Ricette, 50 rifugi

The refuge is not a "high altitude restaurant", it is first of all a point of support for hikers who go to the mountains. Only those who have arrived at a refuge after walking in the rain or a snowstorm, in the dark, perhaps losing their way and finding it again, can deeply understand the word "refuge". And the managers scattered across Italy, who welcome walkers, have the same spirit that unites them even if they live and work in different places. The book therefore brings together 55 realities scattered across the mountains of Italy, between the Alps and the Apennines, which have in common the managers' desire to live in the mountains and their sensitivity in hospitality underlined by one or more recipes with which they feed the mountain people with gusto... The salient fact is that local products are used and therefore a strong and natural connection is created with local producers: in fact there is nothing more precious than "zero kilometre" because it means saving hours of walking to go down to the village, do the shopping and bring it back up in the backpack. And all this without waste: the food that arrives up there is very precious and before throwing away a leftover you think about it and rethink... until you invent new dishes: many recipes in this book were born like this. Some managers have talked about the problems they encounter when cooking in the refuges: how it can sometimes be difficult to guarantee the freshness of the products, originality in the choice of dishes, being efficient in kitchens where sometimes you don't even have running water. Finally, this guide is intended as an invitation for loyal friends/customers of the refuges to repeat the recipes (which have finally been revealed!), and for those who do not frequent the refuges, to take a walk in the mountains to get up there with 'right appetite!