Territorial Products

French cuisine has noble ancestry, while Italian cuisine descends primarily from the daily meals of the poor. But this characteristic, rather than a limitation, is perhaps a virtue, as the people have always nourished themselves with the few foods available to them, learning over time to cook them expertly: hence the excellence of our boiled meats, braised meats, stews, and "salmis". Cattle are, in fact, domestic animals that have been raised on our lands for a very long time, much more widely than goats and sheep; the hare is also a fairly common animal, and has been even more so in the past, especially given the practice of hunting, which was quite widespread among the local population, especially in the past. Pork, however, deserves a separate discussion: the main, and sometimes only, peasant resource, its meat had to feed the family for an entire year, and for a year it was raised with care. The types of meat obtained from the slaughter — salami, "gambôn," pancetta, coppa, and lard — are however tied to local customs. As a matter of fact, the ham most closely associated with Emilian culture is missing from the previous list. The tradition of preparing "salàm da còta," or cotechino, also comes from that region. But the real star is the raw salami, known as "di Varzi," whose composition, with very large pieces of meat, is typical and exclusive to our mountain area.

Almost all of our typical dishes have an ancient tradition: ravioli, for example, often considered Piedmontese or Emilian, are actually of Genoese origin; significantly enough in the Valverde district they are called "raviö," while in the rest of the Oltrepò area they are called "anlòtt" and in the Piacenza area "anvèin." Even the so-called "tortelli con la coda," lean ravioli wrapped in pasta like sweets, originate from Emilian culture. Also well known throughout Lombardy is the "ragò" or "cassöla," a humble dish cooked with cabbage and less valuable cuts of pork. Cheeses also play a significant role in our cuisine; however, while cheese production in the past, given the relative abundance of milk, must have been abundant, it did not lead to the creation of a typical cheese that has survived to this day, with the possible exception of ricotta. There is, however, one cheese found throughout the Oltrepò and Piacenza areas, and remembered above all as a specialty of Menconico: "Nìis" (meaning mature). Indeed, no cheese can be said to be more mature than this; not even Gongorzola or Mexican chili can compete with our product in terms of spicy flavor.

Finally, as regards the “pastas” obtained from wheat flour, we recall the well-known tagliatelle all’Emiliana, the sheets of pasta for agnolotti, the Pavese “schìta” (in Piacenza “burtlèina”), and the common bread kneaded here in a shape called “mica”. “Farsö” are the typical round fritters cooked during the Carnival celebrations. It's almost superfluous to mention the delicacy of mushrooms and truffles as aromatic complements to this cuisine. However, we must assume their use is not very ancient, as truffles, once the "food of kings," were a delicacy reserved for the rich and powerful. Fortunately, today they are also within our reach, at least during the years of abundant fruiting! Of particular note and decidedly superior quality are the  grown and harvested fruits: first and foremost, apples and pears, especially the "Rostaiola" and "Renetta" apples, which are in no way inferior in taste, flavor, aroma, and organoleptic characteristics to similar varieties from more renowned areas.