QUALITALY 141

August /September 2024 XV MAGAZINE AT PAGE 49 PRODUCTS Verrayes potato With the arrival of modern varieties, traditional Aosta Valley potatoes such as Verrayes have suffered an unstoppable decline. In the 1990s, this variety risked extinction, but was rediscovered by Giuliano Martignene, a technician from the Agriculture Department of the Aosta Valley Region, in Covarey (1,250 metres) in the municipality of Champdepraz, by farmer Angelo Berger, who was still reproducing and cultivating this variety. The Verrayes potato is a medium-sized tuber, irregularly shaped and purple in colour. The flesh is light yellow and is moderate to very floury. The taste is fine, intense and persistent, characterised by a slight sweetness and good flavour. The Verrayes potato is at its best in the preparation of gnocchi, mashed potatoes and gratins, but it is very good simply boiled and accompanied by alpine cheese. Historically, it was used in the preparation of ‘boudin’, traditional black puddings to which potatoes and beets are added. Fontina It is a PDO-labelled cheese that is only produced with milk from cows of the Valdostana breed. It has a compact, thin, brownish rind, within which is enclosed a semi-cooked, elastic and melt-in-the-mouth texture, strongly scented, with small, sparse eyes. It has a light straw colour due to the yellowish hay eaten by the cows during the summer. It has a sweet flavour and fragrant aroma that increases as it matures. Valdostana Pezzata Rossa, Pezzata Nera, Castana The Valdostana Pezzata Nera and Castana represent, with their cousin Hérens (Switzerland), the indigenous cattle group that populated the Alpine arc in the past, probably derived from the Bos Brachyceros . The animals of the Valdostana pezzata rossa have a coat ranging in colour from light to deep red, the head, abdomen, distal parts of the limbs and the tail flake are white. The Valdostana Pezzata Nera and Castana strains, also belonging to the same family tree, differ in coat colour; in the Valdostana Pezzata Nera the black and white pigment is clearly distributed to form the classic dappling; in the Castana, on the other hand, the black and red pigment combine to form shades of colour from all-black to fawn. AT PAGE 50 RECIPES __________________________________ RECIPE Zuppa Valpellinese A leftovers dish in which stale bread is used. Valpelline is one of the side valleys of Valle d’Aosta, on the border with the Swiss canton of Valais. And this ‘seupa à la vapelenentse’, soupe à la valpellinoise in French, is reminiscent of some typical recipes from that area. Ingredients for two cocottes: • sliced stale white bread approx. 200 g; • fontina cheese 250 g; • savoy cabbage 200 g; • beef stock 1 l; • butter 50 g; • cinnamon powder; • salt and pepper to taste. Preparation Cut the bread into slices about ½ cm thick. Clean the cabbage from the leathery outer leaves, remove the central core and cut it into strips about 1 cm wide. Boil the Savoy cabbage in beef stock until soft, then drain and set aside both the stock and the cabbage. Now remove the rind from the Fontina cheese and cut it into thin slices or pieces. Grease two cocottes, put a layer of bread in each of them and cover it with a third of Fontina; form 3 identical layers leaving the last layer of bread without cheese and lay the drained Savoy cabbage on it, sprinkle everything with the broth and wait a few minutes for the bread to absorb it. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter. Cover the Savoy cabbage with a layer of Fontina, pour the melted butter over it, sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon and place the cocottes in a static oven preheated to 180° for about 20 minutes. Once ready, let them set for 2-3 minutes and then serve. __________________________________ RECIPE Polenta concia A poor, rustic dish once eaten by farmers and shepherds in the mountainous areas of the Aosta Valley. It is a way of cooking polenta with butter and fontina cheese. Ingredients: • corn flour 500 g; • fontina cheese 200 g; • water 2 l; • salt to taste; • toma cheese 200 g; • butter 200 g; • extra-virgin olive oil to taste; • black pepper to taste. Preparation Dice the fontina and toma cheese. Heat the water in a steel pan, when it starts to come to the boil add the salt. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon, and let it cook at a high temperature, stirring quickly. Also add the olive oil to prevent lumps from forming. Let everything cook for 50 minutes over a gentle heat without stopping stirring, taking care not to let the polenta stick to the bottom. Five minutes before the end of cooking time, add salt and add the shredded cheeses and stir to melt them. Meanwhile, put the butter in a pan and melt it over a gentle heat. When the