I had a great time Saturday. I went to my previous home town to meet up with the friends from the wine-tasting group fo a typically Brianzola (1) supper. I love all the hugging and joy at seeing old and a few new friends. They had given me very clear instructions on getting to the parking spots but I was not really sure if I could actually turn into the road, my interpretation of road signs sometimes leaves a little to be desired, and I went in through the exit….all this before I had touched a drop!
- Area in NorthernItaly
Anyway we milled round the table to eat home -baked and still warm savoury buns. I’m sure they have a proper name, I do know they had rosemary in them….we ate these with lardo (2) di Colonnata ,the sweetest, most delicious I had ever tasted and we all remembered that years ago lard was used to cook with. A friend explained that the contadini (3) used to fatten up the pigs so they had a nice roll of lard round the back of their necks. I know that in England lard is still used in the traditional Christmas pudding mix. All washed down with a lovely white wine brought by our resident oenilogist/sommelier, Paolo. This was Villa Matilde Aglianico a very drinkable white wine.
2. Lard. The most famous melt-in-your mouth pork-fat comes from Colonnata in Tuscany
3. Contadini .Peasants or simple agricultural workers
We then sat to eat the lasagne (4) con pumpkin, very unusual with the sweetness of the pumpkin and sausage instead of ragu (5). really delicious. One of our cooks had been to a lesson about pumpkin dishes and they had advised him on the correct type of pumpkin to buy. I like to make pumpkin soup in the winter but I sprinkle it with macaroons. (False friend these are amaretti not the once-trendy French macarons) we were drinking a pleasant red with this. This one was Conte Brandolini d’Adda Merlot Stomo.
4. Lasagne. A festive dish with many variations, basically sheets of pasta interspersed with Bolognes sauce ragù and béchamel.
5, Ragù. Probably a corruption of French ragout. The most famous of Italian sauces to eat with your spaghetti, made with slow-cooked meat and various flavourings
The sweet course was a “deconstucted” Mont Blanc.
I am only joking; no sane person would talk about their food like that! so basically a neater way to serve Mont Blanc to a gathering of people. We had white sparkling wine with this. And all too soon it was time to go home, speak to the police in English if they stop you.( I might have been a little over the limit). What a super evening….on to the next.
….and the next was actually the next evening, and a completely different vibe. We had risotto with with raw shrimps and decorated with raspberries. I’m giving my son a Michelin star for that.
English that grows 