The recipes of the rural tradition instead were made with simple ingredients such as panissa, and ”Bagna cauda”, a warm dip which is served and consumed in a manner similar to fondue, and made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter, and (in some parts of the region) cream.
The two souls of this land, the rich court of Savoy and the poor peasants, have contributed both to the wide variety of recipes of Piedmont. It’s almost impossible to speak of traditional recipes not mentioning the territories that make up this region.
A gastronomic journey in Piedmont cuisine brings us through the rolling hills of the Langhe, home of hazelnuts, truffles and great wines; across the vast plains of Vercelli, Biella and Novara there is the realm of rice, the main ingredient of risotto, “panissa” and “paniscia”. If we touch then the slopes of the Alps, we find a place where local minorities of the Vaudois or Walser gave the Piedmontese cuisine traditional recipes of great value such as the soup of the Waldenses, the “cagliette”, the “pirrubangada” and many more.
To be mentioned also are the areas of lakes and rivers where you can enjoy excellent fish such as the tench of Pianalto, a PDO product.
A special mention goes to the cheeses: in Piedmont there are more than 60 types, from the most fresh tomini to the more seasoned ones as the brus or gorgonzola.
The recipes of Piedmont cuisine are best known for their strong flavors such as the garlic and the anchovies of Bagna cauda or the pungent scent of white truffles of the Langhe accompanying “tajarin” pasta. These strong flavors blend well with robust red wines such as Barbera d’Asti or aged wines like Barolo.
Many historical recipes were born in Turin and then spread throughout Italy and even in the world, such as the recipe for bread sticks “grissini”, or that of “amaretti di Mombaruzzo”. Fortunately, in recent years we are rediscovering traditional ingredients and al the forgotten recipes such as the cardoon of Nizza Monferrato, the leek of Cervere or the “gofri”, a special type of waffles.
