By staying at Charme Apartments Egodomus, located in Monferrato, in the province of Asti, you will be able to discover culinary overview of typical products and meals of the traditional Piedmontese cuisine.
The “Cardo Gobbo di Nizza Monferrato”
The “cardo gobbo di Nizza Monferrato” is a vegetable grown mainly in some areas of the Belbo Valley, in the province of Asti and in particular in Nizza Monferrato, to which it clearly owes its name. Named “gobbi” because at the beginning of autumn these vegetables are bushes, which are manually bent and then covered with soil: in the attempt to escape, enjoying the light, the cardoons bend back on themselves becoming “gobbi”. They have a rather sweet-and-sour taste, which is why they are so popular in cooking. This taste, halfway between sweet and bitter, is due to the fact that they grow in the absence of light, a process called “d’imbianchimento”. The cardo gobbo di Nizza Monferrato is very appreciated for its very useful nutritional properties, but also for its healing and therapeutic properties. It is the main ingredient of a very famous dish, and appreciated in Piedmont, that is the bagnacaoda, or a delicious “hot sauce” in which to dip the vegetables.
Saracen asparagus of Vinchio
Among the typical products of the area are the Saracen asparagus of Vinchio, part of the family of liliaceae. These are vegetable products in their natural state and, for this reason, are part of the National List of Traditional Food Products. The asparagus of Vinchio distinguishes itself for its chemical, physical, organoleptic and aesthetic properties deriving from the place where it is grown and from the climatic conditions of the latter. The name “Saraceno” hangs the name from a group of hills, which were called precisely “bricco dei Saraceni”.
Agnolotti al plin, photo by mangiarebuono
Agnolotti al plin
Among the territories of Asti and Alessandria, a culinary tradition has been developed that cannot fail to be mentioned: we refer to agnolotti al plin, also known as agnolotti piemontesi. It is a recipe that dates back to a very long time ago: in fact, it was 1182 when the first historical documentation of the invention of this delicious stuffed pasta was published. The shape of the agnolotti is typically rectangular, in the past it was larger in size while now they are smaller. The pasta is made with eggs while the filling is made with different types of roast meat.
Fritto misto alla piemontese
In the fritto misto di terra alla piemontese, with 18 courses of sweet and savoury dishes, you can’t miss the brains, liver and sweetbreads accompanied with vegetables.
