“Conversations at altitude” it can suggest gastronomic stimuli? The answer is yes: when conversing on themes and ways to explore perceptions, stimuli and narration of the high lands (Article here) it is necessary to also focus on the delicious aspect that the mountains offer. If then the debate takes place in the hall of the new Felicetti pasta factory, the combination between the level of altitude in the Dolomites and that of the prestige of signature cuisine is inevitable. With pasta interpreted by chefs with an Alpine version of cuisine, creative, in some ways unusual, almost provocative, but respectful of raw materials that recall the values of high altitudes.
Cuisine also in synergy with the word “conversation”, the term relaunches the comparison, the exchange of ways to interpret food, memories and references for a sensoriality all to be enjoyed. Taking advantage of some strictly “house” pasta shapes for the event.
So the pasta was poured into the dishes, interpreting the style and genius of two renowned chefs, engaged for the occasion in a four-handed proposal. An exceptional duo: Alessandro Gilmozzi, chef at El Molin in Cavalese – one Michelin star and one green star – with the young man Marco Galtarossa, star chef of Villa Elenain Bergamo Alta, with a kitchen brigade promoted by Enrico Bartoliniaward-winning (13 stars out of its 8 restaurants) and protagonist of Italian cuisine.
Two chefs who deliberately have interpreted the mountain without resorting to usual ingredients such as polenta, goulash, strudel and other valid culinary interpretations: Gilmozzi and Galtarossa aimed to make specifically pasta-based dishes delicious.
A sequence that starts with Cannellone made from Monograno pasta, ricotta and wild herbs, followed by pasta macarons, wild asparagus and verbena. Appetizers which preceded both the one with old-fashioned Stracchino, truffle and gold, then a Tartelletta with sheep marinated in spices, fermented strawberries and rhubarb. Trio concluded with arctic char, fir and watercress tartare with mountain pine crisps.
Wonderful appetizers that left room for two iconic dishes, specially developed for the occasion, to make the topic of the debate – conversing on the feeling that “mountain sickness” evokes – decidedly enjoyable: Spaghettoni il Cappelli Monograno, lemons, silver fir. In tow, Conchiglie Kamut khorasan Monograno, snails, nettles and Kombu, the seaweed that suggests oriental emotions without dispersing local flavours. But it doesn’t end here. For dessert, here is the histrionic and spectacular Rumtphof and pasta mochi, combined with other delicacies obtained from flour that Felicetti “kneads with the sky of the Dolomites”.
Trentino pride for wines, the classic Ferrari Pelè 2017, then the Villa Corniole Salisa Brut 2018 and the red 708 km, wine from the nearby Cembra valley, homage to the 708 kilometers of dry stone walls that support bold vineyards.
At this point you will ask yourself: why mention it in a mountaineering conversation promoted by The Othermountain a signature menu for a product for everyday food, popular, simple and genuine like pasta? Because issues emerged in the discussion that concern the very meaning of agri-food production.
Farmers from warm lands who sow wheat, the flours selected from the highest altitude pasta factoryEurope, entrepreneurs with a typical, authoritative mastery applied precisely by the inhabitants of the highlands. They are the ones who strengthen and converse with the meaning and gestures of words like colere, that is to cultivate. Relaunching crops that – even at the table – become culture.
