Tradition and good food in Lomellina: a weekend in Mortara. Lombardy, Italy

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If it were a riddle, give a hard time to many: What is the animal that you do not throw anything away, that while grazing, cleaning the banks, which once supplied the dowry to marry off the girls' primary and which is considered the best guard animal since ancient times? Other than pork, with all due respect: this animal from the many "superpowers" is the goose.
This time the goal of our weekend was, so to speak, the capital of the goose, or Mortara, a beautiful town of Lomellina Lombardy, famous for millennia because of his goose. Date from the thirteenth century, the poems of Guido Cozzo From where it says "Evvia in Mortlake in the repair of the Mill is an inn that noma" beak "that satisfies the palate and honest farmer with goose fat dry wine and goose while Sallam shows that are does anyone try to give joy. "
We arrived at Mortlake warm on a winter day, which made us easy to appreciate this city located on the Via Francigena, which formerly was called Beautiful Pleasure. The name Mortara remembers the fallen instead of a ferocious battle between the Franks and Lombards, took place in 773.
We were accommodated at the Hotel San Michele, in the Corso Garibaldi, and we went to explore the city. The city's most impressive is the Basilica of San Lorenzo, built between 1375 and 1380 in Gothic style, with its many works of art, including paintings and frescoes. We also visited the Abbey of Santa Croce, rebuilt in the sixteenth century within the city walls, after initial construction of the walls furi 1080.
Walking through downtown, we had our first encounter with the animal symbol of the city at the Court of the Goose, the shop by Gioachino Palestro, producer of award-winning delicacies made from goose, as the famous goose salami from Mortara, the liver pate and ham cured goose. "Some Jewish communities, authorized by Ludovico il Moro to produce goose salami since 1460, imposed a ban on religious grounds to use the pork to make sausages. Today we do the Ecumenical salami, a rediscovery of my son Daniel, a salami of pure goose, which is a delicacy for the monotheistic religions of peace. " We learn that Mr. Joachim Mortara, the last Sunday of September of every year there is a great Goose Festival with parades in traditional costumes, and a colorful Palio in which the seven districts of the city is fun to compare the Game Goose with "pawns" living. Mr. Joachim, who is a true fan of the matter, we also clarifies once and for all why the geese are compared to women: "The geese are very clean, in fact, one might say, vain. And their fat was used as a beauty product since the Egyptians. "
At this point, we can do is move from theory to practice, make ourselves comfortable at the table at the restaurant "The Cuuc" at the Hotel San Michele. The restaurant is run by David, another son of Mr. Joachim. We are just curious what does the name of the restaurant. "This is just a fancy nickname attribuitomi still a child in the family," explains David, presenting a menu that contains ten different dishes, all made from goose. So we decide to choose a tasting menu, which is called The Game of the Goose. Let's start with appetizers like a salad of duck breast with fine herbs, pink grapefruit, saffron frosting and "smoke of winter," a presentation of seasoned goose and gastronomy, and "Classic and variant" of foie gras goose, figs pan, composed of "greengrocer" of the Cuuc. We follow this by a good risotto with Carnaroli Bonarda, pulp and beans eye goose salami and ravioli of braised duck and brown stock. After the first pass to another delicious traditional dish, a quart of sweet cooking leg of goose, served with cabbage and polenta. "This is a review of Rago goose, the goose is cooked, cut into pieces for several hours slow cooking, as did our grandmothers." Some of us instead of tasting of Lomellina the goose in the oven, also fresh from a 5-6 hours of cooking at low temperatures. Gustiamo also delicious cakes with cracklings and appreciate how even baked potatoes are prepared with the addition of a cuicchiaio goose fat. We close with a nice sweetness in the "Dive in Piedmont", dipping the Ochino Mortara, (a pastry made with goose fat), in a glass of Brachetto d'Acqui or Moscato d'Asti.
We will return to Mortlake in the warm season, to "pass in the Tri Piasa", during the white nights from May to September are held the last Friday of every month, and we can enjoy another great dinner with d ' Goose sitting at outdoor tables.

Frances Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

www.comune.Mortara.pv.it
www.cortedelloca.com
www.ilcuuc.com

Restaurant "The Cuuc"
Corso Garibaldi, 20 Mortara (PV)
0384/99106