About an hour’s drive south of Torino, in the middle of rich agricultural plains, situated on a low rise and hidden from sight in a park of old trees, is to be found a very traditional Piemontese ‘casale’, or country house. It is a gem of a house and belongs to the family of an
old friend, Vittorio Sportoletti - Baduel. My plan on leaving Torino was to go to ‘Il Pilone’ and stay for a few days with Vittorio and his wife Antonella, to see the Piemontese country living first hand and to use our time there to visit some of the surrounding districts... Over the next few days a succession of wonderful meals followed. That evening Maria Teresa cooked her Polpettone. Anywhere else this would be called meat loaf, but Polpettone is no ordinary meatloaf. It is made with veal which gives it a delicate flavour and was sensationally delicious. It was followed by a very Piemontese dessert called Bonet, which is like a creme caramel made with chocolate. To accompany the food we drank Barolo - the prince of Piemontese wines and one of the great wines of the world - from 1976...
