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Art and culture

Conscripts' party

March 21, 2011

Taste is genius’ good sense (Chateaubriand, Essay on English literature).

When not everybody was obliged to serve in the army, there was the habit to cast lots using numbers written on little papers: the ones who had the highest numbers wouldn’t serve.

Before leaving, the conscripts used to organize a lunch for everyone, followed by a ball. It was a happy moment, when everybody could have fun before leaving.

This kind of meeting has always been a rite to sign important moments in a man’s life: the christening, the army, the wedding and death.

This one, called disné ‘d tiré ‘l bièt, is the most important, being an end and a new beginning at the same time. It’s the moment when the boys become men, he is walking through the door from boys’ to adult life.

And the conscripts were twenty years old, when everything is beautiful and possible. It’s the most enjoyable and pure disné ‘d la leva; then, all the others, organized every five years, don’t have the same power; there are often problems, quarrels, delusions.

The conscripts don’t have these problems. Once the conscripts used to spend three whole days together before leaving. They were days charged with a symbolic value, an initiation to life of boys who were maybe physically older than today’s twenty-years-olds, but surely were much more innocent.

In composing this menu, I have chosen dishes that belong to the most genuine tradition: the raw meat and the filled onions as appetizers, together with a cardoon flan with bagna caoda, a bit more new but delicious.

Then there are the tajarin with a chicken liver sauce (very few people still remember this sauce, the only one that can make tajarin truly unforgettable), the finanziera (a difficult dish, that is either loved or hated; there are no other ways), the brasato al Barolo, the “Martine” pears timbale (unfortunately, a forgotten cake).

All the wines are red: Dolcetto, Barbera and Barolo; after the lunch, Barolo Chinato, aromatic and glorious drink.

So, long live today’s youth, from someone who was twenty at the end of the Sixties, those great and colourful Sixties! Long live those young boys born then.

After the Eighties, the age of hope, I wish them all the best things for the next millennium, along with a suggestion: add a place at your table, always.

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Armando Gambera

A chemistry graduate from the University of Turin, he works as a secondary school chemistry teacher. For many years, he has focused his studies and research on the field of cookery, wine and cheese, especially those of the Langhe area of Italy. He contributes to Slow Food guides on the subject (‘Osteria d’Italia’, ‘Le Strade del Barolo’, ‘Barolo e Barbaresco’, ‘Guida delle Langhe e del Roero’, ‘Le ricette delle osterie di Langa’, ‘Formaggi d’Europa’). He has written books for the La Morra Municipal Cellar: ‘La cucina e i vini di La Morra’ (The cuisine and wine of La Morra), ‘La vigna in etichetta, storia del Barolo di La Morra’ (Vineyards in Labels, the History of La Morra Barolo). His monograph ‘La cucina di Alba nel Novecento’ (1900s Cuisine in Alba) features in the book edited by the Famija Albeisa, ‘Il grande libro della cucina di Alba’ (The Great Book of Alba Cuisine). He writes for magazines (Barolo & Co.; Slowfood; L’Assaggiatore; Itinerari in Piemonte). He is a Master Taster of cheeses and holds the position of Vice President of ONAF (National Organisation of Cheese Tasters); he holds lessons in wine and cheese tasting and organises cookery courses held in restaurants throughout Langa. His cookery courses have given rise to two recipe books: ‘Cucinando col vino’ (Cooking with Wine) and ‘Cucina d’autunno’ (Autumn Cooking). --------------------------------- Laureato in chimica presso l’Università di Torino, è professore di chimica nelle scuole superiori. Da parecchi anni si dedica allo studio e alla ricerca nel campo della cucina, dei vini e dei formaggi, in particolare delle Langhe. Collabora alle guide del settore pubblicate dallo Slow Food ("Osteria d’Italia", "Le strade del Barolo", "Barolo e Barbaresco", "Guida delle Langhe e del Roero", "Le ricette delle osterie di Langa", "Formaggi d’Europa"). Per la Cantina Comunale di La Morra ha scritto i libri: "La cucina e i vini di La Morra", "La vigna in etichetta, storia del Barolo di La Morra". Su "Il grande libro della cucina di Alba", edito dalla Famija Albeisa, compare la sua monografia "La cucina di Alba nel Novecento". Scrive su alcune riviste (Barolo & Co.; Slowfood; L’Asssaggiatore; Itinerari in Piemonte). E’ Maestro Assaggiatore di formaggi e ricopre la carica di Vicepresidente dell’ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori di Formaggi); tiene lezioni di degustazione dei vini e dei formaggi, organizza corsi di scuola di cucina presso i ristoranti di Langa. Dai corsi di cucina ha tratto due ricettari: "Cucinando col vino" e "Cucina d’autunno".

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