From the website of the Savoy residences we learn that the majestic and evocative castle of Valcasotto in the province of Cuneo was originally a Carthusian monastery, the Savoys purchased it to transform it into a hunting castle for Carlo Alberto. The project managed to masterfully combine the simplicity of a former convent with the monumental style befitting a royal residence. However, it was never a place of representation but of private leisure: here Vittorio Emanuele II, the hunter king, organized impressive hunting expeditions and Princess Maria Clotilde spent the summer there. Even today, fragments of court life emerge from the bedrooms with original furnishings and the king's kitchens.
A stone's throw from the Castle, in the small village of Valcasotto where you can breathe an ancient atmosphere that brings back memories and scents, there is the Locanda del Mulino, a restaurant where the passion for tradition combines with the search for quality and authenticity of the 0 km products located between the Napoleonic water mill still in operation and the cheese maturing of the great Beppino Occelli who recovered the customs of the shepherds of the past, who climbed the mountains and returned with shapes at the time called Ormea, made in the pastures del Pizzo which bears the same name. In the Locanda del mulino the memories, aromas and flavors of the territory come to life in the dishes of Alessandra Ingenetti of Ligurian origins but who has settled here with great enthusiasm, chef of the Slow Food Chefs Alliance, lady chef of the FIC Italian Chefs Federation and contact person for Conitours area, an authentic master of the culinary art supported by a team of young talents. Its territory in the kitchen is realized through the search for the most genuine raw materials: the flours that are stone-ground in the village, the cured meats from Piedmontese farms, the unsurpassed Beppino Occelli cheeses that mature in the ancient cellars of Valcasotto, the Pamparato potatoes and Garessine chestnuts of Viola castle. The recipe proposed for legume week is like a dive into the scents and flavors of the undergrowth of these mountainous areas but it is also a great opportunity for our body. The benefits of legumes are many. They help control cholesterol thanks to the chelating action of lecithin and saponins, they constitute a powerful natural antioxidant and promote a sense of satiety, thanks to the high quantity of fibre. Not to be outdone is black cabbage which is a concentrate of beneficial substances, a precious source of mineral salts, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, copper, sodium, sulphur, manganese, fluoride and selenium and vitamin A , B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C and K.1. In short, a dish that we should propose again from time to time on our tables to detoxify and benefit our body.

The recipe: Damn, what a soup
Ingredients for people 4
100g delicate pumpkin (Piozzo)
300 g black, red and savoy cabbage (quantity to taste)
50 g leeks (Cervere or Carmagnola)
50 g Serra de' Conti grass peas (Ancona – Slow Food Presidium)
2 medium zucchini
2 medium carrots
50 g of borlotti beans (Pamparato)
1 clove of garlic (Caraglio – Slow Food Presidium)
4 medium mountain potatoes (Consorzio delle Valli del Re)
4 slices of crunchy mountain bread
4 slices Valcasotto cheese
Salt and Pepper To Taste
4 earthenware bowls
METHOD
Soak the grass pea overnight.
Boil the grass pea in salted water for about 1 hour. Drain it and discard the cooking water.
Cut vegetables separately.
Brown the garlic and leek in a pan, add the vegetables starting with the hardest ones which require more cooking, then add the broth.
Continue cooking for approximately 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the grass peas and cook for another 10 minutes.
Place a slice of bread in each bowl.
Once cooked, pour the soup onto the bread, add a drizzle of oil, pepper, the slice of cheese and serve.
This soup can be served as a main dish rich in taste and healthy properties.