Territories, we were saying, «yet this concept runs the risk of becoming a cliché», points out Federico de Cesare Viola.

So it would be best to use the French term terroir, as it includes history, cultural heritage, knowledge. These are concepts Corrado Assenza, who followed the works with attention (preparing each night memorable desserts), holds dear: «We are cultural animals, there’s a strip of territory that is immaterial. It is called culture».

Therefore, we need to make an effort to study in depth, to go beyond Hercules’ Columns. Piergiorgio Parini always does so.

His take on territory is unexpected: nothing static, a continuous «research, research, research», in the words of Eleonora Cozzella. 

The chef presents the ingredients he has thought about especially for the participating pizza chefs, as toppings for the leavened disc: «All these products come from my territory». That is to say: kiwi, persimmon, cypress cones, formaggio di fossa, chilli pepper and black cabbage.

A double surprise: why «persimmon or cypress cones on pizza?!?». And even more so: where does Parini come from? Romagna: the second largest kiwi producer, that is to say.

Yet this fruit has Asian origins, same goes for persimmon; and the cypress used is from America, just like the chilli pepper; the formaggio di fossa is made with sheep milk, «yet sheep were only brought to my area by Sardinian shepherds after WWII». So what is this strange territory? The overlapping of many different seeds and influences. A fertile stratification. A shimmering identity. A root that dies without development.

We need a dynamic process, just like the world of pizza. Parini’s provocation: «A kiwi baked in a ventilated oven at 130°C for 30/40 minutes looks like a confit green tomato. It concentrates the acidity and the minerality, losing the liquid».

So use it, he exhorts (the result will be a success: perhaps the best pizza at PizzaUp 2015 includes beetroot sauce, kiwi, buffalo milk mozzarella and chopped thyme, marjoram and basil. In the photo).

Carlo Passera
source: http://newsletter.identitagolose.it/email.php?id=561

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