A great Venetian Igp: the Cimadolmo White Asparagus
Veneto boasts two more products among the regional asparagus, besides the Asparago di Bassano DOP: two Protected Geographical Indication, real institutions of the Venetian traditional cuisine. They belong to the ancient and far peasant and culinary tradition of the region; the Asparago di Badoere Igp and the Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp.
Characteristics of the Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp
Rigorously white, swollen with a big and solid stem. The Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp belongs to a small town in Treviso and it is well appreciated for its delicate and fresh taste. The white colour is given by the careful cultivation in the alluvial lands of Piave River and the techniques of covering the cultivation with dark clothes to avoid the light to enter. Fluvial waters flow through the Cimadolmo sandy and muddy soils, which permeability allows the water to drain. For all these reasons the Asparagus can grow quickly and healthy.
It is unique not only for the unforgettable delicate and sweet flavour but also for its short availability, in fact you can eat it only in the months of April and May. It has been the first asparagus to obtain a product certification in the whole Europe, prized not only for its high organoleptic quality, but also for the strict code of conduct followed for its production.
Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp: its history
The history of the asparagus has ancient origins; in fact it was already appreciated and eaten during the Romanian Empire as even Plinio il Vecchio said, defining it an extraordinary food. Its production has spread in 1600 and its consumption became widespread. In Cimadolmo, Agostinetti wrote about the making process of this vegetable in 1679, witnessing about the asparagus cultivation. In Cimadolmo the asparagus consumption was widely spread, so that in the near Venetian countryside, growing rapidly in the recent years to reach the extraordinary today’s data. The demand of this tasty vegetable doesn’t want to stop.
The cultivation of the Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp
The soil has to be set carefully to guarantee the high quality of the final product and the total lack of pigmentation in order to leave the asparagus as white as snow. The first step is the ploughing of the soil, then the surface is turned over and fertilized, concluding with the mulching, an important phase. The cultivation of the Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp follows the phytosanitary biological and integrated defence technique. The process is long and precise, only after three years it is possible to harvest the first vegetable; the first year the harvest lasts a maximum of 20 days whereas the following years the harvest can lasts up to two months.
The shops sell prefect Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp, as the code of conduct says: branded bunches, only perfect buds, big, healthy and fleshy, white, washed and of the same quality.
Cooking the Cimadolmo White Asparagus Igp
The traditional Venetian recipes foresee to boil the asparagus paired with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters or grinded, seasoned with oil and balsamic vinegar. In addition the sweet, solid and delicate asparagus is perfect to prepare excellent risotto or cooked in the oven rounded by bacon, but also used as the stuffing for the lasagna together with the savoury Asiago Dop cheese.
However they are delicious simply boiled in hot water and eaten with a drizzle of extra virgin oil.
Discover the other Venetian DOP cheeses in this article.
Fonti:
www.asparagobiancodicimadolmo.it
www.marcadoc.com
www.stradadellasparago.it
