The good things of once upon a time: the recipe for the old-fashioned roll by Piera Selvatico, cook of the Slow Food Alliance

Italians increasingly like to go back to restaurants where the cuisine is that of the past like that of Piera Selvatico in Rivazzano Terme, awarded by the Michelin Guide

Although the high cost of living has forced an increase in prices also in the restaurant sector, Italians do not give up on good food. The 2023 Report of theCatering Observatory attests that in the period between January and April, consumption in catering increased by 17.9%. Italians like to go back to the restaurants more than before and with a renewed desire for conviviality away from home to meet up with friends and relatives. Of course, the revenge to recover two years of forced seclusion at home due to the pandemic counts a lot, but above all the desire to discover new boundaries in terms of the quality of what we eat at the table counts, trying new experiences, new combinations, new cooking methods , cuisines that blend gastronomic traditions and cultures thousands of kilometers away, however, after the great flurry of experimentation in recent years, even great cuisine interprets the need to rediscover and discover original flavors and values, the sense of belonging to the territory, the genuineness of matter.

And just about everywhere it's a race to rediscover the memories of the mother's kitchen of the skilful hands of the grandmothers the dishes of memory. behind which is hidden a philosophy of healthy eating, genuine flavors of the past, respect for the environment, love for nature, well-being.

Il wild restaurant di Rivanazzano Terme founded in 1912 and for 54 years in the solid hands of Piera Selvatico and her family, it is fully inserted in what can be defined as Oltrepò-pavese-shire, among the most photographed areas of northern Italy on social media for shots of the vineyard hills and fields of lavender, sunflowers, wheat which with its images evokes a real biodiversity that has 94 species of birds, 200 species of butterflies

Piera Spalla Wild, patron of the restaurant, he takes care of the kitchen together with his daughter Michela, who has expertise in desserts and yeasts. Not secondary detail Piera Selvatico is Cook of the Slow Food Alliance the pact that unites chefs and small producers to promote good, fair and clean local food and to save biodiversity by using the products of farmers, breeders, cheesemakers, fishermen in their kitchens , winemakers, artisans who produce with passion and respect for the Earth and their animals.

All authoritatively attested by Michelin guide who attributed a dish to the restaurant with words of great praise: “In business since 1912, now in the fourth generation we are in one of the best restaurants in the Oltrepò Pavese. and boiled meats passing through excellent fresh pasta and the freshest vegetables from their own garden pleasant and vintage kings in the rooms and small wellness center with sauna turkish bath emotional shower wall of salt"

The recipe for rolls the old-fashioned way

Serves 4 people

12 slices of Varzese sirloin Aietta Casale Staffora company

200 g of stale breadcrumbs

200 g of grated Pizzocorno (in the absence of it, you can use 100 g of grana padano and 100 of

pecorino cheese)

80 g of finely chopped onion

6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of raisins

1 tablespoon of toasted pine nuts

8 bay leaves

Salt to taste

Method

Spread the slices of meat on a work surface and season them lightly with salt. Pour 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a pan and stew the onion, add the breadcrumbs and let it flavor together with the raisins and pine nuts.

Remove from the heat and add the cheese to the mixture, mix well. Spread a spoonful of filling on the slices and roll them up. Oil a baking dish and line up the rolls interspersed with a bay leaf. Brush with oil and sprinkle with the remaining filling.

Bake at 180° for the first 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 160 for another 20 minutes. In spring it is served on a bed of Barba di Frate, in summer on an aubergine purée, in autumn on a Berrettina pumpkin purée, in winter on a bed of Ottofile polenta.

The recipe already appears in the "Libro de arte coquinaria" by Martino da Como, considered the

father of Italian Renaissance cuisine.