A Trip in the Hills, Accompanied by the Little Fox: A Day in Ovada

Wherever you set off from, Ovada is a destination. You can arrive here from Liguria or from the big cities of the North, and the feeling will always be that of a small miracle: the discovery of a gentle and welcoming landscape, different from the one we have just left behind. Although the name Ovada may make you think of grapes, this is only an impression given by the sight of the endless vineyards that surround it: in reality the place name Ovada comes from Vadum, indicating the fact that already in Roman times the town was a place of transit and therefore also a hub of trade. Arriving from the plain, the landscape changes right here and within a few kilometres the endless expanses of Piedmont give way to hills and the sight of blue mountains in the distance.

The monotony is pleasantly interrupted by the sight of colourful houses, of castles that dominate the valleys, and of so much green that caresses a gentle and wild landscape. Ovada is rich in monuments and churches of great historical and cultural value, such as the 17th-century Church of Nostra Signora Assunta, which with its two tall bell towers and the dome traces its characteristic skyline. The town has been the birthplace of a series of leading figures from the world of the arts, including the 19th-century composer Antonio Rebora, to whom the town's School of Music is dedicated, the conductor Paolo Peloso, the painters Natale Proto, who worked on the decoration of numerous buildings in Ovada, and Franco Resecco, but also figures from show business such as the circus artist Giovanni Taffone or Dino Crocco, drummer and television presenter recently deceased.

If Ovada has always been a crossroads of merchants and artists, boasting a great historical wealth, we wanted to crown our day with a dinner in a restaurant that reflected the spirit of the local traditions. So we decided to book at the Ristorante La Volpina, run by the oldest family of restaurateurs from Ovada, the Murchio family. The place is on the characteristic Strada Volpina, very convenient for those taking the motorway. “The history of our family's business dates back to 1896, when my grandparents Angelo and Marinetta began to devour kilometres between the dining room and the kitchen. They were then followed by my father Lino with my mother Maria.

At the time the guests of the trattoria were the people who came to the market from the villages: carters, merchants, passing people who stopped to enjoy a good plate of agnolotti and tripe”, says Stefano Murchio, son of Mr Lino, who runs the restaurant together with his wife Pinuccia, and the children Barbara, Manuela and Mattia. “Opening the Volpina in 1983 was like fulfilling my father's dream, creating a place steeped in history, welcoming and warm, where people could feel like family”, Mr Murchio tells us, as we settle at our table. We begin our dinner devoted to the flavours of the Ligurian-Piedmontese tradition, offered with imagination and originality, tasting a rich appetiser: gorgonzola mousse with mustard fruit cream, beef sirloin in the shadow of mushrooms, puff pastries filled with fondue and vegetables, baked to order.

We also taste “my lardo”, that is the homemade lardo, served with chestnuts cooked in honey. Everything that comes to the table is homemade, and this also goes for the exquisite first courses, among which we taste the bean cream with prawns, the tortelli kneaded with tomato flour and filled with Bronte green pistachios, dressed with pistachio pesto, and the very traditional hand-made agnolotti with meat sauce or in the ovadese wine. We also have baked cannelloni au gratin, with various fillings: almonds and trout, seasonal vegetables or fondue. We wash down these delicacies with wines chosen from over 160 available labels, in particular those of the Forti del Vento winery, the white An Piota and a selection of all the Dolcetti, the Ottotori Ovada.

We continue with main courses to lick your lips over: venison in a casserole with pine nuts and raisins, garnished with baked pears and polenta, the fricassea of salt cod with chickpea zimino, the roast veal nut with mushrooms and the veal all'uccelletto with artichokes. We also taste exquisite selected cheeses from the Alto Monferrato, very rare to find. Our dinner ends in great sweetness thanks to the rififi cream, a semifreddo that Mr Lino learned to prepare when he worked with the head chef of the Rome Olympics, in 1960. Among the desserts we also taste the Sicilian lemon mousse with strawberry syrup, the carrot sorbet served with Moscato, and the puff pastry wallet with chocolate, dates and dried figs, cooked in Marsala. After this Lucullan dinner we are sure to return here soon, also during the warm season, when we will be passing through on our way to the sea.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante La Volpina Strada Volpina, 1 Ovada (AL) Tel.: 0143/86008