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March/April 2023 XV MAGAZINE cutting it into large pieces, I remove the fat and sinewy part, which I usually use to make the broth for the Canederli . Every family has its own recipe for cooking gulash . The most popular one is to cook the meat in broth with wine, onions and tomato, and to let it cook slowly for at least three hours, the time needed for the stew to tenderize and the sauce to thicken. This is a dish in which flavourings and spices are fundamental: paprika, sweet or spicy, depending on taste, cumin, cloves, bay leaves and pepper. Another speciality in this corner of Italy, carne salmistrata or carne salada , a cured meat that can be served raw as an hors d’oeuvre or grilled as a main course, which first appeared on South Tyrolean tables when the Adige Valley became an important crossroads between the populations of the Mediterranean and north-eastern Europe. This situation prompted the Prince and Bishop, Bernardo Clesio, to issue a decree stating that one fifth of the cattle in transit had to be slaughtered in the lands of the Bishopric of Trento. Today, carne salada is the gastronomic banner of some municipalities on the Trentino side of Lake Garda and of a part of the interior, some towns in Valle di Ledro, Bleggio and the Giudicarie; Tenno, however, is its cradle together with the hamlets of Gavazzo, Canale, Ville del Monte, Pranzo, and Cologna. Only prized cuts such as rump, sirloin or ribeye are used to prepare it. The curing with salt, pepper, juniper berries, bay leaves, rosemary and garlic is essential, as is the marinade, which can vary from 25 to 30 days. However, it should be pointed out that all Trentino salumi are a world apart, which is why they are protected and promoted by the Consorzio Trentino Salumi. The best known are Speck , Lardo with herbs , Soppressa della Valsugana , smoked beef Bresaola , Kaminwurze and Luganiga , which is the oldest and most traditional sausage in Trentino. But the absolute queen of these lands is the apple, recently recognised by the EU as PGI. The most famous are those from Val di Non, Val Venosta and Val Pusteria. Known all over the world for their unique taste, they are excellent as fruit but also as a thirst- quenching juice, and not just in summer, or to prepare delicious desserts such as strudel, apple fritters and apple tarts from Val di Non. THE FLAVOUR OF TRENTINO IN A GLASS In Trentino, vineyards are an essential part of the landscape, from the flatter, sunnier fields on the shores of Lake Garda to the dry-stone walls that bear witness to heroic agriculture, as in Valle di Cembra. The patient labour of the wine growers and the diversity of the microclimates within this territory are the elements of an equation that has produced unique wines and prestigious bottles. Some wines can tell the story of Trentino better than others, because the vines they come from have their roots here from the very start. Nosiola is an indigenous vine, from which the precious Vino Santo , typical of the Valle dei Laghi, is also made. Marzemino della Vallagarina , also mentioned by Mozart in his Don Giovanni, which yields curiously unexpected expressions on the different sides of the valley divided by the Adige river. Teroldego della Piana Rotaliana, the prince of Trentino wines, full-bodied and ruby red, as the legend to which it is linked intertwines the origin of the vine with the blood of a dragon that dwelt in the caves of the castle of San Gottardo. Other happy oenological expressions of the territory are granted by the Müller Thurgau that , although not an indigenous vine, has found in the porphyry soil and in the temperature ranges of the Cembra Valley the optimal conditions for an excellent yield. And then there is the Chardonnay, which forms the basis of the excellent production of Trentodoc, the now famous mountain bubbles that gave birth to the Italian metodo classico. AT PAGE 51 PRODUCTS Speck Alto Adige Produced in the areas of the autonomous province of Bolzano in South Tyrol and has been granted Protected Geographical Indication since ‘97. The external colour is brown, but when cut it is red with pinkish white parts. The smell is of pleasant aromatic smokiness and the characteristic taste is intense and savoury. The pork leg is rounded at the tip, cut and trimmed, then placed in a brine bath with flavourings for about 15 days, during which time it is turned several times. It is then dried and smoked for about 2-3 weeks, and finally cured for about 4-5 months. Asiago Produced in the two neighbouring areas of the provinces of Padua and Treviso, and the provinces of Vicenza and Trento. Its shape is cylindrical and the flavour is slightly piquant. The paste is compact with small to medium- sized straw-coloured holes. If the cheese is matured for more than a year, the paste may appear grainy with a concoid split, still straw-coloured. The rind is about 3/4 mm smooth. To produce it, only cow’s milk is used, which is left to skim in some vats for about 6-12 hours. Afterwards, it is put into a boiler to extract the curd, which is then placed in suitable wooden moulds to shape it. Afterwards, the mass will be moved to other plastic moulds to imprint it. Salting takes place in a salt cellar or dry, using coarse kitchen salt. Depending on the maturing time, two types of Asiago d’Allevo