Here are some typical recipes that you can sample in the restaurants of this zone in Piedmont.
ANCHOVIES IN RED SAUCE
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 30 anchovy fillets preserved in salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 handful of parsley
- 4 bay leaves
- 600 g tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 cubes of sugar
- ½ glass of extra virgin olive oil
Prepare the tomato sauce and, when almost cooked, add the sugar and a tablespoon of vinegar, which will give it a slightly bittersweet taste. Mix the sauce well and let it cool. Meanwhile, clean the anchovies and was off the salt under running water. Drain well, dry and place them on a serving plate. Chop the garlic, parsley and bay leaves and mix them with the oil. Mix the chopped aromas with the tomato sauce and spread it on the anchovies, leaving them to rest for at least a couple of hours in the sauce. Serve accompanied with butter curls and toasted bread.
RAW MEAT TARTARE
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 400 g Fassona breed leg of veal
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the meat very finely on the cutting board using a heavy knife, such as a butcher’s knife. The use of the meat grinder is not recommended. Crush the garlic clove. Arrange the chopped meat on a plate and season with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well and serve immediately. The choice of meat is very important: the veal leg must be very lean.
TAJARIN
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 500 g sifted soft wheat flour
- 2 whole eggs and 4 yolks
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 pinch of salt
Carefully knead all the ingredients. Wrap the dough in a cloth previously moistened with warm water and let it rest for about two hours. Knead everything again, roll it out with a rolling pin until you get a very thin sheet. Roll the dough onto itself, then with a knife cut it so as to obtain very thin noodles. Open the skein of tajarin and let them dry for a while. Cook them in abundant salted water for about 3-4 minutes, drain them, then season them with butter and sage or with butter and white truffle.
RABBIT IN ARNEIS WINE
Ingredients:
- 1 free-range rabbit in pieces
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- Salt
- ½ bottle of Arneis wine
- Meat stock
Brown the rabbit pieces in oil and garlic, add the chopped vegetables, let them reduce and simmer with the wine, pouring it a little at a time. Cover with the broth, add the aromas and season with salt. Cook over a very low heat for about two hours, checking that a nice sauce remains.
BRUTTI MA BUONI (UGLY BUT GOOD)
Ingredients:
- 6 egg whites
- 600 g icing sugar
- 1 kg hazelnuts
Shell the hazelnuts, toast them, peel them and chop them by hand so that they remain irregular. Whisk the egg whites, add the sugar and finally the chopped hazelnuts, which must remain clearly visible in the mixture. Form lots of small balls and place them on a baking sheet on baking paper. Cook for about twenty minutes at 130-140 ° C in a fan oven. As soon as the brutti ma buoni (good but ugly) are removed from the oven they will be soft, let them dry until they have hardened.
[Recipes taken from “Le ricette delle Osterie d’Italia”
(“Recipes from Italian Osterias”)]