Region of Novara, Lakes District, Ossola Valleys: excellent products

Rice Starting from the Bassa Novarese and going North in this ideal tour of typical products, we can’t but begin with rice. The landscape of the Bassa region was shaped throughout half a millennium by the agricultural economy of rice cultivations, with its irrigation channels and hydraulic engineering, and, before the advent of technology, by the hard work of the “mondine”, the rice weeders. Here the fields become a sea of squares when they are flooded before the summer, the home of herons and egrets; they turn a brilliant green when the plants emerge from the water and then golden yellow when the wheat ears mature at the end of the summer. This cereal from the Orient seems to have been introduced to the Lomellina area in the second half of the fifteenth century by the Sforza family, thanks to the drainage works which had started in the Middle Ages, and the canals, such as the Mora canal wanted by Ludovico il Moro. Then the Cavour Canal from 1866 helped the agriculture of the Novara area take off, especially the rice cultivation. Which is why the most classic recipe in Novara is made of rice: the paniscia. Try it: it’s a delicious dish seasoned with finely minced lard, onion, and Duja salami, cooked in a broth together with beans, celery, leeks, cabbage and tomatoes. The rice is used for a great variety of recipes that range from soups to sweets. And of course the dishes with frogs. And let us not forget that, according to a popular saying, “rice is born in water and dies in wine”. The rice from the Novara area has always aimed at quality rather than quantity: this is the secret, as we are in one of its main production areas. Among the various types of rice from Novara we can mention: Arborio, a Superfino rice type that, among all others, is the largest and most pearled. It works well in risottos where the rice requires a longer toasting compared to other recipes, in order to avoid an excessive stickiness at the end of the cooking process. It can also be used to prepare sweet cakes. Baldo is a type of Superfino rice, slightly pearled and larger, which is preferred for the preparation of risottos for its superior ability to absorb the flavours of the condiments. The cooking must be interrupted when the rice is still “al dente”. It is very suited to the preparation of sweets and salads. Balilla is an Originario type, a small grain, very well known and versatile as it takes on aromas and flavors well. It is frequently used in soups, casseroles, fritters, croquettes, arancini and supplì rice balls. Carnaroli is considered by many a gourmet Superfino rice the prince of the kitchen when preparing risottos or salads. Its reputation comes from its ability to maintain the consistency of the grain after cooking even after some time, thanks to the high content of amylose, close to 24% of the total starch content. Roma is a Superfino long and wide pearled grain, which is suitable especially for risottos; it

requires a longer toasting time. It increases its initial volume by a great deal when cooked with condiments and water. Sant’Andrea is a Fino rice with a semi-compact structure that allows it to take on aromas and flavours as it cooks, both in broth or in the risottos. It takes on a slightly sweet flavour when cooked in water. It’s typical of the Biella and Vercelli Baraggia. Vialone nano is a Semifino small grain rice. It holds up excellently to cooking and has a low level of stickiness, due to the high percentage of amylose. It is ideal for risottos and for salads. It is unparalleled in the preparation of the “Risotto alla pilota” from the Verona-Mantua area. In the Novara area some aromatic rice types, such as the Nero Venere, the Nero Artemide, the Rosso Ermes and the Bianco Apollo are also grown. Moreover, in the latest years the cultivation of the Razza77 has been introduced, a rice that is perfect for risottos which had not been cultivated since the Seventies but that has come back to the forefront thanks to the stubbornness of some rice growers of the Bassa who wanted to bring back a historical variety from our tradition. The lands around Novara, in the recent years, have also excelled in the production of saffron, which some small producers grow with great dedication and success.

Cheese The production of Gorgonzola is also typical of the Novara area, where the consortium is based. It is a very ancient cheese: some say it was originally produced in Gorgonzola, a town on the outskirts of Milan in the year of our Lord 1007. According to others, it would originate from Pasturo in Valsassina. The town of Gorgonzola, in any case, remained the most famous location associated with it, if not in terms of production and trade, for many centuries. The first real name of gorgonzola was, in fact, “stracchino from Gorgonzola”. This cheese, recognized by the European Union and registered in the list of DOP products on the 12/06/96 with Reg. Ce n°1107, in order to benefit from this designation, must be subject to the compliance regulations set by the disciplinary production body. Gorgonzola is a pale white raw cheese, whose green streaks are due to the process of marbling, in other words the formation of mould. It is therefore creamy and soft with a specific and characteristic flavour, the sweet version slightly piquant, while the spicy version has a stronger and more intense flavour, and is more marbled, harder and crumbly. Both are produced with pasteurised milk from the stables in the area of origin, with the addition of milk enzymes and selected moulds that confer the characteristic marbling. At a production level, the Gorgonzola wheel is branded on both flat sides, but the consumer, when buying it, will be guaranteed of its authenticity by the brand printed on the aluminium foil paper in which the cheese is wrapped, a wrapping only permitted to producers authorized by the Consortium. The cheesemaking culture includes other splendid

examples of tradition and taste. Dairy goods were first produced in the Ossola mountain region before the year 1000, according to a document from that period describing the cheese production work of a mountaineer and his family. The morphology of this territory has always prepared the land and pastures to produce large quantities of good grazing grass. Ossolano DOP cheese is a product of the Ossola flatlands and the Valleys Antrona, Anzasca, Divedro, Antigorio, Formazza and Vigezzo. This thick elastic cheese has small irregular holes, and its colour varies from pale to intense yellow depending on the stage of ripeness. Its delicate, harmonious flavour is linked to the seasonal plants that the cows eat, and it becomes more intense and fragrant as it ages. Ossola also offers Bettelmatt PAT, an excellent cheese made in limited quantities because it is produced during the summer in only seven alpine locations high in the Antigorio and Formazza Valleys. These are the only places where a very rare type of grass grows, called “mottolina”, which gives the milk its particular aroma. This cheese is soft, compact and golden or pale yellow in colour, with different sized holes. Bettelmatt is truly unique, considered to be one of the most extraordinary cheeses from the Alps.

Cured meats It is a well known fact that you can make an incredible number of specialties from pork; the area of Novara’s interpretation is absolutely typical: the salam d’la duja. It is a soft salami, preserved in fat in an earthenware container, known precisely as “duja”. Let’s also not forget the fidighina, mainly made of liver, once the lunch of workers during the harvests in the hill area. Marzapani or black puddings, made with the blood of the pig together with pieces of lard, bread, spices, garlic and wine, are also quite popular. The “salumi” from the Ossola Valleys are made with meats rich in the flavours and fragrances of the land where they are prepared. One of the most famous products is the raw ham of the Vigezzo Valley, with its elegantly smoked flavour. In Santa Maria Maggiore, this meat has obtained a local quality mark called “Denominazione Comunale di Origine” (De.C.O.), which safeguards the recipe and enhances the value of the traditional preparation process. Other interesting Ossola’s cured meats are: the goat ham called violino di capra with its traditional fragrance and hints of wild game, oak and juniper; the liver sausage made either into a straight shape or a twisted doughnut shape; the delicately spiced Brisaula Val d’Ossola, a beef cold cut made from silver side and eye of round; the lard aromatized with alpine herbs. The fragrance of these cold cuts conveys hints of meat with a scent of wood or forest undergrowth and nuts that accompany the sensations of softness, sweetness, succulence and a buttery consistency.

Typical meat dishes and... yellow onion The rustida, a delicious dish which is excellent with polenta, and the cassoeula, which differs from the milanese version because of its use of duck meat together with the pork ribs, are some tempting pork based recipes. The tapulone is a famous typical dish from Borgomanero and surroundings. The original recipe includes donkey meat but it can also be made with horse meat or thinly sliced beef, browned and cooked in wine from the Colline Novaresi and a broth that goes by many different names depending on the town. Let’s not forget to use, for all of our dishes, the yellow onion from Cureggio and Fontaneto, a Slow Food Presidium, known for its sweetness and which lasts for months, and leaves those eating it the memory of experiencing flavors from Novara, to be repeated as soon as possible.

Lake fish Many types of fish swim in Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta, but the perch is probably one of the most important. Its fillets can be served with a typical risotto, marinated “in carpione”, fried or sautéed with butter and sage. River, marble and rainbow trout along with char, common roach and gardon are often the basic ingredients in the local cuisine. The lake is also home to alborella, a variety of tiny fish traditionally served fried for aperitifs or as an appetizer, and native species of white fish (coregone or lavarello), which is normally cooked whole or in fillets. The extensive versatility of lake fish makes them excellent ingredients in traditional recipes or in more creative dishes, in which the chef’s imagination is the real “secret ingredient”.

Desserts and… citrus fruits Novara’s ancient Biscottini, though produced industrially today, continue to be churned out by the artisan shops in Novara, with natural and high quality ingredients (eggs, flour, sugar) and twice baked in the oven. They are among the lightest sweets on the market: they only weight slightly over 2 grams each. The production of sweets in Novara was enriched in time by specialities whose popularity goes beyond the patron celebrations from which they originated: from San Gaudenzio’s Bread, dedicated to the patron saint of Novara (covered in chopped hazelnuts, almonds and pine nuts), to the Gramolini from Galliate (enriched with sugar and raisins), to the so-called Ossa da Mordere, the Brutti ma Buoni from Borgomanero, (made of almonds, hazelnuts, sugar, egg whites, lemon and vanilla), and the Melghino (produced with white and corn flour, popularly called “meliga”). These are only some of the specialties that will attract your attention in the local pasty shops, and to these we can add the Baci from Fara, the Beatine from Ghemme, named in honour

of the Blessed Panacea, whose silhouette they reproduce, and the biscotti di riso, made of rice, among which the most peculiar are the Venere rice ones.The lakes offer a range of delicious sweets alternated by tasty biscuits with gianduja cream: Margheritine from Stresa, Imperialine and Reginette from Omegna, Fugascina from Mergozzo, Intresine from Intra and Amaretti from Pallanza, small sweets produced by local businesses that are distinguished by the trademark “Piemonte Eccellenza Artigiana”. On Lake Orta, the Bread of St. Jules is made from rye flour, raisins and nuts. It is prepared fresh for the Saint feast on 31st January. The classic Ossola’s black bread originated in Coimo in the Vigezzo Valley, but it is now produced throughout the whole mountain region. Its sweet version is stuffed with walnuts, figs and raisins, and is known as Crescenzin. Torta del pane e latte is a typical mountain cake made with milk, stale bread, cocoa and raisins. It has rosemary or bay leaves on the surface and is baked in a terracotta pot. Citrus fruit cultivations are common in the northern end of Lake Maggiore thanks to its microclimate. Lemons, oranges, citron, and grapefruit are used to make cakes, teas, liqueurs and jams. Among these is the canarone, an ancient hybrid lemon-citron fruit, indigenous to Cannero Riviera, which can be enjoyed fresh or as marmalade. Its candied peel has a slightly pungent aromatic flavour.

Honey Up and down the Novara hills and around the lakes, honey is produced in different varieties such as acacia, chestnut, rhododendron, linden, wildflower and honeydew. Mountain wildflower honey instead is obtained by only high-altitude blooms amongst the Ossola Valleys. Precious honey from the Alps – rhododendron and wildflower varieties - is recognized as Slow Food Presidium: a good season (every 4 or 5 years) offers a few hundred quintals of a unique product… which always turns different! Over a hundred are the producers of honey of the highest quality only in the province of Novara. Moreover, the Consortium for the Protection and Guaranteed Quality of Honey in the province of Verbano Cusio Ossola helps consumers in their choice thanks to a quality label issued after careful checks.

Wine The Colline Novaresi are home to six famous grape varieties that go back centuries, five red and one white. The faithful care for these grapes has led to the assertion, in the hills between Sesia and Ticino, of typical flavours known to the finest of palates. The most prestigious variety is without a doubt the Nebbiolo, whose cultivation is not limited to the Colline Novaresi, as it is present in all of Piedmont. From it you can obtain bodied, structured wines, suitable for ageing. Another ancient variety is the Vespolina, often considered an “improver” vine, as it confers a refined and floral bouquet to the product. And then the Croatina, the Uva Rara also known by its synonym Bonarda Novarese and the Barbera, from which fresh wines, ready to drink, but also more structured wines, suitable for a medium aging, can be made. The only white grape variety in these hills is the Erbaluce, which lends itself to the production of various types of wines, from still wines, with a refined and light bouquet and a fresh and

acidulous flavour, to the major Passitos, made from the drying of the chosen grapes. All the traditional vines are vinified in purity or with blends regulated by well defined percentages. They make up the backbone of the wines that enjoy the nomenclature of “Quality Wine”, that express the passion of the past and the innovation of the future, wines that are suitable to a demanding public. Ghemme DOCG is a historical Piedmontese wine, whose origin dates back to the IV-V millennium B.C., and is produced in the morainic hills of Ghemme and Romagnano Sesia from the Nebbiolo grapes, with the addition of Vespolina and Uva Rara. It is said that in roman times the production of this wine was such that the city of Agamium, now called Ghemme, had as a symbol a bunch of grapes and a bundle of ears of wheat. Celebrated by the Italian writer Antonio Fogazzaro in Piccolo Mondo Antico (The Patriot) and by the Count Camillo Benso of Cavour, who tasted it on his return from the meeting with Napoleon III in Plombières, this noble wine was recognized as DOCG in 1997. Boca DOC is a very ancient wine: already in the 1300s the chronicler from Novara Pietro Azario said it was “renowned since antiquity”, while numerous accounts mention the supplies of Boca of the Spanish forces which moved from Piedmont to occupy Lombardy. The particular nature of the land, in the hillside vineyards in Boca, Maggiora, Cavallirio, Grignasco and Prato Sesia, favours not only the ideal environmental conditions for the Nebbiolo vine, but it also allows the development of the other characteristic vines, the Bonarda Novarese and the Vespolina, which together contribute to the production of the Boca, whose DOC status was recognized in 1969. Fara DOC was appreciated by the abbots, bishops and lords who, in the middle ages, not only devoted themselves to wine-growing for pleasure, but also for profit, ensuring an income through the sale of excellent bottles. Despite the Nebbiolo base is lower in percentage compared to the Vespolina and the Uva Rara, the Fara, produced in the towns of Fara Novarese and Briona, is very appreciated by connoisseurs as a product that needs to be tasted with immediacy and attention. It was recognized as DOC in 1969. Sizzano DOC, which was awarded the DOC status in 1969, was already loved by the Count of Cavour who compared the bouquet to that of the famous Burgundy and paired it with the “finanziera”, a typical Piedmontese dish. It is only produced in the town of Sizzano, from the Nebbiolo, Vespolina and Uva Rara grapes. The range of Colline Novaresi DOC, recognized in 1994, includes various types of wine, from the Nebbiolo to the Vespolina, the Croatina and the Bianco. The production area is nestled between the hills between the rivers Sesia and Ticino, where the cultivation of vines has been present since roman times. As a corollary to the presentation of the varieties of grapes and wines of the Colline Novaresi, it is important to point out the awarding of the supra-municipality brand De.C.O. to the Uva Fragola Isabella precoce from Suno and Mezzomerico, given by the town administrations as a product closely tied to the area and the communities. Another town that can boast a particularly well known product is Carpignano Sesia, where for centuries the uva americana, or American grapes, has been grown, often to this day with the ancient “ad alteno” system, meaning suspending the branches from trees. “Niche wines” from the Ossola region are made from grapes grown on terraces over the Toce River plain, and they bear the local quality mark Valli Ossolane DOC. The exposure of the vineyards, the type of cultivation that guarantees proper light and ventilation and the indigenous grape variety - an ecotype of Nebbiolo - make this territory the annual point of origin of unique, typical Ossola wine. These wines are identified as Red, Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo Superiore and White. Both reds and white have intense colours and a dry, harmonious flavour. The Red one has an intense vinous fragrance, but all the others are fruity and delicate. The reds can be served as table wines, to accompany an entire meal, or with cheese, first courses and meat dishes. The white goes well with light dishes of fish, vegetables and fresh cheese.