An age-old gastronomic and historical tradition, Occitan cuisine primarily involves four countries: France, Monaco, Italy and Spain. We will focus on the traditions and typical recipes of the Piedmontese Occitan gastronomic culture, a tradition that involves the Maira Valley, Grana Valley, Varaita Valley, Stura Valley, Po Valley, Germanasca Valley, Bronda Valley and Infernotto Valley.
The cuisine of the Maira Valley is rich and opulent; this is a cuisine that reflects the territory where it has developed over time, a cuisine with a strong sense of the mountains. The few detours from the route of this cuisine were born thanks to seasonal migration from Italy to France: mostly women who went to France in search of work to pick olives, flowers or to be housekeepers. Returning home from France, these women brought back recipes and flavors from Provence to their own territories – carrying with them a cuisine linked especially to fish, anchovies and garlic – creating, for example, one of the best-known and appreciated Piedmontese recipes: the bagna cauda. Bagna cauda has been traditionally eaten with cooked or raw seasonal vegetables, though the recipe is more suited to the cold winter temperatures (when you can taste it at its best).
One of the most well-known products, a protagonist in dozens of recipes, is the potato – an ingredient found in Occitan trifolas, tartiflas and bòdis. Cultivated in Val Varaita and Alta Valle Po, the dish probably grew in popularity thanks to the favorable climate of the area since the mid-1800s. Another famous and well-known product is the potato of Prazzo from the Azienda Agricola Al Chersogno – that is used for the preparation of Tundiret (potato dumplings) made with eggs and flour. The dough is then dipped in boiling water, with a soft and irregular shape, and comes seasoned with cream, butter and cheese. Then there’s Mato (or Mata as some call it), an ancient recipe that involves cooking pumpkin (stewed with butter), boiled potatoes, leeks and rice. All the ingredients are prepared separately and then combined to form layers for baking in a terracotta pan. To be seasoned with butter and cheese, sometimes with the addition of cream and in some cases, with sausage and vegetables, too, such as St. Peter's grass, beets or spinach. The bread has historically been prepared annually, by drawing lots – an event that usually took place from November to Christmas. There were few sweet Occitan recipes back then, but the Subric definitely deserves an honorable mention: subric are pancakes made of semolina flour or potatoes with apples, prepared for the Feast of Saints. For this recipe, an apple was put in the middle of the bread dough, a veritable delicacy for the little ones in that era. The sweet bread was (unusually) stored in the attic for safekeeping.
Cucina occitana, Al Chersogno.
Another popular dish is the Ravioles (or gnocchi of Val Varaita) made with potatoes and seasoned with butter and toma d’alpeggio cheese. Among the typical desserts of Val Varaita is our favorite, the Miando (or in Occitan dialect, the Baita), a sort of crème caramel – differing from the traditional recipe due to the addition of pears cooked in white wine.
Other protagonists of recipes of the Piedmontese-Occitan variety are legumes, vegetables from the garden and whatever nature offers seasonally – most often cooked in earthenware pots. This version of mountain cuisine transforms simple dishes into sumptuous soups like Ola al forn: an invigorating soup of legumes, vegetables and meat – cooked in the bread oven, that once turned off, maintains high temperatures for up to two days so you can prepare other dishes without wasting the accumulated heat. This soup cooks for at least 12-14 hours, usually through the night. For the Ola al forn recipe, you mix dried borlotti beans, leeks, pumpkin, onions, any leftover pieces of pork. Then add butter or olive oil, herbs and salt slightly. Cover with an earthenware lid and leave to bake in the oven for at least seven hours. The secret For the best results, the secret is knowing the right amount of water to put in the pot. This is similar to how you know panissa is ready (and the right consistency) – the spoon should be able to stand up inside the mixture.
The Nostrale d’Alpe is another product that is very important to the valleys of Piedmont: this is the cheese par excellence from the Cuneo Mountains – produced exclusively in alpine pastures. The production of this cheese must occur at a minimum height of 1500 meters above sea level. Nostrale is a raw milk cheese and each production facility (locally called a malga in the area’s dialect) differs from one another in the varying taste of the milk used.
Every milk used has a different flavor according to the mix of herbs and flowers eaten by the cows in the mountain pastures. So every version may seem very similar, but they all differ in taste and fat percentages. You can find fresh Nostrale (aged for around 35 days) or more aged versions – ranging from ages of 4 or 5 months up to 12 months. The more aged the cheese, the more intense the aroma will be with a very particular taste (more on the pungent side). Since 2011, the Producers & Association of Nostrale d'Alpe certifies the production with a special mark of approval, also specifying the malga where the cheese was made.
Caseificio La Meira, borgata Meira 3, Elva, cell.333 408 6239.
Azienda Agricola Martini Alessandro a Celle Macra (Cn) in Borgata Grangia 9, tel. 340 3243094 (Top Products: Burro di montagna, Toma cheese, Fresh and aged Nostrale d’Alpe).
Associazione Produttori Formaggio Nostrale d’Alpe, a part of l’Agenform
Istituto Lattiero Caseario p.zza C.A. Grosso 82 a Moretta, tel. 017293564.