Garfagnana: The Land Of Wolves And Witches – FORMENTON POLENTA WITH GARFAGNANA SAUCE and CHESTNUT PANCAKE WITH HONEY SPIKED FORMAGGIO FRESCO

The Serchio Valley

Another forty degree day was on its way so we decided to escape into the hills in search of cooler weather, unfortunately, we would never find it.

Northwest of Tuscany

Garfagnana is a territory in the extreme Northwest of Tuscany, dominated by the Apuan Alps to the South, bordered by the Tuscan Riviera to the West and the Emilian Apennines to the East. This is a very isolated section of the country due in part to the rarely straight roads that serpentine and cling to the side of the Alps and wind blindly through the Serchio Valley.

Wild, green and majestic

This is my kind of country, wild, green and majestic. Due to its isolation, many traditions and old ways of living survive. Superstitions are still carried by many residents and are widely believed as true. One of my favorites is the belief of an elf called a “Linchetto” or “Buffardello”. 

Linchetto

Less than ten years ago a wide scale hunt broke out through the valley after one was seen parading through a village at night farting clouds of sulphur. Linchettos are also supposedly responsible for knotting little girls hair and horses tails and have been known to sit on people’s chest while they sleep to stop them from breathing.

Porcini, king of the mushrooms

With these ancient traditions and beliefs also comes an ancient cuisine. Porcini, the king of mushrooms, reign supreme here and are known for being the best in the world. Chestnuts have also been a large part of the economy as well as corn, in particular, a special type of corn (formenton) that has eight rows of kernels and is used specifically to dry and grind into meal for polenta or baking.  Hunting and foraging are also popular with the forest being filled with a bounty of berries, herbs and wild game.

Close to the source

Our goal was to meander through the valley and try to find these ingredients as close to the source and as fresh as possible while taking in the spectacular scenery. We loaded the cooler in the mighty Fiat to see what we could find.

Ghivizzano

Our first destination was the village of Ghivizzano to visit L’Antica Norcineria, an artisanal salami and, cheese producer. First,  we made a brief stop to check out the medieval “Ponte del Diavolo” (Devil’s Bridge). It’s an incredible structure that spans the Serchio River with five asymmetrical arches and whose engineering has stood the test of time.

L’Antica Norcineria

Thirty minutes later we arrived at L’Antica Norcineria. Walking through the door we were greeted with rows and rows of hanging Prosciutto and a floor congested with boxes of cheese and salami destined for restaurants and stores around the valley.

Rushing in and out

It was a very busy place with employees rushing in and out of coolers filling orders under the watchful eye of the owner.
The young man who came out to greet us looked to be the owner’s son.  He hurriedly asked us what we wanted. I replied that we were looking for what they did best, products that represented local Garfagnanian cuisine. With a big smile and in broken English he asked us to follow him over to a rack laden with different types of hanging salami. 

Moldy specimen

He quickly grabbed one mouldy specimen that was folded in a horseshoe shape with a bay leaf stuck in the middle. “This one is made with the pig’s neck” he said, “Perfect!” I said and his face lit up with a big grin. “Try these…” grabbing two pairs of long slender salamis “Tartufo and porcini, Si?”. “Tartufo! Si, si.” I replied.

Aged in straw

Then he led us back to a large walk-in cooler and pulled a couple of wheels of Pecorino cheese out of a box. Pecorino is a sheep’s milk cheese, the cheese of choice for Tuscans, made with a myriad of different flavourings and aged for varying amounts of time.

Local chestnuts

The example he held in his right hand was studded with local chestnuts and in his left hand was one with farro (spelt). We took a piece of each. He also showed us some Pecorino aged in ash, in grape must and an even older “stagionatto” aged in straw but our cheese quota was filled for the day.

Pig’s blood and head meat

“Oh, oh what about this?” he said leading us across the room again. Almost laughing he pulled out a piece of coarse looking salami, “We make that with the pig’s blood and head meat.” I looked to Nat for her approval and then signalled to him to add it the pile.

Prosciutto

Unfortunately, we would have had to buy a whole leg of Prosciutto (our cooler was not big enough). I counted 4 or 5 different types of legs of Prosciutto including the coveted black-footed Cinta Senese. We paid up and with our cooler getting full we bid farewell to our new best friend.

A medieval village

Barga, a walled medieval village perched high on a hill was our next stop. This beautiful little town, with its maze of cobblestone streets that spiral steeply up to the crowning Duomo, was something special. We sat quietly in the dark Romanesque cathedral admiring the stained glass, 13th-century pulpit and magnificent artwork for some time.

A postcard photo

Standing on the steps of the cathedral looking out across the entire Serchio valley at the Alps was quite a sight. You could see why this was a coveted stronghold for occupying forces throughout its history. Around every corner and behind every door a postcard photo seemed to be waiting.

Alimentari

We could have spent the rest of the day there exploring but we still had a long drive ahead so we pressed on. On the way back to the car I spotted a small grocery store(alimentari) that had lined the lane in front with a display of their goods and cases of wine. “Local” many of the signs read so we had to stop, 10 minutes later we left the shop with a bag of local sun-dried tomatoes, chestnut honey and a bottle of Tuscan Vino Rosso from a nearby vineyard.

The centre of the Serchio Valley

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana was our next stop, about another 35 minutes drive up the winding highway. This is the centre of the Serchio Valley and the main village which oversees the administration of the Garfagnana Touristica. Another ancient village with a much more modern lining, it did not command our attention as much as our previous stops (the heat, construction and traffic congestion didn’t help either).

Display of dried porcini

One shop did catch our eye though because of the large display of dried porcini at the front door (fresh porcini were unavailable so far this year because of the unusually dry weather). 

Local food goldmine

Inside, we discovered a local food goldmine with all of the things we were looking for, including chestnut liqueur, chestnut flour, a bag of locally baked anise biscotti and that very special eight rowed “formenton” cornmeal. Not wanting to completely blow our budget we got what we were after and got out of there, hurrying back to the relief of the air-conditioned car.

Seismograph

All our planned stops made, it was time to complete our loop back to home base. Looking at the map of the road ahead it looked like a print out of an earthquake seismograph. Someone should also inform them that they forgot to pave the second lane on the road we took!

Girlfriend backpacks

To add to the excitement there were dozens of motorcycles (some with their girlfriend clinging to their backs like backpacks) racing flat out through the valley. Cars to them were like rocks on the road and they would pass you wherever and whenever they wanted, very unnerving with oncoming traffic and the sheer cliffs to one side.

Isola Santa

One of our unexpected finds on the way down this winding road was a village called Isola Santa which was perched beside a dam of glowing emerald green water. The cluster of buildings with their old slate roofs looked like they had been forgotten by time.

Apuan Alps

Climbing back into the car to saw away at the steering wheel for plenty more miles we were eager to see how this path would pass through the Apuan Alps. We were not disappointed at the scenery of moon-like rock outcroppings and soaring peeks as we crawled through the valleys and tunnels.  

Crossed through the Alps

Exiting one super long, dark and bumpy tunnel we came to a full stop. It was then that we realized we had crossed through the Alps and were now looking at a magnificent mountain range that faded into the Italian Riviera in the distance.
Trying to keep the car on the road and check out the scenery was freaking Nat out a bit so we were both glad to come across a pull out that was a parking lot for a mountaintop restaurant.  

Hike to the restaurant

The sign said that it was a 150-meter hike to the restaurant and then another few hundred meters to what turned out to be one of the most scenic outlooks we have ever witnessed. What was waiting for us at the top was actually a helicopter landing pad with a 360-degree view of the Alps around us, including marble quarries, sky scraping peaks and the ocean in the distance.

Low evening sun

After basking in the view and the searing low evening sun we walked back down to the car in silence. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day.
I didn’t have the energy to turn the stove on when we got back but the next day I put the acquired ingredients to good use in these two hearty Garfagnanian dishes.