Slow Food's Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, another chapter

If you have never heard of the "Slow Food" movement, then you must not be from around these parts. Then again, you probably aren't alone. They say that over 200,000 people attended this year's edition of "Slow Food's" "Salone del Gusto 2010". It was a big woop de do, really. A little background for you if you are unfamiliar, otherwise you can just skip down to the photos.  The "Slow Food" movement was born in Piedmont Italy in the small town of Bra, as a protest against the rise of fast food culture seeping into Italy. Specifically the installation of a McDonalds near the Spanish Steps in Rome was the outrage that pushed the original group to action. Now, some 25 years later, the "Slow Food" movement has gone global and metastasized into many different avenues of food networks and communities. It continues to evolve into so many facets, with recognition and development for high quality food, their producers and consumers. The emphasis being on small biodiverse farms and related producers to be able to support themselves and their families with ancient traditions and modern innovations while not harming the environment or the consumers. Building relationships and opportunities to share ideas and brainstorm how we can move forward together in a sustainable model of  decent food for all. Lofty goals indeed and difficult to attain, and yet we must try. They have started a conversation about food and the politics of food, that is gaining momentum and needs to flourish and take place on many levels. So we start at the grass roots level and every 2 years the "Salone del Gusto", provides a market place open to the public with a reasonable entrance fee, €20, where buyers and sellers can meet and sample all the wondrous products on offer. 

So much to taste so little time

There are presentations of various food and drink in smaller settings as well as "pull out the stops" dinners, showcasing high quality and often unusual or rare ingredients turned out by celebrity chefs.  There are opportunities to participate in the smaller "Taste Workshops" that showcase a variety of diverse subjects like, "Cheese and Mostarda from the Po Valley" or "the Vermouths of Catalonia", to name just a couple.

Pomodorini from Calabria

There is also Terra Madre, which grew out of a need to give small producers, world wide,  a voice and visibility in which to develop sustainable food networks and communities. This loosely knit consortium comes together, here in Torino, to support, discuss, and debate the politics and ecology of food. A place to exam the many facets and layers of food, a sharing of ideas and ways to impact positively in our global community. Food is definitely one of my passions and I feel passionate about the way it is produced and concerned that everyone should have access to and be able to afford wholesome food. Fabrizio and I share this passion. It is a human rights issue for me. Naturally, we appreciate and support the goals of this organization as it continues to evolve and work in our own way to raise awareness while supporting local growers and traditional foods an culture.

Fabrizio and I feel strongly about preserving the culture and traditions of our mountain region. We created our T.E.M. association (Touristic Ecosostenibile Montano/ Sustainable Mountain Tourism) several years ago to help support the local economy while promoting our greater valley through culinary tourism showcasing local food and producers. We also are involved with clearing and marking of our local mountain paths and stocking the mountain streams with trout, and a wide variety of other projects all aimed at preserving and reviving the mountain traditions and bringing tourism into our area that will have a positive impact.
Fabrizio and I have worked closely the past few years with our friends the Bernard family traveling abroad to help with the English speakers. We also have been involved with the Regione Piemonte and the Provincia di Torino with the "Paniere" (basket of typical products) producers and to bring to fruition of our "Strada Reale dei Vini Torinese" in hopes of broadening our Piemontese promotion.

These Scandinavian Terre Madre delegates'
(who stopped by Bernards a few times)
faces summed up the spirit of the "Salone del Gusto" for me!

When I wasn't working at the Bernard booth I got a round to snap a few photos and run into some of the  other Slow Food people we have met at some of the other festivals. I must also thank artisan chocolatier Chef Gaetan Tessier, one of the owners of "ChocoMotive" from Montebello, Quebec, who so graciously remembered our conversation of 2 years ago and how I missed having cranberries. He brought me a huge bag of dried ones. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see him, so he gave them to Fabrizio for me. What a sweetheart and what a score! I can hardly wait to put them into all kinds of goodies. He also gave us a sample of their chocolates and they are worth tracking down. Gorgeous and delicious!

 I can't show you the ChocMotive chocolates, because we already devoured them. Urp! Here's another chocolatiers wares from the show. 

Whimsical and I'm sure tasty

 I can't show you the ChocMotive chocolates, because we already devoured them. Urp! Here's another chocolatiers wares from the show.

This  delicious 5 kg Gilber Pannetone bakes for 3 hours in the oven
and perfect for New Years festivities
I loved the Pear and Fig one! 

The street food was great.
Love, love, love, fresh Ligurian farinata!

Always entertaining.

Colorful

Musical 

and always temptingly delicious!

Don't miss the 2012 edition of the Salone del Gusto!

It's worth the saving up and waiting!

We'll see you there.

Cumiana Celebrates, "Olio é Olive"

Piedmont Italy is known for it's fine wines and oh so delicious cuisine and if most people are familiar with this region that is what first comes to mind when contemplating what this region is famous for. What you don't usually think of is olive oil. Well, at least I don't, knowing that we are on the upper reaches of the olive growing zone. It came as a pleasant surprise a couple of years back to discover that olive production is starting to come back to this area. We were visiting the Castello di Razzano winery, over in neighboring Monferrato  not so long ago and were pleasantly surprised to find that they had just put in about 150 olive trees to replace some of their vineyard that they deemed better suited to olives. I was fascinated to learn that Piedmont use to produce a fair amount of olive oil, but the weather changed and people changed over to grapes from olives as they felt the weather was more conducive to wine production. Now we find as temperatures have increased the olive trees are going back in. 

What a pleasant surprise to find that the lovely little town of Cumiana our neighbor just outside of our valley and hugging the base of the mountains, began a festival a couple of years ago celebrating the local olive oil revival. This is one revival I can get more than a little excited about attending.

Cumiana

Even on a chilly autumn Sunday, there was plenty to see, taste and buy and we weren't alone in our exploration of the festa. In fact I got so carried away with all of the interesting things to check out aside from the wonderful variety of olive oils, that I forgot to even photograph any of the oil tasting tables. Silly me. 

But we did end up with a great selection of olive oils representing several areas of Italy and with quite . All of the oils we selected were from small producers, organic, cold and some stone pressed. Our selections reflect the varied personalities and flavor profiles of Piedmont, Liguria and Apuglia. We're looking forward to enjoying them over the winter.

Local Pinerolo producer Mimosa, were busy pressing oil all day long.

We enjoyed seeing our friends from Pinasca represented with their wonderful bakery goods. 

 Stefano was doing a brisk business, while papa Angelo was home making all the products to keep the stall well stocked.  I worked for Angelo a few years back when we first arrived and we were getting the B&B on it's feet. I learned a lot about local specialties and of the differences of baking in Europe. It was an enlightening experience and one I wished to have had many years ago when I was starting out as a baker. Little baker's tips and tricks for big scale production. Happily, I love my small scale baking these days. Simply satisfying when I can make it to my tastes and interest.

Liguria was well represented with their light and flavorful olive oils. This man was making fresh pesto to  sample and bring home for later consumption.

 Lots of varieties of cheeses to choose from also.

 Naturally, there was plenty of wine to sample, like from our friends in Frossasco, Dora Vini, who just recently won an award for their wine. It wouldn't be a festa without some vino and delicious vino at that!

 And always a welcome touch to any festival is a bit of music, provided by this young man on his Ghironda or more commonly known to Americans as the hurdy gurdy.

This festival serves as a wonderful warm up for this years Salone del Gusto that begins this week October 21-25. You can read about some of the previous festivals here  and here.

Here's a teaser of Ghironda music in the Occitania style.

Autumn in Pinerolo is Festival Time

I must say that I love all of the seasons here in Italy, but autumn is dear to my heart just because it has so many different festivities it'll make your head spin.  You could say that the celebrations go into overdrive with a sagra or festa for just about anything and absolutely everything. Bread, chestnuts, polenta, wine harvest, donkey races, porcino mushroom extravaganza, music, artists, food, and drink, and, food and, did I say food? Well, I believe you get the picture.  Then the leaves start  to turn and work their golden magic, so, why not get out and sample just as many as you can?
Our big town of Pinerolo, (population around 35,000 with the surrounding frazione/hamlets) which lies at the mouth of our valley has more than their fair share lined up in rapid succession. Each year it seems they just get better with each new edition of the festivities. Over the past month we have been able to enjoy 3 of Pinerolo's offerings. The "Mostra del'Artigianato" is a weekend of various artists displaying their work, with an emphasis on the woodcrafters.

Many of the artisans ply their trade with the more practical elements of woodcraft, adding elaborate decorative elements to the Italian doors that are so fascinating and found everywhere throughout Italy. Often even the most humble looking dwelling will have a distinctive door that just sets it apart and draws one in to admire the craftsmanship. This year the woodcrafters were lined up around the perimeter of the church in the center of the old part of town and busily working on their different chosen specialities.

Whimsical or serious, hand made wood carvings are a thing of wonder to me. I love the ability of someone who is able to bring a piece of wood to life. What a gift and opportunity to see that  transformation occur before your eyes.

Sharing the same weekend as the artisans festival  is a town favorite, "I Concorsi Ippici"or the Equestrian Event. This weekend is an international horse jumping competition with 34 countries represented this year.

Pinerolo was the home of the original Calvary before moving to Bologna about 10 years ago, and so has a long love of horses and tradition of equestrian training and competition. We have a wonderful Calvary museum in town that is free to the public. There is another weekend of national competition the following week, making for a lot of gorgeous horses and competitive jumping to enjoy.

Then our other favorite annual autumn festival is quite a unique and unusual event, and that would be the "La Maschera di Ferro", or the Man in the Iron Mask festival.

 This annual recreation of the arrival of the mysterious "Man in the Iron Mask" starts on the first Saturday night of October with the famous musketeers bringing the masked man to town where he was imprisoned for 11 years before being moved on to another prison up the road in Exilles. This festive period celebration brings out all manner of people in period costumes and street performers carrying on what might have been a typical festival back in the day of his imprisonment, which was 1669.  You can find out some of the history in this Wikipedia entry here. There is a great YouTube video but out by the local association for the festival here.

 It is by far one of my favorite festivals. I love the costumes and activities that bring this period to life. The town really comes into its own at night with the campfires, torches, music, jugglers, flag throwers, and the marching corps with lords and ladies all parading around town in their finery, while the peasants roast chestnuts, cook up some stew, slice off juicy pieces of pork from a slow roasting pig on a spit and dance a jig or two.

The next day the festivities continue while everyone enjoys some of the games on offer and a chance to get a good look at the prisoner and try to guess his identity. They always have an Italian celebrity every year and unlike the real mysterious prisoner, the identity is revealed at the close of the festival Sunday afternoon and a collective gasp of surprise usually arises from the crowd.

It is a great time all weekend long, so you might want to consider making plans to come and visit us during this festival to feel like you've stepped back in time and privy to a mystery still unsolved to this day.
Last year during the festival we had the pleasure of hosting travel and educational film makers, Sid and Mary Lee Nolan, as our guests during this festival as they wanted to film the festival, to add some flavor to short film they are making about Italian wine regions. What a wonderful time we had showing them not only the festival but also our local treasures and introducing them to a few of our wine producers as they filmed away.

We enjoyed their many stories about their varied travels as they have been filming exotic location for over 35 years. Mary is a professor of geography and thought that filming many of the locations that she taught about would be not only interesting but a lot of fun as well as a means to travel to just about any location in the world you might or might not be interested in visiting. As one of our other guests remarked, "Every time they open their mouth, we're in a new country." They have produced an extensive selection of short, travel and geographic films and when they are not globe trotting or still busy teaching, they enjoy presenting their films to a wide range of audiences. They are always keen to find a new project that will launch them on to their next adventure. I can't say I don't blame them. You can find out more about them and sample some of the work on their site Academic Media Network / Globe Scope Travel Productions. I don't think they have finished their Italian wine regions project just yet, but when they do I will certainly put a post and update about it here when they do.

You can read about previous Maschera di Ferro celebrations here.  You can follow us around last year when we brought them around to a few of our favorite places and introduced them to some of our wine makers in my post, Vendemmia in Val Chisone.

Savory Cherry Tomato Tart or Torta Salata con Pomodorini Ciliegini

The hurried I go, the behinder I get. Don't you just feel that way sometimes?
Just when you think things are easing off, there are still plenty of fruits to put up, herbs to dry and get the garden ready for the winter since it looks to have been somewhat abandoned here at the end of summer at the height of the go, grow, go season. Well, the good news is that that produce overload will be oh so appreciated in the not so distant future. 
I have loads I want to write about and just not enough presence of mind to get it on the blog, and blah, blah, blah....
Ok, having said that, before tomato season is over and all of those luscious little red jewels are but a lingering  taunting memory, I suggest you make this oh- so- tasty tart. Torta salate is a general term for any savory pastry crust filled with any sort of vegetable, cheese, or combination that is in season and suits you. Baked in a large shape or individual servings it lends itself to many combinations and interpretations.  The one I'll leave you with today is simply filled with ricotta and cherry tomatoes and baked to a brown perfection that will only be too easy to eat at one sitting, but it holds well in the fridge and reheats easily enough   the next day or so with out being soggy and that is always a plus. I used a super simple olive oil crust, but you can use whatever pastry crust you like to make or buy for that matter. I especially like the grape sized  tomatoes, that are so sweet, but any great tasting tomato will do, but the smaller cherry tomatoes look nice all lined up. I would avoid juicy large tomatoes as they will give off too much liquid and make for a soggy tart. Then again, it might not make it past the first sitting when it's warm from the oven and fragrant with herbs and cheesy tomatoes taunting you on. 

Savory Cherry Tomato Tart

Torta Salata con Pomodorini Ciliegini

Serves 4 to 6     (1 large tart or 6 individual tarts)                                                              

·       500 g (1 1/4 pounds) cherry tomatoes

·       60-90g (1/2 c) Parmesan cheese, grated, adjust to your taste

·       250 g  (8 oz) ricotta

·       1 egg, beaten

·       8g (3 T ) fresh thyme or basil, chopped if using dried cut back  as it will be stronger
         I use the thyme when fresh basil isn't available or I use it in the crust and the fresh basil in the tart.

·       Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, freshly grated nutmeg about 1/8 tsp

·        1-22-26 (10") pastry crust, I used an olive oil pastry ** recipe below**

·       1 egg  whisked together with 10g (1 T) milk , cream or water depending on how dark you want your crust to color. Water being the lightest

Method

  -Make your crust first, or if you are using a pre-made one then, go straight to the filling.


  -Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 33 cm (13-inch) circle, about 1 cm (1/4-inch) thick.

  -Transfer to a 22-26cm (10-inch) pan with sides or pie plate that has been lightly oiled.  
  -Refrigerate until cold, if you have time, about 20 minutes.
 -Preheat oven to 190*C (375 *F).
 -Mix your ricotta with a fork breaking up into a smoothish consistency. 
 -Add your parmesan and mix.
 -Add the beaten egg.
 -I like to add the fresh torn basil leaves to the ricotta mixture, if they are fresh. I don't like or use dried basil so I wouldn't suggest adding them to the ricotta unless you are a fan. I think it overwhelms the delicate ricotta flavor. by all means add other varieties of stringer flavored cheese for a bit more of a punch. Goat cheese is a nice addition
 -Season with salt, pepper and fresh grated nutmeg. You want to taste the nutmeg faintly in the background so that it comes through when baked.
 -Another nice note if you want a bit more bite from your ricotta without adding more cheese, is to add a tablespoon of brown mustard to the mix for a nice subtle bite.
 -Slice your tomatoes in half into a small bowl. Drizzle a small amount of oil over them. Add a tablespoon of thyme, fresh or a bit less dry, if you like and lightly toss to coat and mix.
 -Spread the ricotta filling over the bottom of the  crust.
 -Cover the top of your tart with your  tomatoes, cut side up.
 -Sprinkle a small amount of coarse or regular salt and fresh cracked pepper over the top of the tomatoes.  Or you could sprinkle more parmesan on top instead of the salt.
 -Fold in the overflow of crust, slightly overlapping when needed. 

 -Whisk egg with your liquid in a small bowl. Brush crust with egg wash. 
 -Bake pie on a baking sheet until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes.

**Olive Oil Pastry Crust**

Serves 6-8

1 large  crust  22-24 cm (10”)

200g  plain flour  (1 ½c I use the scoop and smooth method) or all plain flour  if desired. 

70g (1/2c) Farro/Spelt  gives a nutty flavor without being too heavy

1            dash salt

100g     olive oil, light flavored (1/2 c)

75 g       very cold  water (5 T )

10-20g fresh herbs, (1-2 T)  chopped  If using dry,  use 10g (1 T), Thyme is one of my favorites

or

20 g or so (2 T) sesame seeds

·       Measure the flour  in a medium-sized bowl. Add the dash of salt and stir  with a fork.

·       Pour the oil in and stir and "cut" it with a fork until you have clumps varying between pea and large bean size.

·       Distribute the cold water over the mixture.  Stir with the fork just until it  comes together, using your hands to help it along if necessary.

·       Wrap dough and chill for half an hour to one hour.

·       Wipe your countertop with a damp cloth and spread a piece of  parchment paper, wax paper or cling film, on it. The paper should not slide -- if it does, dampen the counter a little more. I find cling film the easiest to use.

·       Place your dough on the paper or cling film and cover it with another piece of wax paper.

·       Roll the dough with a rolling pin from the center out in all directions, keeping it as circular as possible.

·       Periodically do the following:.

·       Peel off the top piece of paper/film, then lay it gently back on top of the crust, using the bottom piece to lift it, turn the crust over, peel off that piece of paper, lay it back down again and continue rolling.

·       Continue the peel-replace-flip-peel-replace technique until your crust is about two inches bigger than your pie pan.

·       Peel off one sheet and place crust into a lightly oiled pan and peel off the cling film. If it should stick because it has become too soft. Place the pan and crust in the refrigerator and chill a few minutes until it is easy to remove the paper or film

·       Fill with your favorite filling  Curve the edges inward to make a nice rustic looking tart.

·       Brush the top crust with milk or egg wash 

·       Bake  normally at a 190*C or 350*F  till golden brown.

Serve warm or room temperature. 

I reheat the second day by putting it on a cast iron skillet for non stick pan, turn on the heat and cover with a lid. It usually warms through nicely without burning or turning on the oven.

Occitan Dancing at Usseaux Festa

Playing the Ghironda and fishamonica

This time of the year we are starting to have the local sagre and feste for everything under the sun that is harvested or gathered in the woods. We have the Porcino, the polenta, chestnut, truffle, potato, honey, apples, and, and, well, you get the idea. However it is just starting to get into gear and I still have one fun summer festival that I didn't quite get posted before we officially went to autumn harvest festivals, so I'm putting it in here to tantalize.

All join in

All of you that enjoy folk music and dancing do put it in your diary to make plans to join us next August for a bit of dancing in the high alps of Val Chisone.

Town ovens and wash basins looking up towards Ossiera Park

This particular village festival of Usseaux, that we found ourselves kicking our heels up and joining in on a bit of two stepping and twirling around the village piazza, is in upper Chisone valley, just up the road from us.  I've written about Usseaux on more than one occassion as it is one of my all time favorite villages. You can read those posts here and here. Chisone valley has a rich and varied history being known as one of the Valdesian or Waldensen valleys, where the first Protestants, long before the reformation,  ended up in to avoid persecution back in the 11th century. These valleys were then part of France and the Savoy kingdom, and later became known as part of Italy's alps. They were, and still are, the western most edge of what was known as Occitania. Most people, if they are familiar with Occitania, think of it as a language particular to France, but it seems that it is a dialect of Catalonia. There are so many dialects in this area, that it is hard to keep up, especially as I struggle along in my grasp of Italian. Fabrizio, who also speaks French, understands Occitan, but doesn't speak it, although there are people here who do. Our friend Enrico Bernard, of "Bernard Elixirs" , who lives across the Chisone river from us and whose family are Valdesian, speaks a Patois dialect in their family and also speaks Occitan. See what I mean about a lot of dialects going on? Sheesh!  Mountain people seems to have a strong affinity with the essence of Occitan  and it's history. It seems to represent a sort of special designation of pride, independence and fierce individualism that strikes a cord with many people and very much so with the mountain dwellers.  

Occitan flag with Usseaux' cow bell awards collection displayed in the town library.

We took a friend along with us that was keen to check out the festivities. We did our favorite Usseaux tour, that commences with a stroll around the utterly charming hamlet. Tiny though Usseaux may be, a meander  though the village over  the well maintained gray stone streets, will be rewarding indeed whilst taking in  the various hand painted murals and vertical meridians that decorate the mostly all restored buildings. The large slate roofs are extremely impressive espcially when you consider the cost of restoring them, let alone the fact that if you are restoring an exisiting roof and trying to match or patch, the stones must be hand cut to fit in place. We observed on older artisan plying his craft one day as he worked to replace part of the roof on the local church. Hard work indeed. The mural painting is an old tradition that has only more recently been revived though out our valleys. You get a sense of Usseaux's former prominence in the valley before most people drifted away due to the myriad of reasons small towns shrink and sometimes disappear. This years celebration honored the local mayor that has made it her legacy to see Usseaux bulidings restored and not left to completely decay. The windows are filled with overflowing flower boxes, that compliments the prolific murals scattered through out the village walls.

We also made sure to have a snack on the sunny patio of the traditional trattoria "La Placette" that has been serving up polenta with wild game stews in addition to an excelent selection of the hearty local cheeses and tempting creamy desserts, just to name a few of their offerings, for the past 30 years. Mountain air brings on a hunger and thirst that will be readily satisfied by this family's friendly care.

And of course we had to have a nosey into the local cheese shop that if you aren't persistent, you might just miss if you don't ring their doorbell. This lovely old cantina, which was a barn in previous lifetimes, stores and doubles as a selling point for the family's hand crafted cheeses, in which Toma and Plaisintif are the main stars.

Hmm,  choices, choices.

Then on to the music and dancing. The music was provided by two musicians who with 4 other musicians make up the group, Airondassa, but for this day they brought their fisharmonica, ghironda and oboe and kept us breathless for a few hours. I love this kind of dancing because all can join in even if you don't know all the steps and there is always some willing to help you twirl around the dance floor. It was such fun. I captured a small bit of their traditional Occitan music and will leave you with a small taste of the fun. But don't just take my word for it. Come and join in the fun sometime. We'll help you find your way.