Langhe at the table Summer dishes of local tradition

Talking about summer recipes starting from the traditional cookbook of the Langhe is not easy.

While on one hand, traditional peasant dishes are always based on the seasonality of ingredients, on the other hand, they had to take into account the hard work in the countryside, which required an adequate calorie intake to be completed.

Traditional peasant dishes were meant to satisfy hunger, not to refresh.

It’s not uncommon to find dishes that, if served in July, make you feel hot just thinking about them (palmina duck, anyone?).

So I propose a 3-level escalation of “heaviness”. From “light lunch” to “grandpa mode” activated.

Level #1
in the Cool under the Vine

We were saying that finding something truly light is not easy, but it’s not impossible either.

Finding something truly light is not easy, but it’s not impossible either.

There are indeed dishes that can be eaten warm or cold, low in calories, based on seasonal ingredients.

The Capunet (or Caponet)

Traditionally served piping hot, but in my opinion, also enjoyable cold or lukewarm, caponet are the epitome of Langhe “finger food”: zucchini flowers ready to be eaten on the go, stuffed with cheese, parsley, eggs, and meat.

Absolutely worth trying, but difficult to find in restaurants, they are however very easy to prepare at home.

Frittatas for all Tastes

Fresh, economical, easy to transport, seasonal, moderately caloric and filling, frittata was one of the omnipresent dishes on our grandparents’ tables.

In local tradition, there are some for all tastes: from the “rognosa” frittata, prepared with roast leftovers, to the one with St. Peter’s herb, to the one based on Robiola cheese.

Frittata is the multitasking of peasant cuisine: good hot, warm, or in your pocket

Level #2
Mid-day Table

From here things start to get serious. We’re not yet in the red zone of the harvester’s lunch, but we’re dangerously approaching it. It’s the moment when the body demands something more substantial, but the mind – still aware of the outside temperature – tries to maintain a certain balance.

This is the peasant’s midday table: no longer a snack, but still far from the big feast. The dishes here have a dual nature: they are rich but not explosive, satisfying but without the need for a digestive ambulance.

In short, it’s that level where you can indulge in a stuffed onion, a veal pocket, or fettuccine with cream without feeling (too) guilty. The important thing is to stop before the grappa. Maybe.

Stuffed onions

Stuffed onions are the perfect compromise between the lightness of a vegetable and the satisfaction of a filling “done right”.

They look good, smell delicious and seem almost light… until you eat three. With their mix of meat, cheese, and garden aromas, they’re the ideal dish for those who want to get serious at lunch — but without needing a change of shirt afterwards.

Fettuccine with Zucchini, Basil, and Chardonnay

After a string of appetizers, we’ve finally arrived at a first course, fettuccine with zucchini, basil, and Chardonnay.

Despite the cream, the zucchini and the splash of Chardonnay make the dish fresh and light. Ideal even for the hottest middays.

Stuffed veal sack

The stuffed veal pocket is that dish that immediately feels like Sunday, even if it’s Tuesday. A thin slice of meat wrapping a delicious filling (eggs, ham, herbs…), rolled up and cooked with patience.

To be served cold, it’s not a bomb, but not a little salad either: it’s the dish for those who want to impress with minimal effort… and maximum flavor. It sits in the second level with elegance: challenging, but still manageable without the need for a post-lunch siesta.

Level #3
the Harvester’s Lunch (Grandpa Mode Activated)

You’ve surpassed the peasant snack and skillfully navigated through stuffed veal and filled onions. Congratulations, you’re ready to enter the “Olympus of true Langhe eaters: here Grandpa mode is unlocked, where you don’t look at the c” lock, but count the tajarin on your plate.

Here Grandpa mode is unlocked: you don’t look at the clock, you count the tajarin.

This is the realm of sauce that simmers for hours, of meat that cuts with a fork, and portions “because there’s still room”. It’s the lunch for special occasions, but also for everyday peasant life: because after a morning of threshing wheat, forget about salad.

If you make it to the end, grappa awaits you. If you don’t… it still does.

The Wheat Threshing Soup

Rustic and hearty broth, enriched with vegetables, rice, and that taste “of hard work” that gets inside you. It’s one of those dishes that starts as a comfort and ends as a nap.

You eat it thinking: “it’s just soup”, then you get up from the table slowly, like someone who’s just finished a real meal. And indeed, it is.

Ginòta’s Rabbit

Ginòta’s rabbit is a recipe that tastes of slow Sundays, heavy pans, and grandmothers saying “I only made a little, try it”. No frills: well-browned meat, garlic, rosemary, wine, and a peasant patience that we can only dream of today.

The result? Tender, fragrant, and perfect for soaking up the sauce with a mountain of bread. It’s one of those dishes that doesn’t allow for dieting: you either eat it, or you watch it. But watching without tasting is cruelty.

Chicken Marengo

Chicken Marengo, in its Piedmontese version, is anything but an improvised military field recipe. Here there’s study, there’s depth, there’s flavor. Forget shrimp and eggs: properly browned chicken, garlic, tomato, white wine, and good oil. All cooked patiently until the sauce becomes a red caress that screams “mop me up with bread!”

It’s the dish that takes its name from history, but owes its flavor to the countryside. And it deserves a place of honor at the third level: when at the table you fight… but against the desire to stop eating.

Bonus Level
the Secret Dessert

You thought it was over, didn’t you? But no. Like any respectable game, Langhe cuisine also has its bonus level: the one that unlocks only if you’ve completed everything else — or if you’ve behaved well during lunch. Here we enter the world of traditional desserts: simple in appearance, but full of caloric traps and deep satisfactions.

It’s the gastronomic equivalent of finding the secret room behind the wall in Bowser’s castle: you enter out of curiosity, and stay for love.

Cherries in Birbèt (or Brachetto)

They seem light, harmless, almost a detox end to the meal… but they’re drunk cherries.

Marinated in sweet wine, fragrant and fresh, they’re the most elegant way to end a meal without giving up anything. Watch out: one leads to another, and so does the glass.

Panna cotta

The most diplomatic dessert of the Langhe: everyone likes it, it offends no one and adapts to every occasion.

But beware: well-made panna cotta (the real one, not the packaged kind) has a consistency that looks you in the eye and says: “taste me again”.

Stuffed peaches

A summer fruit transformed into a small oven bomb. Amaretti cookies, cocoa, eggs… and into the oven until the house smells of “happy grandma”.

The “persi pin” (stuffed peaches) are served warm, and if you want to modernize them, add a scoop of ice cream on the side: the coup de grâce of the bonus level.

Tartàra Dòlce

A cross between a pudding, a semifreddo, and a mystery. The tartàra dòlce is an ancient dessert, creamy and a bit out of time, perfect for those who want to discover the true gems of Langhe cuisine. It seems like a secret… because it is.