Valchiavenna is a wonderful place, a little-traveled valley, for few connoisseurs. Here, in the small town of Mese, a special recovery dish is prepared: the ribollita of the poor
Valchiavenna has nothing to envy to Valtellina, not even the taroz. In fact, taroz are a dish similar to the Valchiavennasco Rustiment, but not the same. Not the same because a fundamental ingredient is missing that makes it unique and different: polenta. Or rather, the remains of polenta, since Rustiment is above all a dish of recovery, so much so that it is called "the ribollita of the poor".
What is the Rustiment de Mees
The Rustiment de Mees is a typical dish of Mese, a small town in Valchiavenna, a few kilometers from Chiavenna. Patron of the town is San Vittore, which is celebrated on May 8, the day on which the Scandolera Boeucc Crotti Consortium, with Mattia Mastai, organize the Rustiment festival. In 2020 it would have reached its 34th edition, but for obvious reasons Covid was postponed. On the occasion of this party, there are always many, to prepare together this dish based on green beans, potatoes, butter is cheese, then sautéed in a pan. For this reason, it is eaten especially from March and April, when the first green beans begin, until May and June, when the last are harvested, together with the leftovers of polenta and the last potatoes of the previous year, in view of the new July harvest. But in reality, Mattia explains, "there is no real seasonality, since Rustiment can also be made with other vegetables during the year. What never fails are cheese and polenta, always present in the houses of our valley . In fact, the Rustiment is now almost always found in some crotti and refuges that characterize the Valchiavennasco landscape.
Crotti and refuges where to find the Rustiment
If you are lucky enough to meet someone from Month or Chiavenna, the best place to try Rustiment is with the family. In fact, such a traditional and homemade dish reaches its peak when prepared at home. Alternatively, the version present at the festival is highly respectable. If you do not have the opportunity to be in Chiavenna in those days, there are two places that are very different from each other, but to be tried equally for many other dishes. One is that paradise of Uschione refuge, at 840 meters above sea level, where you can enjoy genuine, well-made local cuisine, sitting at the tables outside in the open air, with a spectacular view of that wonder that is Valchiavenna, which unlike other more popular mountain valleys, does not flaunts its beauty. But please, go up to the refuge on foot! The second place is a crotto, one of the most elegant, the Crotasc of Month. The crotti are fundamental for understanding the landscape of Valchiavenna (there is also Crotti festival in September): these are caves (from crypta or crota) that formed naturally among the rocks, where there is a current of air called Sorel, which in every season maintains a temperature always cool, which never exceeds 8 degrees . This is why they are excellent places for storing and maturing food and wine. But the crotti are above all places of gathering, aggregation and strong sociality in the valley, where eating and drinking, even if they are not all open to the public: there are some (few) which are still rustic and simple, as they once were; and then others, such as the Crotasc who was one of the first to reopen, perfectly restored in an exemplary way. "Crotasc is for special occasions, think that they come to us right from Milan!", He tells us Renato Cipriani, a resident of the month who gave us the original Rustiment recipe.
The original recipe of Month
We asked the original Rustiment recipe to those who have lived in Mese for years, such as the delightful lady Rosy and his neighbor, Renato Cipriani. We were told that in the past only butter was used for sautéing, while today oil is also used, so you can proceed at your convenience. Furthermore, the doses vary according to the number of people and the availability of the products: in fact there are Rustiment with more polenta, others with more green beans, others even more potatoes, if not even with other vegetables. So follow your taste first, because there are many versions of Rustiment in the valley!
Ingredients
onion
oil
butter
basil
potatoes
green beans
cheese (casera, magnocca or parmesan)
salt
pepper
Method
Brown the thinly sliced onion and basil in a pan with oil and / or butter (some add it at the end so that the flavor remains intact).
Add boiled potatoes and green beans cut into small pieces, salt and pepper. Chop and mix until a homogeneous mixture is obtained, then add the polenta cut into pieces and mix in the same way.
Add the cheese taken from the dairy, even of two types if you want, then a little bow of butter and mix.
Cover with the lid and lower the heat until everything melts, then mix again.
Mix and create a pie.
Serve with salami, cheese or other vegetables.
Finally, the advice is to pair the Rustiment with the wines from the cellar Mamete Prevostini. And then, to end sweetly, treat yourself to a pastry dessert Soul Cake di Chiavenna, absolutely among the best in Lombardy. You will not regret it!
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