‘It went like this: in the old days, thirteen big men went to venerate the remains of the patron saint of the Upper Novara area. On their way back, when they reached what is now Borgomanero, they suddenly felt an unprecedented appetite that we might call hunger. It had been stimulated by the fresh, thin air that flows from Monte Rosa and that has made the so-called food industry flourish there since the early days.

But ‘our’ characters had been caught up in the sacred fervour of the pious pilgrimage and had forgotten to replenish their provisions. The saddlebags were desolately empty on the back of the little donkey that had followed them on the long journey. And since, at that moment, the hungry donkey was gnawing on a cardoon with obvious satisfaction, someone suggested that they could gnaw on the donkey with equal satisfaction. And so, without further ado, they made chops out of the donkey. It seems, however, that the chops were very hard, so they reduced them to tiny pieces and kept the pot on the fire for a long time.

The result was a meal that the ‘thirteen’ thought was excellent. Struck by optimism, they decided not to continue their journey and to settle in a place that seemed to have been revealed to them by Saint Julius himself. A village was founded, that became a city over the centuries. Its inhabitants have long forgotten the customs of the ancient founders, but not the food that is perhaps at the origin of their fortune. And, the donkey meat of the story was replaced with tender, finely minced beef, thrown on a mixture of oil and butter flavoured with rosemary, bay leaf and garlic, then simmered. And when all the sauce is absorbed, they keep it moist and soft by sprinkling it with good red wine. After an hour or so everything is ready, and it can be served, preferably with well-cooked polenta, and accompanied by the good wine of the hills stretching from Maggiora to Gattinara and Ghemme.

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Era stata a ridestarli l’aria fresca e sottile che vi rifluisce dal Monte Rosa e che, da tempo immemorabile, vi fa prosperare quella che usa chiamarsi industria alimentare.

Senonché i “nostri”, presi dal sacro fervore del pio pellegrinaggio, avevano dimenticato di rinnovare le provviste, e le bisacce cadevano desolatamente vuote sul dorso dell’asinello che li aveva seguiti nel lungo cammino. E poiché questo rosicchiava in quel momento con evidente soddisfazione un cardo offer­tosi alla sua onesta fame, fu suggerito da qualcuno che con uguale soddisfazione lo stesso asinello avrebbe potuto essere rosicchiato dagli affamati padroni, i quali, senza attendere oltre, si diedero a farne braciole. Pare tuttavia che queste rivelassero insospettata durezza, talché fu d’uopo ridurle in minuti frammenti e tenerne la pentola lungamente al fuoco.

Sortì una vivanda che i “tredici”, giudicarono eccellente, e che li dispose siffattamente all’ottimismo da indurli a non riprendere il viaggio e a stabilirsi in un luogo che loro sembrò rivelato da San Giulio in persona. Il villaggio che ne nacque, è, col passare dei secoli divenuto città, e i suoi abitanti hanno da gran tempo dimenticato gli usi dei lontanissimi fondatori: non già però la vivanda che è forse all’origine della loro fortuna. E, sostituita con tenera carne di manzo finemente tritata quella bonaria dell’asino della storia, la gettano su un soffritto d’olio e burro profumato da rosmarino, lauro ed aglio; quindi la cuociono a fuoco lento, e quando tutto il sugo è assorbito, la mantengono umida e morbida irrorandola di buon vino nero. Dopo un’ora o poco più tutto è pronto, e può essere servito, meglio se con polenta ben cotta, e se sposato al generoso vino delle colline che si stendono da Maggiora sino a Gattinara e a Ghemme.”

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