A view of the Alps from the capital of the Marquisate: a day in Saluzzo, Part II

After the meetings, the noblemen also happened to frequent the osterias and taverns of the city. So we gladly follow their example, stopping for dinner at the Taverna San Martino, in corso Piemonte. We park comfortably in front of the venue and, getting out of the car, we find the Monviso once again, "watching" us from the end of the street. Inside the characteristic room with exposed beams, we immediately feel enveloped in a pleasant family atmosphere, also thanks to the warm welcome the owners Manuela and Marco give us. From our table we can admire the paintings of the temporary exhibition currently on show, which this time take us around Saluzzo through brushstrokes dedicated to the beauties of the city and the mountains.

"We often exhibit works by local artists, and we have noticed that the combination of food and art is very popular with our guests," Mrs Manuela tells us, who runs the restaurant together with her husband, a very skilled chef with important experience behind him, gained at various restaurants before deciding, in 1998, to open this place. If on one hand you breathe the atmosphere of the taverns of the past, on the other everything is also made very current and contemporary thanks to the imagination with which the typical specialities of Piedmontese cuisine are reworked. "We take the utmost care over the quality of the raw materials, choosing local ingredients practically exclusively from zero kilometres away. From fassone beef to fruit and vegetables, everything comes from local producers," the owners explain as we begin to taste the starters.

A tasting of four specialities arrives at the table on a tray and each of us can help ourselves as they wish. We start with the queen of Piedmontese starters, the fassone beef tartare, served with hazelnut oil from the Langhe, made by cold pressing. We also taste the creamed salt cod with potatoes, and here we find again the Piedmontese flavours of the past in an up-to-date guise thanks to the choux bun filled with peppers and a light bagna cauda. We also very much like the mousse made with a blue cow's cheese from the Val Grana, worked with the seirass del Fen, a ricotta aged in hay and produced with goat's, sheep's and cow's milk, flavoured with a little garlic and served with bread charcoal. On the tasting menu we find three choices of first courses and as many of second courses and desserts, but some also choose directly from the á la carte.

We continue with the gnocchi with Castelmagno, coming from small producers, possibly a Slow Food Presidium, and we certainly don't resist the traditional agnolotti del plin either. The ravioles of the Val Varaita are also a great success, and some also delight in the tajarin with donkey ragu, made with meat from farms in the Asti area. In this winter period the soup "Ula al fourn" is also a real treat, made with Borlotti beans, vegetables and capocollo, cooked in a terracotta pot which is in fact called an ula. We wash down these delicacies with excellent wines from the Langhe, selected both among well-known labels and from small local wineries. Among the main courses we choose the stracotto of fassone cooked in Barbera, and some also prefer the horse entrecote.

The stewed tripe with potatoes recalls the flavours of the past, while for those who prefer a light main course, the toma cooked on the griddle with jams and the cugna prepared with quinces is an excellent choice. Finally, we don't even give up a tasting of cheeses from the Val Grana, and to finish on a sweet note we give in to the temptation of the house desserts, including the zabaione with Moscato served with paste di meliga, that is biscuits made with stone-ground corn flour at a local mill. Our friend who watches her figure very much appreciates the hazelnut cake made without flour, and for those who have set the figure question aside for the moment, the burnia is irresistible, a cake of dark chocolate, Chantilly cream and coffee caramel. The creamy orange panna cotta also immediately wins us over, served with a spoon and made with orange zest topped with dark chocolate flakes.

Before setting off again we have coffee made strictly with the moka, appreciating simplicity and taste down to the smallest details. To put it in the words of the famous Saluzzo poet and patriot Silvio Pellico, after this beautiful weekend (during which we were also able to visit his birthplace), we hope to return here soon, among the "mountains and valleys and fertile plains and castles".

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Taverna San Martino Corso Piemonte, 109 Saluzzo (CN) Tel.: 0175/42066