Bona Sera Supper Club

Lardo for Locals

Ok, so Wonder Woman told me I had to try lardo, that infamous salumi that is cured, spiced pig fat and I’m game enough…I mean, it’s pig, it’s fat, what could go wrong?

We’re staying a few hours away from Colonnata, most famous of lardo makers and I knew I probably wouldn’t be up for that drive, though I would have loved to see part of the process of curing and storing in marble containers…so instead, I opted for the easy way out…I saw it in a case and grabbed a few slices up.

The rest of my traveling companions had heard me mention a quest for lardo from early on in our trip and were a little astounded that I actually shelled out Euros for it…(“You’re gonna what? You’re gonna eat lard? What for?”)

I’ll confess that I thought it would be for the sport of it, for the adventure…I was pretty sure it would be better than being stung by a hornet, but I wasn’t sure how MUCH better.

I’m frankly glad that we are here in October…it’s  been very chilly here and windy…a bit better than home I hear.

We need a fire every night to feed the radiators and keep ourselves warm.

A hunter this morning, waiting for his dog to flush game.

But when I wake up I walk out to the view of the valley behind our place and see hunters every day down below. From now until February they are looking for boar and small game (rabbit, birds) and you can hear the clacking bells that they hang around their dogs’ necks.

From just up the hill you can also hear the church tower chime out the hour and half hour in between the gun shots that echo from around every hilltop here in the mornings.

If we had come in summer, I’m not sure if the temperature would make lardo seem so enticing, but this morning it seemed like just the ticket for breakfast.

Trepidation

My three stages of lardoness:

Trepidation–lay white fat on bread

Mastication–against all better judgment, put it in your mouth

Elation–it’s smooth, creamy and mild with just a hint of rosemary…tastes most like a soft bacon and has a texture like butter

Mastication

Not so fearless food photographer, Aunty Gorgeous

Sorry, I have no shot for elation because my foodie photographer (Aunty Gorgeous) got grossed out, but I finished it all and was none the worse for wear. Here she is in a better moment…you might notice that it involves wine and a train picnic.

Next, Siena, risotto and home cooking…

Ok. So here’s the thing. Italy has the biggest bugs I’ve ever seen…spiders are big, mosquitos are huge in Venice and love American flesh and leave big red welts like you wouldn’t believe.

Believe it or not, Tuscany has a critter to rival the Venice mosquito…we all came down here licking our wounds only to find BIGGER insects, wild boar run amok and church ladies who do not take kindly to the Bad Fairy’s tutu appearances (no disrespect, church ladies..).

Innocent Fig

Ok, so shortly after I take this picture of a beautiful fig on one of the fig trees outside of our place in Belforte, I attempt to prepare the outside grill so that I can test a little theory I have about a pork and melanzane involtini; I shake out some charcoal that I find under the grill into the grate and turn around to speak to Leone (see below) and I am suddenly stricken and swatting myself under the armpit in the yard.

It’s not that I haven’t noticed that there are hornets the size of small birds flying around and dashing themselves into the fig trees…especially surrounding the figs that have senesced and are oozing sugar…it’s just that I never expected to have one under my shirt.

Leone

These particular hornets are called Calabrone and are supposedly the namesake of the “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov, according to our host Graziano, and because they are hornets, can sting repeatedly without fear of death or jail time.

One of their tribe, possibly somehow knowing of the Fairy’s deep-seated fear of flying, stinging insects, found its way under my clothing and began to sting me with what my Mother (a physician) could only describe as “what’s equivalent to an 18 gauge needle” four times.

I began to dance after the first sting, and was briefly completely topless under the Tuscan sun after the fourth. What does this have to do with food? I’m not sure, but the fact that I was attempting to try a dish that was new to me, and the inclusion of the cork to legitimate the size of the hornet will, I hope, help to pass the WordPress censors…

Since then I have taken my revenge at every opportunity….here’s the segue part…

Gelato, San Gimingano

San Gimingano is every bit the tourist trap that I had heard it was…chocolate in the shape of horseshoes, locks and keys, world famous torture museum that the kiddies supposedly love, ultra-expensive tschotchkes from ceramics to snow globes, nevertheless it’s charming and beautiful, has great views and gelato.

Most of the other fare there is completely geared towards tourists…sweet crepes, panini that is passable but predictable and pizza that is completely unremarkable, but there are a few local food shops that carry respectable salumi and one at least that carries one of the things that this town is known for, namely, the best Italian saffron, at a semi-reasonable price.

Most of the shops here are interested in gouging from the get-go (and who can blame them?), charging 3,50E and upwards for roughly 10-12 threads (I’m not exaggerating) of saffron…but if you look long and hard enough you can find, as I did, 2 grams for around 10E…I’ve yet to compare it to Spanish or Iranian saffron, but I can’t wait to test it out.

Olive wood shop, San Gimingnano

There are a few interesting food specialty shops, including this wood implement store, but most sell packaged Italy to non-Italians.

There are some great looking desserts, however, including the Panforte pictured below, and you can find Grappa  and Brunello galore if you’re willing to put up with the price…

Francesca

We arrived in Tuscany after a train ride from Venice to Florence, the acquisition of a rental car and an introduction to the hell that is driving in Florence. It took us a while to get out of Firenze but once we did we weren’t disappointed by the countryside. It really is as beautiful as everything you’ve seen.

Our stay for the next seven days  days is to be at a place called La Ripa, down the hill from a village called Belforte, near the larger hill town of Radicondili.

La Ripa

We were met by our host Graziano and his mother Francesca with a snack of Sardinian flatbread with olive oil and salt, little cookies, chunks of Pecorino and their homemade Vin Santo, which they had aged in their attic. I found out later that the bottle they opened for our arrival was their last of the last batch they ever plan to make.

They are extremely gracious people; Francesca kept insisting that we finish the huge platter of flatbread and Graziano kept filling our small glasses of wine.

The next day we drove in to Radicondoli, a small and sweet little hill town and stopped at a place that looked suspiciously like a gelato bar from the outside, but housed a small dining room in the back and found an interesting menu of typical Tuscan offerings with some great specials.

Anchovies and Mascarpone

I had, because I just had to order it, marinated anchovies with mascarpone…the anchovies were marinated in olive oil, parsley and red pepper flakes and though I’m usually not a whole anchovy lover, I really kind of got into this dish…of course part of that could be that I enjoyed freaking the rest of my party out…in either case it was salty and a little sweet and just what I wanted.

We also had a pretty typical antipasti platter with some marinated artichokes and a really good cabbage and carrot slaw dressed with vinegar.

Pumpkin Barley Soup

The really excellent standout from the meal though, was the soup special of the day, which was a pumpkin barley soup drizzled with a good green olive oil. Comforting and delicious.

Updates later about a Cinghale stew, Ribolita and a surprise attack of the Calabrone.

Jugs of wine ready to fill your container at Vineria Nave de Oro

Just on the corner of the Campo Santa Maria is the Vineria Nave de Oro, a wine shop featuring local wines that locals b3.6.ring their local plastic jugs and containers to for fill up. We stumbled upon it after hearing it mentioned in one of our guide books and were totally shocked by the low prices and great drinkability of the wines…

Local Prosecco was just 1,90E per liter and our 1.5 liter plastic of Cabernet Franc was just 3.60 total. The wine was new, but still very good and we downed it with the pasta fagiole/fruitti de mare meal, and used the Prosecco to steam the mussels, clams and scampi.

Nave de Oro

Despite the counter guy’s insistence on not having his picture   picture taken, Bad Fairy’s intrepid wino companion (Aunty Gorgeous) managed to slip him in…if you see him, don’t mention that you recognize him from here…

Their wines are also available by the bottle, but there’s just something righteous about pouring from a plastic water jug.