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Story and photography by Barbara Penny Angelakis
EnoGastronomy* in Piedmont
Piedmont or as the Italians say Piemonte - located in the northwest corner of Italy - provides candy for the eyes as well as the stomach. The landscape presents an endless mosaic of green hills and valleys, interspersed with manicured vineyards and hazelnut tree groves. Alternating brown furrowed patches patiently await the plantings that will impregnate them with traditional local crops that grow abundantly and make for a toothsome cuisine. Clustered on each hilltop are the farm houses or ancestral castle complexes that once held sway over the fields below. In the far distances you can see the skylines of small villages, each with their church steeples rising up to the heavens and watching out over the earth below. Nature has provided the abundance and man has molded the bounty to serve his needs.
I am back in this very special corner of Italy to experience BITEG, Borsa Internazionale del Turismo Enogastronomico or International Fair of Food & Wine Tourism, a four day immersion into the local foods and wines of Piedmont. This extravaganza of eating, drinking and sightseeing for international tourism professionals is meant to introduce and educate on the local cuisine. A cuisine that has earned Piedmont a well-deserved reputation for culinary excellence and which gave birth to the slow food movement that burst on the gastronomy scene a scant 20 years ago.
The last time I was in Piedmont, we concentrated on the area surrounding the city of Turin (Torino) its history, top chefs, and a sampling of local restaurants.
This time the journey deals solely with the southern section of the region, the Langhe hills.
Traveling the well paved roads of the Langhe is not for the faint hearted as they twist and turn around the hills in stomach clutching curves with steep inclines and declines. The reward is the picture perfect views that take your breath away. As if that were not enough there are any number of really good family run restaurants and houses of culinary delights that serve the local cuisine for which Piedmont is justifiably famous.
Our first stop, Hotel Casa Pavesi; a 4-star gem located at the foot of the castle in Grinzane Cavour, smack dab in the heart of the Langhe, with easy access in any direction to a number of Barolo wineries. This ancient home has been converted to a 12 room delightful hotel with every room in a different configuration and furnished with antiques and un-hotel-like accessories. Each room sports a modern bathroom, air conditioning, satellite TV, telephone, minibar, hair dryer and safe deposit box. My room, number 23, had a view of the patio and  garden, where on pleasant mornings you can enjoy breakfast overlooking the incredible vista described in the first paragraph of this article. There is also a large indoor dining room as well as two separate reading areas for relaxing or socializing. The Stroppiana Family built this boutique hotel and also produces its own wines, which accounts for the wine cellar dining room, where you can enjoy a private dinner featuring Stroppiana’s wines. By the time we arrived at Hotel Casa Pavesi it was after lunch and dinner would not be for several hours. Without hesitation, the warm and friendly manager Paola Drocco had a buffet table set for us of local staples: sausage, cheese, asparagus, marinated peppers, home made breads, Stroppiana Wine, a large bowl of freshly picked ripened-on-the-vine strawberries, and a chocolate hazelnut pudding for desert. We sat on the patio warmed by the sun, cooled by the breeze, gazing out over the Langhe hills, and enjoying the fresh produce and good company of our companions... a memory to last a lifetime. www.hotelcasapavesi.it
That evening, our EnoGastronomy tour began on a high note at La Fermata Resort in Spinetta Marengo, Alessandria. La Fermata Resort is a restored eighteen century country-house owned by Chef Riccardo Aiachini and his wife Tiziana. The hotel has 12 rooms and a seventeenth century chapel as well as a private garden, although we did not see any of it, as we headed straight to the Michelin starred Osteria La Fermata. www.lafermata-al.it
Chef Andrea Ribaldone, a famous TV chef, now partners with Chef Aiachini, and has helped create a balance between the traditional “rabatón” or old shepherd’s recipes and a “restyled” cuisine. We began our feast with a traditional appetizer of Salame Nobile del Giarolo, made and aged on site, along with Robiola di Roccaverano, DOP cheese, from the small mountain villages above Acqui Terme, and La nostra Focaccia, home made bread, accompanied by Piemontese Spumante; in this case Spumante Brut Bollicine di Casa Vinicola Marenco.
 Next came an elegant dish made from the simple onion. Cipolla di Castellazzo cotta al sale e ripiena, a long name for a roasted stuffed onion on a bed of sea salt, but trust me, this is a dish that is a step above. (see Cook’s Corner for recipe). Malvasia bianca Monenvasia de Casalone, a dry white wine smelling of peaches and roses was served. While it is a pleasant enough wine, it lacked the acidity needed to balance the richness of the salt-baked onion. The next white wine, Gavi DOCG Rovereto Vignavecchia 2006 di Casellari Bergaglio, paired much  better with the pasta course. A classic recipe at Osteria La Fermata and an amazing dish – Raviolone all’uovo con asparagi e ricotta de pecora – almost defies description. One large handmade ricotta and asparagus ravioli containing a still runny bright yellow egg yoke which oozed from the al dente ravioli once it was pierced.
The main course of Guinea-fowl and martin-sec pears “giambonetto” paired with Colli Tortonesi Croatina DOC Elso 2005 di Carlo Daniele Ricci, was the only dish that fell short of expectation. The fowl was perfectly prepared with a wine reduction on the sweet side, a nice compliment to the gamy fowl, but served over puréed potato that did nothing to balance the sweetness of the sauce, and a cloyingly sweet poached Martin-sec pear. The dinner ended with a Strawberry cake topped by ice-cream and Malvasia di Casorzo doc Molignano 2008 de Bricco Mondalino.
The following day we were invited to lunch at “Al Castello” the castle in Grinzane Cavour within a few minutes walking distance of Casa Pavesi. Chef Alessandro Boglione is at the helm of this very important restaurant in one of the most treasured buildings in the Langhe. The castle was originally built as a lookout and watchtower around one thousand A.D. Over the years it has been enhanced and has changed hands, until it currently is owned by the Municipalities of Alba and Grinzane jointly, and serves as the permanent home of the Museum of the Langhe and the Cavour Piedmontese Regional Enoteca. It also houses the prestigious Order of the Knights of the Truffle, the Wines of Alba, and the National Cheese Tasters Organization.
Chef Boglione’s menu consisted of two separate first course dishes of the uncooked and smoked meats that are so popular in the area. The first, Bra (from the  eponymous town) sausage made from veal, and a beef tartar with polenta, the second a Millefoglie of Fassone, a highly treasured local beef topped with spring onion shavings. Arneis Cantina del Nebbiolo 2008 complimented the rich raw meats and the Barbera d’Alba Scuola Enologica 2006 was paired well with the main course of Guanciola di vitello a Barbaresco or veal cheek slow cooked in Barbaresco wine with potato pie. Surprisingly, once again no vegetables or salads at all were served during the meal, astonishing from an area that produces the most wonderful tasting fresh produce. Moscato Cascina Castlet 2008 was served with the desert of Soffice di pannacotta or cream custard. www.castellogrinzane.com
After this lovely meal we were off to attend a cooking class with Chef Cesare Giaccone at his famous restaurant Villa Contessa Rosa at Fontanafredda’s Royal Villa in Serralunga d’Alba. This converted manor house and complex offers an 11-room boutique hotel on the ancient wine estate. Chef Giaccone has set up a Molteni kitchen in the 19th century barrel-vaulted room – amusingly called infornotto – as a unique platform for his performance of cooking in front of the patrons while they sit sipping wine and building an appetite. The good-humored Chef Giaccone prepared three of his signature dishes for us; Gnocchi di patate con funte d asparagi – potato dumplings with asparagus tips, Insalatina di spinacini e coniglio alla Giacome Bologna – spinach and rabbit salad, Sgombretto da quart sód – poor man’s mackerel. All three were wonderful, but for me the standout was the gnocchi in an amazingly simple yet delicious sauce of fresh from the garden asparagus, large meaty tomatoes, olive oil, chicken stock, salt and pepper. No need for garlic, onion or spices to enhance flavor; just fresh ingredients quickly cooked to perfection. Fontanafredda wines were served throughout. (see Cook’s Corner for recipe). www.villacontessarosa.com
That night we were treated to a visit to the seat of the Wine & Gastronomy Sciences University - the home of the Slow Food movement - for a Taste of Piedmont. The Albergo dell’ Agenzia in Pollenzo, Cuneo, is a newly restored architectural complex dating back to the 18th /19th century. Here in buildings configured around a central garden, tables manned by producers were setup as a sumptuous buffet and display of the products from the Langhe. There was a cold meat and salami island; a cheese island; appetizer and salad island; wine and beer  islands; pasta station; dessert island… and we were free to taste as we went along or fill a plate and sit in the tented area and “mangia”. www.agenziadipollenzo.com
Our final meal was taken at La Curia, a typical enoteca in the charming spa town of Acqui Terme. La Curia is located in a narrow alley just off the main avenue and within a few minutes walk of the boiling hot fountain in the Piazza del Bollente - which coincidentally means “boiling” at 131-167˚ F (55-75˚C) - and whose source waters are largely responsible for the town’s fame for its thermal cures.
Our antipasti starter was Filetto Baciato di Ponzone which consisted of cured pork meat surrounded by beef; a cabbage leaf stuffed with meat in a Bagna Cauda (accurately Caôda) sauce or “hot bath”, the traditional peasants dipping sauce made from olive oil, garlic and anchovies originally from the province of Cuneo that has become a staple throughout Piedmont; and bits of marinated rabbit set on a field of greens scattered with fresh blueberries. The second appetizer was large egg-shaped gnocchi made from spinach, ricotta, eggs and parmesan with a goodly helping of butter and sage to flavor. La Mesma 2007 docg Gavi is a fruity white with enough citrus to compliment the first two dishes. The main dish was Capocollo di maialino a lenta cottura con crema di cipolle rosse or shoulder of pork with a red onion/apple sauce and served with a Barbera Del Monferrato, Giulin 2007 Azienda Agricola Accornero. Sad to say I was too full to do more than photograph the dessert of Variazione del torrone di Canelin, a decision I knew I would regret later… and I did. www.enotecalacuria.com
Thus brings to an end my EnoGastronomic journey through the Langhe. Good food, good drink, good heavens... I’m stuffed.
* EnoGastronomy is an ancient Greek expression that means the development of foods and wines that pair exceedingly well together; it is a contraction of the Greek words “Oenos” meaning Wine and “Gastronomia” meaning the culture of the stomach.
© June 2009 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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