Paste de Meliga from Biella

By Gina DePalma

Northeast of the Piemontese capital of Torino lies the province of Biella, enclosing both the provincial capital city of the same name, and this month’s wine DOC zone, the Coste delle Sesia. In Biella and throughout northern Piedmont, corn and rice take a place of importance alongside wheat in cooking and baking. Corn historically began its rise as a baking ingredient here when wheat crops periodically failed; locals began subbing corn flour for a portion of wheat flour when the latter became scarce, giving birth to new culinary traditions.

Paste de Meliga literally translates, in local dialect, to “pulp of corn.” It makes sense, since the dough resembles a corny paste, but the similarity ends there. These delightful cookies bake up light and crispy. The flavors are simple but delicious – sweet butter, hints of lemon and vanilla, bound with the familiar, gritty texture of ground corn. When made with Piemontese corn – traditionally stone-ground, with the germ of the corn kernel still intact – they explode with deep, corny flavor. I’m not sure if our genetically fiddled-with corn can stand up alongside, but the best way to duplicate that flavor here in the States is to choose an organic, stone-ground cornmeal.

Another iconic feature of these cookies is their shape. At the local pasticceria they are formed into circular loops or a traditional “S” shape, with ridges that catch the heat of the oven and turn golden. Like spritz cookies, you will squeeze these out with a pastry bag to form them, using a wide star tip. Be sure to use parchment-lined, or greased cookie sheets for these, and rotate the pans 180 degrees halfway through the baking time, to ensure that they cook evenly.

Cornmeal cookies are baked in a wide swath of Piedmont, from Cuneo, southwest of Torino, all the way up to Varese, each with a different twist of flavor and moniker. In the town of Barge, they are called “bataje” and served at christening ceremonies to celebrate the birth of a new baby. Paste de Meliga were said to be a favorite cookie of Count Cavour, one of the leading figures of the Italian Risorgimento, who munched them while sipping from a glass of Barolo Chinato. New York’s Grom gelateria fans take note: One of Grom’s signature flavors is “Crema di Grom,” an eggy custard with bits of crumbled – you guessed it – paste di meglia. Yum.

Paste de Meliga

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
¾ cup stone-ground cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
6 oz. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease two cookie sheets and line them with parchment paper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until very soft, fluffy and light, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and beat in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula.

Fit a pastry bag with a ½ inch open star tip, and put ½ the batter in the bag. Pipe out the cookies, 11/2 inches apart, in the form of an S or a loop. The cookies will spread a lot, so be sure to space them properly. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they are firm and lightly golden. Slide the papers from the pans onto racks to cool completely.

Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in an airtight plastic container.

Makes about 20 cookies

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