Prodotti Tipici in Provincia di Cuneo

Cuneo chestnut, rice and milk soup

Ingredients (to serve 6 people)

• 200 g fresh Cuneo chestnuts
• 150 g rice
• ½ litre milk
• 25 g butter
• salt at will

Preparation

Remove the outer skin of the chestnuts, put into boiling water for a few minutes to facilitate removal of the second layer of skin. Put into a pan, cover with two litres of water, salt and, with lid on, boil over a low heat for two and a half hours; add the rice and cook, stirring now and again, for 10 minutes; add the hot milk and butter and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes, always stirring until the soup has thick and creamy and the chestnuts are completely pulpy.

Pappardelle di Castagne Cuneo

Ingredients (to serve 6 people)

• 350 g Cuneo chestnut flour
• 250 g flour type 0
• 150 millilitres lukewarm water
• Parmesan cheese
• ricotta
• pecorino cheese
• extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Knead the chestnut flour and flour type O with lukewarm water until the pastry is stiff, then cover and leave it for 30 minutes; roll out a layer of lasagne and allow to dry. Later, split the pastry into large pieces measuring about 5- 7 cm, boil in salted water to an underdone consistency and remove from water with a slitted spoon. Arrange on a dish in layers in between which there are to be layers of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, then freshly grated ricotta and on top of this a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Pappardelle are broken pieces of lasagne, which are boiled and seasoned in layers.

Pork Roast with Cuneo Chestnuts

Ingredients (to serve 6/8 people)

• 800 g pork loin
• lard
• 3 sprigs wild fennel
• 5 whole cloves of garlic
• 2 laurel leaves
• 3 glasses of milk
• a sprinkle of black pepper
• small glass of brandy
• 150 g dried Chestnuts Cuneo

Preparation

Wrap thin slices of lard around the loin and tie with kitchen string; put in a terracotta casserole together with the wild fennel, garlic, laurel, milk, black pepper and brandy. Leave to marinade well for a few hours; put into a pie dish with the dried chestnuts (first left in lukewarm water and left to soften for one night) and bake at 180° for 90 minutes, gradually adding the marinade liquid. If the roast tends to dry, cover with foil beforehand (or add a little water and milk in a ratio of 2:1).

Castagnaccio

Ingredients (to serve 8 people)

• 400 g Cuneo Castagna flour
• ¼ milk
• 50 g sugar
• 20 g pine kernels
• rosemary
• oil
• salt

Preparation

Sift the chestnut flour into a bowl and, whisking, pour in the milk gradually and two glasses of cold water. You will obtain a fluid and creamy mixture. Stirring, add the sugar, a pinch of salt and three tablespoonfuls of oil. Brush with oil a round baking tin big enough to contain the chestnut mixture, no higher than two centimetres. Over the mixture, scatter the kernels and rosemary needles and season with a little oil poured in gradually. Cook in pre-heated oven at 180° for 40 minutes. Serve cold.

Candied chestnuts

Ingredients (variable doses)

• Cuneo chestnuts
• syrup (water and sugar)
• icing sugar
• one vanilla pod
• 50% vol brandy

Preparation

1st day: immerse the chestnuts in syrup at a density at of 15 degrees and remove as soon as boiling begins;

2nd day: concentrate syrup density at 18 degrees and repeat the operation;

3 rd day: concentrate syrup density at 25 degrees and repeat the operation;

4 th day: concentrate syrup density at 33 degrees and repeat the operation adding the vanilla.

Remove from flame and add the icing sugar. Remove the chestnuts with a skimmer and dry on a cake rack. Put into jars and cover with a mix formed with 5 parts of vanilla syrup and 3 parts of 50% vol brandy.

This is production that requires a great deal of care and time on an artisan and family scale. This recipe requires short chestnut cooking times, in order to be able to peel them without breaking or softening.