"piedmont" news and stories

Castelmagno is another interesting cheese like Robiola from the Piedmont/Piemonte region of Italy. It is a sometimes blue cheeese, I say sometimes because while it is classified as an erborinato cheese, meaning that it has blue veins, it doesn't always have the blue to it. The older the cheese the more chance of blue veins, but sometimes the cheese behaves whimsically and develops the veins young, or not at all. For some folks the strong, pungent flavor of this strangely crumbly textured cheese takes some time to adjust to, but then, like an addict, you start to crave it.

Again, like Robiola, it can be made with several types of milk. Mostly cow's milk, but some goat and sheep's milk is sometimes added to the batch as well.

Castelmagno is one of Italy's oldest cheeses that can trace back its origins to the 1200's. Wheels of it were once used to pay landowners for the grazing rights for the herds. Castelmagno is a DOP cheese, so strict government regulations oversee its production. There are only three communes in the Cuneo province allowed to make it, although similar cheeses are made nearby, they are not allowed to use the Castelmagno name. This means that production is low and the price is high.

With the Olympics drawing to a close, why not take the opportunity this weekend to try a classic recipe from Turin. Probably the most famous food item (apart from it's gianduja chocolates) is bagna cauda [BAHN-ya COW-da], a sort of oil-based fondue. The name is a derivation of bagna calda which means "hot bath."

There are plenty of recipes for bagna cauda on the web, but I decided to IM my Italian aunt for a loose recipe, and she happily obliged. Gotta love technology. (Errors in translation are mine.) Read a few other recipes to get an idea for measurements as she doesn't include any.


Bagna Cauda

4-6 whole heads of garlic
anchovies under salt (160 grams), washed, remove bones
milk
extra virgin olive oil
cream or butter

Vegetables for dipping: artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, peppers, endive, cipolline onions, leeks, carrots, fennel, celery, radishes, cabbage