Sunday, May 21, 2023

Giro 2023 Stage 15: Seregno to Bergamo

Where are we? Spending the day in Lombardy.

Seregno: The Giro tells me that Located along the route that from Milan leads to Como lake and Switzerland, at the intersection of one of the roads that leads east to the Lambro river, Seregno owes its characteristic features to this crossroads position. Historically, in fact, the village had developed thanks to the services that are connected to a place where people meet and develop commercial interests.
Today Seregno has more than 45,000 inhabitants and, despite being in a very dense urban area such as the Province of Monza and Brianza and with many large-sized urban cities, it maintains the peculiar and lively traits of a city that thrives on commerce, services for people and businesses. An industrious reality of Brianza, which however it is also a pole of attraction for leisure. A city that guarantees its inhabitants high standards of services in an urban context that is still “people-oriented”.


Regional Specialties: Brianza cuisine has many common traits with that of Milan, even though overall it is declined with less rich raw materials and is less open to external influences. The most characteristic dishes and products respond to the need to optimize the yield of raw materials and to dedicate not excessive time to food (intended as preparation and as consumption).
Hence the most characteristic dishes are dips, made with cheap ingredients (for example cuts of meat of lesser value) and, above all, the results of a quick preparation (which does not mean ready in a short time: the preparation often requires a long cooking, which takes place on the stove lit to heat the house).The sauce retains all the nutritional properties and all the flavour. These are dishes with a very strong taste, such as the “Cassoeula” (the name, strictly in dialect, does not have a convincing counterpart in Italian). It is a particular stew of pork (ribs and verzini, but also rind and, according to customizations, also snout and feet) and cabbage. It is a typically winter dish, according to the seasonal nature of the cabbage, which is better harvested after night frosts.
Cassoeula takes many hours of cooking: it can be put on the fire and left there, while you take care of other chores. The preparation does not fear excessive cooking or the need to heat leftover portions: indeed anything can improve the taste. Cassoela is traditionally accompanied by corn-meal polenta, in a single dish that is consumed faster than what happens with multiple courses.
Similar considerations can be formulated for tripe (“Buseca”), a common dish to all Lombard cuisine and beyond. It is a stew of meat made from the stomachs of cattle, a stew flavored with beans, tomato sauce, carrots and celery. Tripe is a “holiday” dish: many families still preserve the tradition of eating it as a Christmas Eve dish and it is present in the most popular festivals.
Another “holiday” dish is risotto with saffron, often proposed together with “luganega”, which is the most characteristic sausage of the Brianza area. 
Even the most typical Brianza dessert, the “Torta Paesana”, is an example of cuisine that pays attention to the use of raw materials. The dessert, in fact, was created to recycle stale bread, which is the main ingredient even in today’s most popular creations. Originally, the preparation involved macerating the dry bread with milk, sugar and eggs. At a later time, the addition of chocolate which has become an essential characteristic element of every recipe, which has many variations (in particular by providing fillings with raisins, candied fruit or pine nuts). Another simple and very typical dessert is the so-called “Pan Tramvai”, a simple bread mixed with raisins that gives it a very pleasant flavour.

Bergamo:  The Giro says: Many call it the Città dei Mille (“City of the Thousands”) because a significant number of the volunteers supporting Giuseppe Garibaldi in his expedition came from Bergamo, but this stunning city is generally more renowned for its most iconic zone: Città Alta (“Upper City”).
Indeed, when thinking of Bergamo, we often turn our attention to this upper and oldest part of the city, at the foot of which a more modern and bustling area of the city has grown and developed. The Città Alta is surrounded by its protective Venetian walls, fortifications built by the Republic of Venice that have cradled the houses and monuments of Città Alta since 1588 and which wind their way around this ancient section of Bergamo for over five kilometres: they’ve been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2017. These walls have a special place in the hearts of all of Bergamo’s inhabitants, often enjoying them for a Sunday morning stroll or for a run as they gaze out across the Po valley.


Regional Specialties: The city of Bergamo is like a little crown consisting of many jewels: indeed, as well as its plethora of history and art, the city can also astound with its ability to please the palate, thanks to its long wine and food tradition, offering a range of delicacies that have made it become known as the “creative city for cuisine”.
In any traditional Bergamo restaurant you’ll find casoncelli, a dish consisting of the classic local elongated ravioli, filled with meat and usually served in a sauce of butter and sage. And then there’s the polenta made with corn flour and buckwheat flour, which becomes polenta taragna when Branzi – a traditional cheese from Val Brembana – is added. We must also not forget the cured meats and, in particular, salami from Bergamo. Furthermore, the province of Bergamo is littered with lush alpine pastures roamed by many animal herds, and has a cheese making tradition that’s been perfected over the centuries, hence why today as many as nine local cheeses have obtained the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification – with a total of 150, the province of Bergamo has more active alpine pastures than anywhere else in Italy. The most renowned of these local cheeses are Branzi, Bitto, Stracchino and Agrì di Valtorta, a list to which “Strachitunt” has just been added, a very old cheese dating back to 1380 that’s recently been revived and has risen to international fame thanks to the tenacity of a few farmers and producers in Val Taleggio. Bergamo is also the birthplace of the famous Gelato alla Stracciatella, which dates back to 1961 and was first made by the historic La Marianna pastry shop in Città Alta.

The stage: Another day for the breakaway? Maybe. So we had another not small group setting out.
Under 100 kilometers to go and their gap was around 6 minutes.
The news of the mornin was about the retirement of Mark Cavendish, to come at the end of the season. I will miss him.
Time for some pretty images of the stage:
There may not have been a lot of action on the day, but nice to see some sunshine.
With that sun, came crowds.
Not known as a climber, it was Bonifazio attacking his breakmates and getting a minute gap. Eventually, others would take off after him.
Eventually, it would again by the Healy show. He was followed by McNulty and Frigo.
McNulty would catch him. 25 kilometers to go and they had about 40 seconds on Frigo. The peloton was around 7 minutes back.
Frigo was gradually getting closer. Fifteen kilometers to go and it was around 20 seconds. He would make it to the duo, with 10 kilometers to go.
Just over 7 kilometers to go and the attacks started, with McNulty launching first.  Next, Frigo.
On the final hill, an attack by Healy. Going with him, McNulty. 3 kilometers to go and Frigo was down 15 seconds. Again making it back, Frigo.
McNulty with his first grand tour stage win. Well done.
Way behind, a little bit of action from the GC group as they hit the final climb.
Slipping back a bit, the maglia rosa. He would lose about 25 seconds, but keep the jersey.
Time for another rest day.

The wine: Cantina Furlani Rosso Alpino 
From 2017
From the importer:
Towering over the alpine city of Trento, at some 700+ meters of altitude, are the tiny parcels of vines tended by Matteo Furlani.  Matteo is the current custodian of his family plots high in the Dolomites; he is a fourth generation winemaker. 
After studying agronomy, not winemaking (he learned that from his father and grandfather) Matteo set his sights on working his land in the most natural of ways. Chemicals were never a part of what Matteo's predecessors used to tend the vines yet Matteo took an even more rigorous approach, incorporating biodynamic preparations and methodologies in the vineyards today. 

The food:  Polenta Taragna

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb buckwheat flour
  • ¾ lb cornmeal
  • 1 lb Valtelline Valley cheese
  • 7 oz butter
  • breadcrumbs
  • salt
  • 12 cups water

Put the salted water into a pot and, off the heat, add 1/3 of the butter. Bring it to the boil, slowly pour in the yellow flour then the buckwheat one, stirring continuously and trying to amalgamate well to obtain a thick smooth mixture.
 
During cooking (an hour or so) add the remaining butter cut into pieces, then, when almost cooked, the breadcrumbs. A few minutes before taking off the heat, add the Valtelline Valley cheese, cut into chunks: the best thing would be using a matured cheese and a younger one, for example Talamona or Gerola cheese.
 
If you are using Bitto cheese, you can put a little less butter, keeping the proportion of 1/3 buckwheat flour, 1/3 Bitto cheese and 1/3 of butter. Give a final stir with the “tarel”(or a regular wooden spoon) then pour into the “balsa” (the traditional serving plate) before the cheese is completely melted.
It is generally served with salami and pickles.

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