CHESTNUTS AND MARRONI
Chestnuts are generally eaten in autumn and usually accompanied with a glass of new wine called “Novello”. They can be grouped into two types: “marroni”, most valuable, and chestnuts, which are recognisable for their size.
WILD GREENS
In the Middle Ages wild herbs were mainly used to cure diseases. As in the past, they are also are used today in local cooking: especially in springtime, they are easy to procure in fields, meadows and along hedges.
Among the best known are the “radicio de camp” (the dandelion), “rosoline” and “s-ciopeti”. These herbs enhance dishes like soups, pies and omelets. They can also be simply boiled and seasoned with olive oil, or cooked in a pan with garlic and olive oil.
FORMAGGI
In Prosecco land good cheese comes from fields, grazings full of perfumed flora, climate and activity of expert cheesemakers. The most significant types that you can try are:
– Casatella Trevigiana, typical soft cheese
– Latteria, common name in Veneto region to specify the cheese made in the old “dairy manufacturing” (collective dairy)
– Montasio, produced with half-fat milk from two milkings. It has a sweetish taste in the semi-aged type, slightly sharp and flavoursome if aged
– Soligo taste is sweet in fresh type. The aged one is quite aromatic and sometimes sharp.
You can taste cheeses from the nearby huts, in particular the Morlacco del Grappa and the Bastardo. They enhance the scents of the mountains and meadows of the foothills.
Another typical feature of the local dairies is Imbriago cheese. It is left to stand on vinasses that give a strong taste.
MUSHROOMS
The foothill is rich in zones where mushrooms have always had a considerable spread. Above all “Brisot” (porcini), with their delicious flavor, they are proposed sliced and served raw in salads, or cooked to season first courses, sautéed, stewed or fried.
“Ciodet” are also appreciated. They take their name from their similarity to a nail.
BUDS
You can easily find “buds” of plants in the fields during springtime. Similar to young asparagus, they are used in the popular cuisine.
The most sought are the “bruscandoi”, tender buds of hop with a bitter-aromatic taste. You can collect them along the hedges and in uncultivated places.
Very popular are also the “rustegot” (butcher’s broom buds), the “sparasina” and “Spirca dei boschi”, also called “Barba di capra”.
SAUSAGES
A typical snack is made up of a glass of Prosecco with a plate of cold cuts and “de casada” bread (homemade). This dish can include: “ossocollo” also known as air-cured pork meat, bacon, salami, or the traditional “sopressa”. It is a particular sausage, stuffed into large guts with pork, salt and pepper, saltpetre, Prosecco.
The air of the hills and the right amount of humidity prevent mould from forming in excess and let the headcheese age slowly, from three to six months.
The area offers a wide quality of farmers’ products that guarantee a journey through the flavors of tradition.
HONEY
In the hill and foothill areas are numerous beekeepers. They are gathered in the Associazione Regionale Produttori di Miele del Veneto, Apicoltori del Grappa and Associazione Provinciale Apicoltori Trevigiani (APAT).
Among the most important honey types are:
– Acacia honey, with a very light color and delicate floral flavor,
– Chestnuts honey, with an amber color and an intense flavor,
– Millefiori, which smells and tastes different depending on the flowering.
VENETO EXTRAVERGINE OLIVE OIL DOP
This extravergine olive oil is produced in the foothills of Treviso, in the area bordered by the provinces of Vicenza and Pordenone.
Olive cultivation was quite widespread for centuries but was relaunched about twelve years ago.
The properties of this oil are well known and it’s the proud holder of numerous Italian and international awards.
QUARTIERE DEL PIAVE POTATOS
The Quartiere del Piave potato is produced in the Piave district, between Treviso foothill and Montello hill, especially in the municipality of Vidor, Moriago della Battaglia and Sernaglia della Battaglia. Here we can find many varieties of potatoes, as the “Monnalisa” and the “Spunta”.
The “Cornetta di Vallata” potato is a small-sized vegetable with a cylindrical shape. The production is modest, almost only for family consumption, but sometimes you can buy them at some greengrocers in the area of production.
ALTAMARCA SKEWERED MEATS
In the peasant tradition, especially in Piave district, meat was eaten only during festive occasions. Diet included mainly beans, herbs, cheeses and cold cuts. Pork was the real reserve of meat, together with chickens, hens, ducks, turkeys and geese.
In 1956 in Pieve di Soligo, people decided to celebrate the end of the famine setting up a gigantic spit. A long tradition began and the skewer was recognized as part of the culinary tradition of this area.
For the celebration of the 50th anniversary s thaincet event, the municipality of Pieve di Soligo together and the local Pro Locos decided to create the “Accademia dello Spiedo d’Alta Marca”. This academy is an association that valorises the skewer.
In 2010, the “Spiedo d’Alta Marca” has been recognized as a “certified traditional product”.
