Turin Time

Time for Dinner in Turin

I live in a city of around 8 million people and, yet, when I need to breathe some distant air I'm far more likely to choose another city than that beach holiday or country house hotel break.  Venice, Florence, Paris, yes please.  I like the hustle and bustle of cities, but I like a sense of lives being lived too.  Some places can be just too set in aspic and a bit of grit in the oyster is not a bad thing.  So, to Turin - an industrial city with a baroque heart.

Alpine view, Turin

I was there in 2004 when Turin was preparing to host the 2006 Winter Olympics.  The spectacularly beautiful Alpine range filling the skyline to the north was at odds with our evening taxi drive from the airport.  The City was grimy, noisy and confusing thanks to the construction of stadia and a new Metro system which was part of the Olympic package.  Next day we discovered the almost 10 miles of baroque colonnades and over 40 museums offered an escape from the cacophony.  And then there was the food.  Piedmont, of which Turin is the capital, is after all where 'Slow Food' was born and we were there primarily for the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto.

Open door in Turin

On returning to Turin this Autumn that Metro proved invaluable and there were signs that more tourists  - though, thankfully, not too many on our visit - were now enjoying those collonaded walks, museums and cafe's.  Turin's Olympian effort has paid off in terms of attracting visitors.  But there are also signs that not everyone has benefited.  Homelessness is more visible and there is a legacy of crumbling Olympic structures with migrants and refugees occupying the former athletes' village, not altogether comfortably.

Piazza Reale, Turin

For 300 years Turin was the capital of Savoy and became the first capital of a unified Italy in 1861.  But a mere 3 years later the seat of power was relocated to Florence then centrally located Rome.  Turin turned to industrialisation and the automotive industry became vitally important.  There were many companies but it's Fiat we associate with Turin thanks to the construction of its Lingotto car factory opened in 1923.  These days Fiat is less important to Turin's economy. The hugely successful Fiat 500, in its new guise, is manufactured not in Italy but in Mexico and Poland, though their luxury brand Maserati is locally made.  The Lingotto 'Centre' is now in commercial use.

With 8 Royal Palaces amongst those 40+ museums, colonnaded streets, tree-lined avenues, elegant architecture and good food, Turin is no longer just an industrial city but a centre for culture and tourism too.  So, what to see and do?

Walk the Colonnades and tree-lined avenues; the City is built on a grid system, so you're unlikely to get lost.  A walk up the Via Roma from Metro Porta Nuova is a grand central start taking in four of the main Piazzas and the ritziest of shops.

Pasta e Ceci
at Caffe Platti, Turin

There are so many cafes and bars in Turin that frequent stops are inevitable for coffee (this is the home of Lavazza) a Bicerin, the local chocolate/coffee/cream indulgence, or an aperitivo.  The grandest and most recommended of the old guard are Caffe Torino and Caffe San Carlo where the price of a coffee is low despite the splendour of the rooms and the locations.  Historic Caffe al Bicerin at Piazza della Consolata 5 is considered the best place to order a Bicerin.  Piedmont grows very fine hazelnuts, many of which go into the hazelnut and chocolate spread called Gianduja and into filled Giandujotto chocolates.  The chocolate making industry goes back hundreds of years in Turin and bean-to-bar maker Guido Gobino is considered one of the best here.  If your taste runs more to Nutella, you may be interested to know Turin is its home.

Papardelle Funghi
at Caffe Platti, Turin

We had fond memories of the belle époque Caffe Platti at Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle II, 72 and were so happy to find it again.  I read that it had closed in 2015 but if this is so then the new owners have done a fine job of making it feel like it never went away.  Plates of Paccheri Rigati Pasta with chickpeas (Pasta e Ceci) scented with rosemary was wonderful, and local Porcini came in the form of Papardelle Funghi.  We noticed restaurant Sotto la Mole (at the foot of the Mole Antonelliana) was still going strong.  The memory of a plate of truffled cheese agnolotti still lingers in my mind but we were a little early for the white truffle season and we ran out of time to visit this time round.

If it's Michelin stars you're looking for, head for Del Cambio where Matteo Baronetto is serving up one star food overlooking unified Italy's first Parliament building in Piazza Carignano.  Expect glittering chandeliers, red velvet, crisp linen and baroque mirrors along with traditional Piemontese dishes.  The restaurant has been feeding the great and the good since 1757 - from Cavour, Casanova, Balzac, Nietzsche and Verdi to Maria Callas, Audrey Hepburn and the Agnelli (Fiat) family, of course.

Veal braised in Ruchè wine
at Consorzio

For a much more recent addition to Turin dining, book Consorzio at Via Monte di Pieta, 23.  It describes itself as "Well-rooted in the Piemonte area with an eye on faraway regions ..".  The sourcing of ingredients here is exemplary, the handling deft and the service without fuss.  The Steak tartare Piemontese style was served starkly as a disk of raw beef with salt, pepper and good olive oil; Agnolotti Gobbo pasta was stuffed with three different kinds of meat with enough fattiness to make them luscious, rich little morsels; Veal braised in Ruchè wine, a Piemontese red wine, was deep and succulent; and then came the best Panna Cotta ever, so light on gelatin that it barely held, yet every one emerging from the kitchen wobbled to its table intact.  Wines are mostly Natural and a bottle of Barbera d'Asti Trenchiro Terra del Noche sated well our increased liking for the Barbera grape.  Consorzio is one of those rare places where you feel there is a real meeting of minds and appetites in the kitchen and out front.

Banco Vini e Alimenti, Turin

We also liked Consorzio's bar, Banco Vini e Alimenti a short walk away.  With a narrow frontage at via dei Merchant 13/f, it's easy to miss.  It is quietly friendly, keeps a great range of natural wines and serves up simple dishes like farinata fritta and Alice fritte and larger ones like roasted hake with crispy prosciutto or spaghettoni all vongole.  It's small and can get busy but there's a deli counter at the back which means you can pick up some slices of mortadella, a piece of cheese and a bottle of wine to take out.

Porcini Seller at Mercato Porta Palazzo, Turin

Shop the Markets.  There are 42 open-air markets in Turin.  Mercato Porta Palazzo at Piazza della Repubblica is the biggest and is open Monday-Saturday.  There are scores of stalls surrounded by buildings housing fish, meat and cheese halls, but the north-eastern corner was where we found the 'farmers market' - where the best stuff was.  But it was the outdoor market in Piazza Madama Christina we fell for, where there were the most signs stating "nostrano (ours/home grown) and where we watched one smallholder clean and place his haul of porcini like each was a precious gem.  What we saw on the market stalls was reflected in the restaurant dishes - seasonality is alive and well in Turin.

We stopped for coffee, several times, at Orso Laboratorio at Via Berthollet 30g.  And, joyfully, right next door - through a connecting door in fact - we found Mara dei Boschi Laboratorio del Gelato which is very good indeed.  The memory of the Nocciola and, also, the Fichi gelato will stay with me for some time.

For taking in those Alpine views you couldn't head higher than the Mole Antonelliana on Via Montebello.  This unmissable building, standing at more than 167 metres, was originally conceived as a synagogue until the architect's desire to go upwards went too far and the money ran out.  It's now home to the Museo Nazionale de Cinema.

Rooftop Test Track at Lingotto Centre, Turin

It's nowhere near as tall, but the view from the Lingotto Centre on Via Nizza (Metro: Lingotto) would be my choice.  The old factory was redesigned in the 1980's by Renzo Piano and now includes an hotel, conference centre, theatre, and shopping mall.  I love the industrial architecture but it's the rooftop test track that is the draw, along with the 360 degree view complete with that Alpine horizon to the north.  As everyone will tell you, scenes from the original 1969 The Italian Job were filmed here.  If you stay in either of the hotels in the Lingotto building you can ask for a key to access the rooftop but, as part of your entrance charge, you can also gain access when visiting the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli - Canaletto, Canova and Matisse are represented in the gallery's permanent collection. For real petrolheads, the Museo dell' Automobile is nearby.

Natura Morta (1957) by Giorgio Morandi
at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna (GAM)

There must be a museum to suit everyone in Turin but I would head for the Museo d'Arte Orientale (MAO), and the Museo Egizio which has one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities in the world.  Also, the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea at Castello di Rivoli - out of town but there is a free shuttle bus.  I have to admit to being a bit underwhelmed by Galleria d'Arte Moderna (GAM) but they do have some admirable Morandi works.  I wish I had visited the Museo della Frutta!

Cheese 2017 in Bra

Our visit was timed to coincide with the International Cheese festival which is held bi-annually in the lovely small town of Bra, around 50km south-east of Turin.  So, along with what seemed like half of Turin, we took the train to this highly regarded Slow Food event which this year, bravely, was all about raw milk.  Neals Yard Dairy explain the importance of this event best.

Apart from tasting and learning more about cheese, it's a chance to get up close to the Slow Food movement whose HQ is in Bra.  Here the association plans and promotes their worldwide projects. Their philosophy "envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet".

Roast Goose Leg
at Boccon di Vino, Bra

In the HQ's courtyard sits the cooperative Osteria Boccon di Vino (Via Mendicita, 14) where we lunched very happily on plates of pasta: Tajarin with shavings of black truffle, Agnolotti del plin al burro e rosmarino; Melting roast goose leg and slow-cooked veal in red wine; and, inevitably, Panna Cotta to finish.  Oh, and more delicious local Barbera wine.  Despite having to queue, this was a lovely relaxing place to lunch with great staff and very good food.

For coffee we took the recommendation to visit Bottega delle Delizie at Via Polenzo, 6, Bra. Specialising in sourcing and serving up northern European style roasts, this is not coffee in Italy as I know it and it's all the better for that.  The coffee we drank had been roasted locally but they also had guest coffees from Five Elephants and Paolo told us they were expecting some Nomad Coffee from Barcelona soon.  Really good coffee served with genuine charm and enthusiasm.  I loved this place.

So, what is Turin Time - or Piemontese Time?  For me it has to be autumn, when the hazelnuts have been harvested, the grape harvest is well under way, the porcini are in the kitchen and there's the promise of truffles arriving.

Border Crossing
Italy-France

If you have the time, going to Turin by train is the scenic option!

Apples at last - Food Find

Brogdale apples at
Neal's Yard Dairy 2013

The English apple harvest is undoubtedly late this year, certainly a good two weeks behind last year.  My barometer for this is the arrival of the apple crates stacked in front of the Neal's Yard Dairy shops in Borough, Covent Garden and, this year, at Spa Terminus too.  In London we've been enjoying the early 'Discovery' apples from the excellent Chegworth Valley for some weeks now but you know harvest is in full swing when the myriad varieties grown at Brogdale in Kent start to arrive.  This week I packed my bag with 'St Edmund's Pippin' and nutty 'Norfolk Royal Russet'.

Varieties change by the week so it's a great opportunity to try just a few of the apples and pears which Brogdale, home of the UK's National Fruit Collection, grows. If you want to try more, Brogdale's annual Apple Festival runs this year on 19-20 October when they expect to have over 200 varieties ready to taste.

Related blog posts:
Neal's Yard Dairy and Brogdale Farm

Asparagus in the raw

Raw Asparagus, pea-shoots and mint salad

Spare a thought for the asparagus farmer subject to the vagaries of our climate.  Yes, there has been indoor-grown asparagus for a few weeks now but outdoor grown - and, for me, nothing tastes as good - is struggling with our unseasonal weather.

Normally the asparagus farmer has six weeks of frantic activity harvesting the crop for market, then it's all over until next year.  Traditionally in the UK the season begins around St George's Day (23 April) and by mid-Summer's Day cutting should stop.  The plants continue to put up spears but these are allowed to grow into tall fronds which photosynthesise to build up nutrients for next year's crop.  In November the plant is cut back to ground level.  It takes about three years for an asparagus crown to become established and, if treated right, will will be productive for 10 years.  Quite an investment and hence the relatively high price of those bundles.  Asparagus likes well-drained, rich loamy soil - which rules it out for my heavy clay allotment patch.

Isle of Wight Asparagus

Asparagus needs warm, dry conditions in its final weeks, so it's no surprise that the outdoor-grown crop is late this year.  Last year it wasn't at market before the second week in May.  This year the delay to the season is even more severe.  By 19th May there was still little to be had in London, apart from a small amount from the Isle of Wight - always the first to arrive.  My favourite source is that grown by New Park Farm in Kent which is brought up to London for six weeks every years.  The care and attention they lavish on the crop is clear and I know of no other asparagus that tastes as good.

Freshness is key to taste so, when you do finally get your hands on it, don't let it linger in the fridge.  Those spears are packed with beneficial nutrients too - vitamins A and C, folic acid, potassium and iron.

So how to make a little go a long way and get the most out of its special flavour?  When I get my hands on a bunch of asparagus my first thought is usually how I'm going to cook it.  Until last week, that is, when it was served to me raw.  Sliced super-fine, mixed with a few pea-shoots and dressed with a lemony vinaigrette and a touch of mint, it was the perfect way to eke out a few spears.  I've unashamedly stolen this idea from chef Steve Williams of 40 Maltby Street, though it's my interpretation.  It's as close as I can get to his vibrant, seasonal dish.

Raw Asparagus, Mint & Pea-shoot salad
(Serves 4 as a starter)

8-12 asparagus spears
A handful of pea-shoots
8-10 mint leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus.  Cut a diagonal slice off the bottom of each asparagus spear then slice each spear as thinly as you can (see result in photo).  Add salt and pepper to the lemon juice and mix.  Whisk in the olive oil to emulsify.  Add the sliced asparagus and the pea shoots.  Serve.

The Calҫots are here - Food Find

The annual Calҫotada festivals are a feature of winter in Spain's Catalunya region.  Somewhere between a spring onion and a leek, calҫots were orginally the onions harvesters missed in the autumn. The alliums remained in the ground over winter and in January/February sprouted from the old bulb.  These days they are a delicacy and are planted deliberately to over-winter.  Their harvesting is often celebrated with a festival when calҫots are consumed in vast quantities.  In Valls, in the province of Tarragona, the biggest Calҫotada takes place on the last Sunday in January.  Visitors manage to get through some 100,000 calҫots in a single weekend.  

If you can't get to Spain for the festivals and you live in London, you're likely to find them on the menu at Jose Pizarro's tapas bar and restaurant in Bermondsey.  You can also buy them from good grocers.  Tony Booth of Tayshaw, trading on Druid Street SE1 goes to the trouble of buying them direct from a Spanish farmer.  From tomorrow you'll be able to get them for the next few Saturdays from his Bermondsey railway arch.  Here's a link on my way with Calҫots and a recipe for the essential Romesco sauce to eat with them.

Location of Tony Booths Tayshaw arch and other nearby Saturday food traders:
Spa Terminus

Tarta de Santiago for the Feast of St James

Slice of Tarta de Santiago

The Feast of St James is celebrated in the Basque Country and Galicia by a public holiday on 25 July so it seems appropriate to post this piece now.  Not that the Spanish need such an excuse to bake Tarta de Santiago.  You can find it throughout Northern Spain at any time of year.  It is mostly associated with Santiago de Compostela in Galicia where the town's cathedral is reputed to hold the relics of the apostle St James the Great.  A network of pilgrim routes originating in Western European countries lead to this place of Christian pilgrimage in the north-west corner of Spain.  The trails are marked by the symbolic scallop shell for St James the Great, the fisherman apostle.  The tarta, or torta in Galician, has been offered to pilgrims as a journeys-end food for hundreds of years. 
  

Tarta de Santiago

Tarta de Santiago is a fragrant almond tart or cake.  Sometimes it's baked with a pastry base, other times without.  Having a long history, naturally its origins are disputed.  The splendid writer Claudia Roden believes it has its roots in a Jewish Passover cake and arrived in Galicia with jews fleeing Moorish rule in Andalusia. 

Tarta de Santiago is easily identifiable by its coating of icing sugar with a cross of St James picked out.  Some versions can be quite bland, and others too dry, but a good recipe really delivers.  This one is a adapted from a version I have enjoyed at Barrafina tapas bar in Soho.  They have more than one version and this is based on the recipe for "Santiago Tart 2010" in the cookery book 'Barrafina - a Spanish cookbook'.  It produces a moist, sweet tart lifted by fresh citrus and the heady quince paste.

Much as I like the idea of a version made without pastry - not least because it would be easier to make and would offer a gluten-free version - I love the contrasting textures you get from this tart.  If you want to try a recipe without a pastry base then I can think of no better authority than Claudia Roden.  Here is a link to a Guardian article for Claudia Roden's recipe for Tarta de Santiago which also appears in her new book The Food of Spain

Tarta de Santiago
(makes a shallow 23cm tart)

PASTRY:
115g (4oz) plain flour
40g  (1½ oz) icing sugar
70g (2½ oz) unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk

FILLING:
115g (4oz) membrillo (quince paste)
175g (6oz) whole blanched almonds
1 tablespoon Amaretto (optional)
Zest of 2 oranges & zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 orange & 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
80g (3oz) icing sugar
150g (5½ oz) softened unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg

For the pastry, mix icing sugar and flour.  Rub in the butter until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the egg yolk until the mixture comes together  (add a few drops of milk if the mix doesn't come together).  Use your hands briefly to form it into a ball then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).  Lightly butter the 23cm shallow tart tin and dust with flour.  Lightly flour a worksurface and roll the pastry thinly into a round a little larger than the tin.  Place in the tin with the edges overlapping  (don't worry if the pastry breaks up, just patch it in but do keep it thin).  Line with greaseproof paper, weight down with baking beans and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a few more minutes if the base is not cooked.    Trim off the excess pastry to neat edges and turn the oven down to 140C (130C fan).

Melt the membrillo with 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Spread it over the tart base. 

Pulse the almonds, zest, juices and Amaretto (if using) in a food processor until mixed but fairly chunky.  Mix the soft butter and icing sugar until creamy.  Add the almonds and mix in well.  Mix in the egg yolks then the whole egg.  Spoon the mixture into the pastry case and bake for about 35 minutes.  Allow to cool before turning out.  *Dust with icing sugar and serve. 

* A template for the cross of St James can be downloaded from the internet if you would like to have this symbol on your tart.  Cut out, place in the centre of the tart, dust with icing sugar and carefully remove the template.

Forage Fine Foods - Food Find

Forage Fine Foods has been on my radar for a few weeks as a font of knowledge about British wild herbs and flowers so it was a nice surprise to see some of Liz Knight's products on the sideboard at The Butchery in Bermondsey yesterday.  There are quite a few "foragers" out there - some people buy in to it, others don't.  Forage Fine Foods strikes me as the real deal.  What caught my attention was the fact that Liz has allied a long-held passion for cooking wild food with knowledge she has picked up from talking to her countrywise elders.  She has found working in a day centre for the elderly a fascinating education in folklore and some almost forgotten practices.  Gathering wild herbs, berries and petals in the Herefordshire/Welsh Borders area, in the shadow of the Black Mountains, she produces Elderberry and Lavender jam, Rose Petal Syrup and Jelly, A Wild Herb Rub and an exotic Wild Rose el Hanout to conjure up Marakkesh.  Or there's the piquant 'Pontack' sauce made from elderberries soaked in cider vinegar which I'm looking forward to adding to a beef casserole.  Forage Fine Foods currently have a handful of stockists including The Butchery but you also can buy on-line and at special events and festivals.  Or you could take advantage of Liz's enthusiasm to pass on her knowledge by booking a foraging course.

Forage Fine Foods

Violet Cakes back on the Bermondsey Trail - Food Find

After an absence due to lack of staff, Claire Ptak has returned to the Bermondsey Trail with her delicious 'Violet Cakes' on the first Saturday of each month.  She can now be found at Arch 55 Stanworth Street, sharing with The Borough Cheese Company, Fern Verrow, Aubert & Mascoli wines and Coleman Coffee.  I recommend the seasonal fruit polenta cakes.
Update Dec 2011 - Changes to locations - check with Violet Cakes as to where and when
Violet Cakes
Shop: 47 Wilton Way, London E8 3ED
@ Broadway Market, London E8 (every Saturday) & 55 Stanworth Steet, London SE1 (first Saturday in the month)
http://www.violetcakes.com/
http://www.maltbystreet.com/

Bristol Organic Food Festival

The Community Farm
at Bristol Organic Food Fair

After visiting Bristol Organic Food Fair for the first time last Sunday I'm left feeling if I could visit only one during the year this would be it.  Held in the fantastic setting of the regenerated Harbourside, the event was well organised, had a great family atmosphere and really interesting producers.  The standard of organic food represented was high.  Laverstoke Park, Dove Farm, Pertwood Organics, Helen Browning's Organic Meat, Riverford Organic Vegetables, Yeo Valley (a sponsor) and Roskilly Ice-creams amongst the better known producers.  The less widely known Wootton Organic Dairy, Brown Cow Organics, The Ham and Cheese Company and the Cornish based Origin Coffee were there too.

Bath-based Richard Bertinet had a stand promoting his excellent breads and cookery school and provided a hugely entertaining and educational session in the demonstration kitchen.  Producing a pan of Moules Mariniere, a fougasse, and giving a masterclass in bread making with the help of two amateurs, he managed a "loaves and fishes" feat to ensure everyone got a taste. He even enlisted Cono Sur Chilean wines to provide a sauvignon blanc to wash it down.  Bertinet rightly picked up the Soil Association "Best Bread Award" for his sourdough.  Having watched Richard Bertinet and tasted his bread, I can't wait to sign up for a bread-making class myself.

Considering the festival was billed as a 'food' festival, non-food stands were in abundance.  I am still a little bemused by a stand which was offering a household spray to wash salad, fruit and veg - why would you want to do that?  What's wrong with water? 
 
The Festival was a showcase for groups like the one pictured above.  The Community Farm located in nearby Chew Magna, is a not for profit project which aims to connect people with the land and the food they eat.  Another stand with an interesting idea was Swapcrop - a website to bring together people who have grown excess fruit and veg with makers of home-made jams and preserves.

Local musicians and an Aussie sheep-shearer competed to provide entertainment, but I think the sheep with the dreds won.  Mark this is in your diary for 2011.

Take a look at these:
http://www.thecommunityfarm.co.uk/
http://www.swapcrop.co.uk/getswapping/
http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/

Ludlow Food Festival

The setting of Ludlow Castle provided a beautiful backdrop to the 2010 Ludlow Food Festival, if a somewhat sprawling layout.  Two circuits were needed to ensure you had seen all 130 small independent food and drink producers drawn from the Marches (the England/Wales border country) to this the 15th annual festival.  Despite these days attracting an international audience, it still manages to retain a local village fete feel.  Not only were there Awards for 'The Festival Sausage' and 'The Festival Loaf', but also for the winner of the 'Home Bread Makers Competition' and the 'Ludlow Window Dressing Competition'. 

As far as the stallholders were concerned, the Festival certainly showed this area has plenty of quality producers.  Amongst them, Penmincae Welsh Black Beef and Lamb, Shrewsbury Bakehouse, and Stonehouse Brewery.
Rhug Organic Estates were providing classy beef and bison burgers, KK Ventures Indian food including delicious Onion Bhajis, and many a thirst was slaked by The Ludlow Brewing Company.

My vote for most interesting stand has to go to Ludlow and District Beekeepers Association.  Selling honey and beekeeping products alongside masses of information on keeping your own bees and even a comb with active bees.  Most heartwarming was the Help for Heroes stand where £2 bought you a plate of stew.  It did look suspiciously like squaddies' rations, but then why not.  Rose Prince easily took my prize for best cookery demo persuading everyone of the delights of cheaper beef cuts onglet and bavette.

There was a veritable lake of beer, cider and perry, and the number of preserves producers had me wondering just how many jars of jam each British household must have at the back of their kitchen cupboards. Blustery, rainy weather and a flying stuffed boar's head landing at my feet told me it was time to leave.  Not my favourite food festival of the year but accessability may have coloured my judgment.  It's certainly a unique setting.