On the first day Franz and I were in Lombardy researching A Lombardian Cookbook, Alessandro took us up to the hunting lodge of his family friends Elsa and Tulio. There in the high mountain sunshine, Elsa and Alesssandro’s Mum, Iolanda, made polenta taragna (buckwheat polenta) in a copper pot over an open fire in the garden. Cooked this way – or even over a wood fire at home as Iolanda often does – the polenta takes on a lovely subtle smoky flavour from the fire. Mushroom foraging is a very popular pastime in the wooded hills of northern Italy. Use any mushrooms you like for this dish, wild pine mushrooms or slippery jacks if they’re available, or a combination of chestnut mushrooms, Swiss browns or king brown mushrooms. Buckwheat polenta with mushrooms and gorgonzola, a simple salad (see video below), and a glass of crisp Aussie chardonnay – like the elegant Eden Valley drop from Elderton – makes a deliciously simple lunch or dinner.
Serves 2
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