Piemonte is my native land. Enjoi a visit to Turin in Springtime, when you can breath the clear alpine air. This elegant city, situated on the Po river, was the seat of Italian Kings for 400 years. The Egyptian Museum, second only to the one in Cairo, is definitely worth a visit.

But Monferrato is my land. I remember the white truffle markets between Asti and Alba, on foggy days, with the aroma of roasted chestnuts in the air. In this region many great wines were born from steep vineyards surrounding austere castles. The premier is Barolo, the wine of kings.

From here I propose to you a shocking garlic recipe. The day after bagna cauda, please, go for a walk, far away from society! Anyway, it is a worthy culinary experience, and once you have tried it you will do it again.

200 g salted anchovies

200 g garlic

2 cups of milk

3 dl oil

seasonal vegetables like pepper, celery, cooked beat, thistle, white cabbage

(add white truffle for aphrodisiac effects)

Boil the garlic into milk for half an hour. Throw away the milk (or serve to your worse enemy) and put the garlic in a pot. Crush it with a fork to obtain a cream. Separate the anchovies from the salt and fish bones. Chop them very thinly and add to the garlic cream. Cook for 15 minutes adding oil and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

Slice the truffle onto the top and serve very hot. It’s better if you put the pan in the middle of the table, on a little spirit stove like the Bourguignonne sauce. Dip the vegetables in it.

Since I was seven years old I have gone mushrooming with my parents, Bruno and Clea, to Bellecombe, a lovely climb in front of the Cervino Mountain. In this region there is the highest peak of Europe, Mt. Bianco 4.442 mt., with wonderful ski slopes. The landscape is dotted with medieval castles dominating the valley from the top of steep rock walls, without any apparent road leading up to the mountain.

I hope that a small “tile” may fall on your head while you walk through the old villages! Yes, because a tile is a very typical hazel nut biscuit, really good.

Valle d’Aosta is well known for “Fontina”, a tasty cow cheese, which inspired the following recipe.

– 400 g tasty cow cheese

– 2 cups of fresh milk

– 4 egg yolks

– 40 g butter

– white toasted bread

– truffle (to obtain an aphrodisiac result!)

Chop the cheese and put it in a pot with the milk. Cook in a Bain Marie until creamy. Add combined egg yolks and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. Slice the truffle on top and serve very hot. Put the pot in the middle of the table, on a little spirit stove like the sauce Bourguignonne. Dip in cubes of toasted bread.

If you are particularly greedy, make the

The method is the same, but with chocolate instead of cheese, with sugar instead of salt. Replace the toasted bread with fresh fruit (banana, kiwi, pear, strawberries).