Local food of the Alps of Piedmont, Italy
After tromping the Alps of Piedmont, Italy, it’s always a pleasure to replenish at a typical mountain restaurant. One that serves hearty stews of local vegetables and Fassona alla piemontese the renowned local beef and wine of the region. It’s also an added bonus if the proprietor is willing to share amusing stories and sprinkle each course with laughter. Andre Tolasano, owner of La Taverna degli Orsi, is such a host. He calls his establishment in the Italian ski town of Limone “a typical mountain restaurant,” but it is anything but ordinary. Every item on the ever-changing menu is skillfully prepared in his kitchen from the best available local foods and then perfectly paired with the appropriate wine.
Let the courses begin! Aperitif: Spumante Brut Rose by Josetta Saffirio
We munched on homemade sausage and sipped Spumante Brut Rose by Josetta Saffirio, a light-colored bubbly. Prince told how he made the sausage with garlic brought from his hometown of Caraglio, an Italian village known for the pungent plant. The intense 13.5 % alcohol content of the wine, made from Nebbiolo d’Alba, the quintessential Piedmontese wine grape, said Prince, washed down the garlic taste.
Three appetizers as is typical in the Piedmont region
After the aperitif, we were presented with the first of three appetizers. “In the Piedmont region it is typical to have three small appetizers before the main course,” Jackie Parsons, owner/operator of Hedonistic Hiking told me later. The first was a not so small, a crispy walnut, celery and pear salad topped with a generous slab of moist cheese. “It’s made with goat cheese of this valley,” announced Prince, pouring more of the Rose’.
Deltetto Winery producing Piedmont wines since 1953
Prince then opened a Roero Arneis DOCG Daivej from the winery of one of his best friends. Deltetto winery has been producing wines in the prestigious Piedmont wine area since 1953. The white wine had a smooth mouth feel and its aromas of pear and fruit complimented the salad and the second appetizer, a pastry hand-stuffed with salad and topped with Basne iaido sauce.
‘Conditioning Wine Glasses’ signals special wine to come
“Much too much food and much too much wine, but who cares?” said one of the hedonists, Guy, who had come all the way from Australia for this adventure in eating. We were watching Prince at a side board prepare the wine glasses for the next course. After uncorking the bottle he conditioned the first crystal goblet with a bit of the wine, swirling the glass with a flourish of his elbow. He poured that bit from the first glass to the second and did the same swirling motion. He repeated the procedure for the next fourteen glasses signaling to us that this next wine was special indeed.
Barbaresco made from the Nebbiolo grape is one of Italy’s Top Wines
He then turned to us and announced, “My best friend is Barbaresco, the next wine. It is very tannic, but with a soft taste… It goes very well with the next course, local veal raised by my family.” Barbaresco, made from the Nebbiolo grape, is one of Italy’s top wines. The wine was a bit sweet on the tongue with a subtle licorice taste.
Roasted veal stew – meat from family farm
The main was a roasted veal stew cooked for eight hours and served with potatoes and a finger-sized squash. As Prince said earlier, the local and fresh meat came directly from his family’s farm. On a side note, in Italy, the term ‘veal’ means meat from calves up to a year old, differentiated by the Italian word for ‘veal milk’ that denotes the younger version, which we, in other parts of the world, would consider veal.
Muscato accompanies dessert course of mountain berries
A Muscato accompanied the dessert of berry cake finished with French cream sauce. And as if that weren’t enough, once we were all finished with our dessert course, we were offered grappa, the grape based Italian brandy digestive.
6 thoughts on “La Taverna degli Orsi in Piedmont: a Gourmet Feast”
Sounds like a delicious time!
Yes it was! Ready to go, Tracy?
This all sounds like an amazing journey through not only this man’s perfect planned meal but special mouth watering wines to match each taste on the palet. What an honor to enjoy this !!!!!
Yes, it was an honor to learn about his family’s traditions and taste the amazing Italian food! Thanks for your comments, Natalie!
What a ‘delicious’ trip. I doubt I’ll ever make such a trip, butI sure enjoyed reading about it.
Glad the story tempted your taste buds, Valorie!