Aris farm.

Before reaching my destination, I stopped in Monale, a small town in the province of Asti with about 1,000 inhabitants.

Truly a delightful little place where sky and woods, country lanes, and nature happily coexist together!

Crowning this rural landscape is a castle, the Castello di Monale, not open to the public for guided tours but whose rooms are used as sumptuous wedding/bed & breakfast venues. A place to keep in mind for tourists looking for relaxing stays, immersed in the peace of the countryside.

I resumed, therefore, my tour destination: Cascina Aris! The little road is all curves, climbing slowly until I reach the hilltop. As soon as I got out of the car, I felt I had landed on another planet: a lovely place with a magnificent view and lots of green meadows around the farm.

Raphael welcomed me with open arms and immediately showed me around to meet all his animals…and believe me, they were pretty eager to make my acquaintance as well; they noticed right away that a “stranger” had arrived in their territory ?!

The population of the Cascina is very diverse: goats, horses, pigs, geese… and even a cute big dog!

The feeling of landing in a different place continued; it felt like being in a small Noah’s Ark without the elephants and giraffes! Raphael raises his animals with a passion, and for each species, he respects their etiology and characteristics.

Baby goats are curious animals; who would have guessed they spend their time picking on each other and fighting? And who knew goats had such strong temperaments? They have hard heads… so, Raffaele tells me, he keeps the more “lively” ones separated and in the mood to wreak havoc, but to little avail, because even after a month of estrangement, they start fighting and bleating among themselves again.

Seasonality is significant to Raphael!

Raphael follows seasonality when milking his goats; he does not force milk production out of respect for his animals and the surrounding environment. And this led him to great results: in fact, his cheeses won a lot of awards all over Italy, such as the “Rome Prize,” where the Ciuffettino cheese won first place, or the “Crude in Italia” award, where the Caciotta di Capra took first place!

The pigs are kept free so that they can roam in the woods around the Cascina. They are also fed the leftovers from the goats’ milk processing, ecology, and circular economy from 10 and praise!

Cheese Tasting

And then came the most awaited moment: tasting cured meats and cheese delights for the palate!

Raffaele showed me his small workshop in between tastings, where he creates all his delicacies: so many types of cheese for being a family farm! How much commitment and dedication, Raffaele is an excellent goat’s cheese producer with all the credentials! As I tasted all those things that were so good (and also genuine), I thought to myself, “That’s it; why did they win all those awards…,” there had to be a reason!

Roundup of Monferrato products

Back to Help

Talking about Piedmontese cheeses is also talking about Cheese.

When is Cheese held?

Every two years. The last time was in 2021, so the next time will be in 2023.

Where is Cheese held?

Bra is the Roero capital and the SlowFood movement’s birthplace.

What it’s all about.

To the magical process that transforms milk into food for refined palates. Cheese, as the name implies, is the event starring Cheese with the most international resonance. It draws producers, consumers, and lovers who revolve around the magical world of Cheese.

Each time the event is organized, it has a title. A theme to unfold always has as its common denominator is sustainability—respect for man’s hard work and the dignity of fair compensation for efforts. I will never forget my concern for the animal world.

In this case, I have to tell you: IT’S WORTH THE JOURNEY.

Piedmontese Gastronomy Cheeses and Cold Cuts