The mountains fascinate us and so does good food, so we decided to spend our day in Mendatica Im. Mendaiga or Mendega in the Ligurian dialect.

Reachable from Colle San Bernardo through Colle di Nava. From Ormea in Valle Tanaro

Now I write Imperia, I discovered it by going there as I was convinced it was a town in the Cuneo area.

We went a few years ago on the tour that took us to the exploration of the Via Del Sale Ligure. On this occasion, we started from Colle di Nava, thus completing our excursions. On the Piedmont-Liguria border.

After strolling through the town and appreciating its state of preservation, we were carried away by the open-air art gallery. The walls of Mendatica are covered with Murals created with great mastery, and we were fascinated by them.

Transhumance festival and lunch with Goat and Beans Stew. The lady next door was saying that goat and beans was a poor man’s dish, it was put to cook early in the morning in the fireplace or on the stove, often potatoes were added so lunch was complete.

I made the version without potatoes, and I can assure you that the bread dipping will be a delightful finale.

Rest time: 12 Hours
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 3
Cooking methods: Slow Cooking
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring

Ingredients

Goat meat, I have no problem finding it as my children raise them, and it was they who introduced me to this dish.

1.1 lbs goat meat (Goat stew meat)
1 glass wine (Red)
10.6 oz white beans (cannellini) (If, from Pigna Im obviously it's better.)
1 tbsp roast herbs (Rosemary, thyme, bay leaf.)
1 coffee cup sauté mix
to taste olive oil
to taste salt

Tools

Steps

The night before, I soaked the dry beans with a pinch of baking soda. The goat meat was marinated in wine covered in the refrigerator to reduce the strong odor and make it more tender.

The first operation is to cook the beans in plenty of water and salt.
Remove the meat from the wine and brown it well in hot oil
Then add the sauté mix and aromatic herbs
Then add the remaining wine and let it evaporate. Start cooking by adding the cooking water of the beans
After the first half hour of cooking, add the beans and continue cooking. Add bean cooking water when necessary. Check the salt and finish cooking on low heat.