12-09-2017
Alessandro Dal Degan, chef-patron at La Tana Gourmet in Asiago
Men and women at La Tana Gourmet - there’s almost everyone: left to right Alessandro Dal Degan, pastry chef Denny Caliaro, Marco Perin, Jacopo Robelli, Giada Mastrotto, Enrico Maglio. Photos by Tanio Liotta
Wafer with a Sauce of egg, pecorino and pepper
Potato, carrot and amaranth chips
Onion, crème fraîche, chicken jus, bran, pepe arancio (that is to say leaves of Zanthoxylum beecheyanum). A great dish
Ricotta, buttermilk, chanterelle mushrooms, cream of artichoke stalk, larch leaves and smoke
Snails stewed in hay, cream of herbs, bread with musk, juniper cream, piquillo pepper
Orzo: terra ed acqua. Barley thickened with Asiago, black beans (the skins using for the thickening, the rest in powder), katsuobushi, sea lettuce, scampi, candied lemon with salt. The barley, cooked as a risotto, «is never overcooked»
Pasta, tomato and herbs
Uovo in tegame, 10 erbe, 3 sorprese (fermented coriander, forest cream, rustic sauce, «a local take on ketchup»)
Tongue, artichoke, myrtle. Delicious. He first cooks the tongue for 24 hours, then grills it
Eel, roe deer sauce, beetroot, hibiscus and powdered roses: in a dinner of the highest standards, here there’s our only criticism, too complex
Roe deer with juniper resin, trumpet mushrooms, celeriac and geranium. Perfection and purity
Strawberries and tomato: desserts begin with a fresh and convincing recipe
Brilliant Raw veal heart, raspberries, yogurt and herbs and fermented anise. The chef thus recuperates the old tradition of sweet sanguinaccio
La pigna: sorbet with mugòlio and toasted buckwheat, egg yolk, powdered wild licorice (that is to say a dry extract from the root of the fern). It’s a fantastic dessert, one of the best I have eaten - ever
Again Dal Degan and Maglio
René Redzepi arrived in Asiago over 2000 years ago. He was probably rather short, had a beard, and came from Denmark: just like the chef from Noma. He hid with his partners in crime on the Altopiano – after he was defeated in a battle with Roman consul Gaio Mario, in 101 BC –, he settled down bringing his cultural and social, as well as gastronomic equipment.
The meeting-confrontation with the north is in fact the fil rouge in the entire history of the Sette Comuni. Sometimes there’s exchange or assimilation, as when, around and especially after the 1000 AD the plateau was once again invaded, peacefully, by southern Germany; these people emigrated in search of land to farm. The overlapping of Barbaric and German people established a local language, Cimbrian, of German origins (historians believe Cimbrians in the Sette Comuni derive from Gaio Mario’s Goth Cimbri, or from the Bavarians of 1000 AD: there’s no agreement on the issue); once widely spoken, the language now survives in Roana on the Asiago Plateau, in Giazza in Lessinia Veronese and Luserna in the province of Trento.
The Altopiano dei Sette comuni in a map of the territory of Vicenza by Giandomenico Dall'Acqua, 17th century. Vicenza, Biblioteca Civica Bertoliana
Please don’t think the historic background was superfluous, and I hope it wasn’t boring. Indeed it would be impossible to speak of Dal Degan's cuisine in its essence, without understanding the background livening it: «I use fermentations, musk, lichen, herbs, resin, wood. Basically a culinary culture typical of Northern Europe. I’m not following fashion or a passion for New Nordic Cuisine. On the contrary, I’m recuperating a local tradition». He was born in Torino in 1981, but his mother and grandmother are from Asiago, and both cooks.
The red house at La Tana Gourmet
Dal Degan accomplishes this in two ways: in the nearby Osteria, born a couple of years ago, where he serves traditional dishes, «really traditional: from Tagliolini in broth with chicken liver to Tripe and Asiago cheese, a typical shepherds dish»; then, at La Tana Gourmet, with his creations «that have nothing to do with tradition». Or, rather: which draw inspiration, techniques, products from these culinary roots; and then these elements are innovated in the chef’s interpretation.
This scientific-experimental method is applied to cooking: «We start with raw materials, process them then study the results», the recipe is the latest step in this process. «After the snow melts, when it returns in the autumn nature offers us around 200 spontaneous vegetal varieties here. Perhaps only for a few days, like wild asparagus». This heritage must be enhanced «but without being obsessed with 0 km. We use a lot of what surrounds us, but our world, even the culinary one, doesn’t end here», and goes beyond these mountains.
Dal Degan and Enrico Maglio
The Altopiano is a world of aromas, Dal Degan is its contemporary demiurge. As you’ll see in the photo gallery by Tanio Liotta. Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
An outdoor trip or a journey to the other side of the planet? One thing is for sure: the destination is delicious, by Carlo Passera
by
journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief