|
Food
Forget about your diet when you come to North West Italy where the culinary
tradition of Italian food is at its best!
 Be warned that Piedmonte is famous for the
wide range of antipasti (appetizers) served both hot and cold before the main
course. These will typically include salami, and a variety of local vegetable
dishes,as well as a variety of dips.
For the primo (first course) you are as likely to find risotto as well as
pasta. Piedmonte is Europe's biggest rice producer (from the Po river valley),
and risotto is as much a staple as the local pasta dishes, which include a
multitude of varieties of Agnolotti (stuffed pasta pillows) served with a
variety of sauces. Another favourite is Gnocchi (potato dumplings) a Ligurian
specialty. Try it with Pesto sauce, which originated in nearby Genoa.
 The secondo (main course) can be beef, lamb
or pork cooked in wine, pollo (chicken) or fresh fish from nearby Liguria.
These will be accompanied by fresh local verdure (vegetables) such as
asparagus, artichokes or whatever is in season.
Next comes cheese, local or from neighbouring regions. The lush alpine
meadows of the Val D'Aosta and the Canavese region north of Torino produce an
array of fine cheeses, the best known being Fontina and Robiola.
 Finally, no Italian feast is complete
without "Dolci" (desert)! Piedmont boasts an almost infinite variety
of deserts, which have to be tried, words cannot describe. Local favourites
include "Bonet" (Chocolate egg custard); "Torta di
Nocciola" (Hazel-nut cake);zabiglione.
 Piedmont is also famous for other food
delicacies, to name a few: "Tartufi" the legendary white truffles
found around the the Monferato and Langhe hills in autumn and prized more then
gold or their black French cousins; "Grissine" the crisp breadsticks
which originated in Turin; "Amaretti" a delicious macaroon type
biscuit, especially the ones from Mombarusso; and hazel-nut chocolates from
Turin (Gianduiotti) and Alba (Rocher & Ferrero)
Are you hungry yet?
|