Azienda Agricola Merlo

Zero-kilometre Piedmontese veal and beef – this is what this livestock in the pretty countryside between Rivarossa and Rivarolo has to offer. The farm was established in 1975 by the grandfather of the present owners, Tiziana and Cristina, and over the years since then has come to specialise in Piedmontese cattle (as a member of the Coalvi protection consortium). Just a few metres from the shop (open on Thursday and Friday from 8.30am to 12.30pm and 3pm to 7pm, and Saturday from 8.30am to 6.30pm) they rear over a hundred head. The shop itself sells ready-to-cook items (boiling beef, roasts, roulades, hamburgers, brochettes and meatballs), parts of the animal such as diaphragms, flanks and cheeks, and pork and chicken from other Piedmontese farms. There is also a deli department with specialities, such as tuna roulades with peppers, chicken salad and stuffed tomatoes, that change weekly on a rotation basis. Fresh pasta is always available: hence meat-filled agnolotti, lasagne and crespelle. In summer, the meat sushis are always very popular. The range is rounded off by cheeses from select Piemontese dairy farms and a series of Coalvi-brand products (biscuits, preserves and sauces).

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