a late winter visit to piemonte
It's a perfect time to be here. Join me as we visit towns and markets, and cook with the best ingredients!
I’m so happy to be bringing you today’s post from sunny Piemonte. The weather is gorgeous and the last few days have been full of food shopping, cooking, eating and walking.
Regardless how long I lived here, or how many times I’ve returned since moving to Germany, Italian regional food never ceases to impress me. It’s not quite correct to refer to the food as Italian, as the foods of Italy are regional and representative of what’s cultivated in each place.
One thing that’s present everywhere at all Italian markets right now is a wide selection of late winter bitter vegetables. If you follow
, you will have listened to her radio program about the importance of bitter vegetables in our diet. They aid in digestion, appetite control, and liver support. The list of goodness goes on and on, but suffice it to say that including bitter vegetables as a staple in your diet will do you good.Italians love bitter vegetables. I was raised on escarole and endive - but there are so many more to enjoy: cavolo nero, cicory, raddichio (which - news flash - now comes in green as well as red and white), rucola, puntarelle…
On Saturday evening I prepared a very simple, rustic dinner of sautéed sardines with mashed thyme potatoes and cavolo nero. Our landlocked location in Germany means we don’t get high quality fish often, and when we do, it’s outlandishly expensive. It’s just the opposite here. We’re an hour from the Ligurian coast, giving us a massive choice of wonderful seafood at very fair prices.
One of my favourite types of fish to prepare are the little ones - anchovies and sardines. They are packed with nutrition - omega 3 fatty acids and high quality protein, as well as vitamin D and iron. These little oily wonders add umami to everything they come in contact with.
Gutting sardines is not pretty, but is fairlysimple. I won’t get into the details here, as there are several YouTube videos that do a clear job explaining. Here are simply my before and afters.
The sardines I found are so much smaller than usual, I mistook them for anchovies. They were delicious, though. We enjoyed them with a crisp, fruity white wine called Favorita DOC. This wine is known in Liguria as Vermentino - they’re from the same grape. This particular bottle was a test - it’s from the cooperative in a village called Clavesana, directly outside the Langhe. We normally steer clear of cooperatives, preferring small wineries. But this wine was very good - with just enough acid and fruit to cut through the sardines.
Piemonte translates as the foot of the mountains. We are the plains and hills between the Alps and the Apennine ranges, the first to our north and east and the second to our south and west. The Apennine is the range that divides us from the Mediterranean and Liguria, and allows for maritime air to flow through the lower altitudes and provide our area with a climate that influences grape growth.
Our area is called the Langhe, which is the most prominent wine region in Italy, and one of the most prominent in the world. Dotted by castles, forts and towers, the Langhe is mostly covered with vineyards, producing Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto, and many other indigenous grapes. Piemonte wines are responsible for 18% of all Italian exports which are produced by predominantly small producers.
In the hilltop village of Narzole (just about 10 km from Barolo) there’s an outdoor market on Sunday mornings. It’s a very small market, with maybe 8 stands, but it’s always bustling and has quality fish, fruits and vegetables.
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