A tasty pilgrimage in the Canavese: a day in Settimo Vittone, part two

Our outing in the footsteps of the pilgrims takes us to one of the oldest architectural complexes in the village, where the Osteria La Sosta has been based since 1999. 'The building known by the name of Corona Grossa, which the osteria today uses as a storeroom, dates from the ninth century and was commissioned by Attone Anscario, exactly like the castle. The structure served as a hospice for pilgrims, as attested by a plaque dated 894,' Mr Ezio Cresto tells us, the owner who runs the welcoming osteria together with his family: his wife Daria, his daughters Antonella, Annalisa and Maria Cristina. The very skilled chefs Alessandro Mella and Davide Castoldi, as well as Anna Pennato in the dining room, complete the staff.

We enter through the new, bright veranda created in a style that pleasingly combines rusticity and modern taste, whose furnishings also include an elegant glass counter suspended between two columns that echo the typical ones we saw in the vineyard terraces. We take our seats in the large hall, a space once used as the cattle shed, while in place of the old public weighbridge there is today a pretty little room with an intimate atmosphere. In the near future the restaurant business will also be joined by a shop specialising exclusively in typical zero-kilometre products. The novel of this place of great historical value is made gripping also and above all by the story of the Cresto family, who have made it a stronghold of the authentic flavours of the area. 'It all began in the 1960s at the Locanda dell'Angelo, founded by grandmother Maria.

That establishment was followed in 1983 by Pra Giulii. After those years of intense work, experimentation and taking part in food-and-wine events throughout Italy, 1999 arrived, the year we opened the Osteria La Sosta. In the early days our daughter Antonella ran it, and it was a modern osteria where the flavours of the area were married with the serving of wine from casks, on tap, a way to attract young people who until not long before favoured beer and pizzerias. The osteria was an immediate great success and little by little we gave ever greater importance to a certain kind of restaurant service, leaving the snacks in the background,' Mr Ezio tells us as we begin to enjoy our dinner in the name of the flavours of the area, imaginatively interpreted by the young and very skilled chefs.

While we listen to the soft notes of some excellent jazz, we begin with a fine board of cured meats that includes cacciatorino made from mixed beef and pork, sanguinaccio and lardo d'Arnad, accompanied by the fabulous chestnuts and butter the Vecchia Settimo way. 'These chestnuts, dried and then caramelised, come from an ancient tradition of Settimo. When I was a boy, we used to go with the priest to the festivals held at the mountain chapels. Each year a different family would prepare the so-called Aperitivo delle Priorate, and on that occasion a breakfast would be served: the chestnuts made this way, grissini with gorgonzola and all of it to be washed down with Vermouth,' Mr Ezio recalls his memories. Next, we taste the Spuntino della Sosta: traditional fondue and local cotechino, mushrooms in a velvety sauce, boiled potatoes and medallions of grilled polenta.

Our friends choose, some the Spuntino Canavesano, with capunet filled with meat, stuffed onion, polenta, sanguinaccio and tomino al verde, others the Spuntino del Viandante, which includes, among other things, the fried asticciole of local toma cheese spiced with cumin and chilli, a real delight. We also taste an exquisite vegetable flan on fondue, before moving on to the delicious fresh pasta produced strictly at home, such as tagliatelle and tajarin, but also, for example, pizzoccheri, pappardelle and maltagliati.

This time we stay within the culinary universe of the area, tasting the magnificent agnolotti made with a very thin, soft pasta, and we discover that in spring we will also be able to enjoy the zuppa d'ajucche, a typical dish of this area made precisely with ajucche - wild herbs of the mid-mountain - which in those days was among the favourites of Adriano Olivetti, who often came to eat it at the Corona Grossa. Part of our group treats itself to some exquisite risottos, including the one alla settimese, made with toma cheese, while some opt instead for a warm, wholesome cabbage soup. Among the main dishes we can choose the dish of the day, which on Wednesday offers tripe, on Thursday mixed boiled meats, on Friday polenta with cod, on Saturday game, on Sunday the Piedmontese mixed fry, and on Monday 'whatever there is'.

But there is always plenty more besides, including snails in guazzetto, fried frogs, the 'Tutto pesce' dish, or the exquisite meats, among them the grilled Fassone of Piedmont fiorentina or the Tris del goloso, which lets you taste two meat specialities accompanied by the traditional polentina with herbs. Finally, we also taste a few typical cheeses of the area, and to conclude on a very sweet note we happily give in to the temptation of the desserts, strictly fresh and home-made without the use of ready-made preparations. The chef's panna cotta of the day, the bunet, the fruit tarts, the delicious semifreddi, the bavarese with seasonal fruit, as well as the Pinguino ice creams adored by children, will be many more good reasons to take the road of our tasty pilgrimage to Settimo Vittone again soon.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Osteria La Sosta Strada Statale 26, nr. 31 Settimo Vittone (TO) Tel.: 0125/658858