A Taste of Umbria

Bounty:

Growing up in the suburbs and then living in New York for 32 years did not prepare me well for life in a rural and agriculturally based region. It’s a new thing for me to be in step with the seasons but I’ve gotten used to it easily. Sure, if I want a banana anytime of the year I can get it but it’s amazing to eat things when they are truly in season. One of the wonderful things about being here is having Bettona peaches when they were picked the day before. They make the most delicious peach jam. Or apricots, or plums, oh, and figs — have I told you how amazing it is to eat a fig when you’re still on the ladder? Its fig time right now and I’m enjoying them on cereal, wrapped in prosciutto, next to grilled meat, and just about every time I pass through the kitchen. There are so many fig trees around and friends are very generous about sharing. Even a morning walk past a fig tree means a quick snack with minimal foraging for low hanging fruit.

I no longer desire tomatoes in the winter, or melons in the spring, or strawberries in the fall. One of my absolute favorite things is fried zucchini blossoms (stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy). It has been a delicacy I’ve enjoyed several times a week for most of the summer. Sadly the season is coming to an end. (It’s impossible to find them at the Bettona coopertive but still possible at the Conad, if I’m very lucky like I was yesterday.) Soon I know I’ll have to wait for next year to enjoy that wonderful combination again.

The grape harvest will start soon but it is preceded by the readiness of the fragolini grapes — rich and pungent in their sweetness, they are eaten right off the vine. My friend Enrica had me up on the ladder yesterday until I filled the collander with the most fragrant red-purple grapes. Other things are ripening as well and, being a visual person, I was struck with the contrast of these small ripe pears with the fragolini. Each wonderful in their own rite, but together, beautiful too. Beauty is everywhere around here.

EUROCHOCOLATE  2011
October 14 – 23, 2011

Now in it’s 18^th year, the Chocolate festival Eurochocolate comes to Perugia once again in October. Chocolate lovers from all over Italy descend on this medieval town during the week-long event. During the Eurochocolate festival the Via Vannucci is transformed into an avenue of chocolate dreams. For a city known for its chocolate year round, this is an extra special event. (The city is known as the “Costruttori di dolcezze, or a designer of sweet things.) Booths representing local and international chocolate manufacturers pull out all the stops to entice passersby with inventive chocolate sculptures, cakes from simple to extravagant, solid bars to intricate confections, and even a chocolate fountain. The Eurochocolate festival also offers themed events and exhibitions about — you guessed it— making chocolate, as well as seminars on the socio-economic issues raise by cocoa production across the globe.

Why Perugia? Well the name is synonymous the world over for Chocolate. Americans immediately think chocolate when they hear the word Perugina — which simply means ‘a woman from Perugia’. Perugina’s famous baci — which means kisses — has been passing out their little fortunes for generations. Here a trip to the Perugina factory is as mandatory as taking the kids the Hershey Pennsylvania is for east-coast families.

Where to stay for Eurochocolate 2011: If you’re going to come, think about staying a bit outside the main fray of Perugia. aWeekinUmbria is located in Plazzo Fiumi-LaPlaca in the quite hill town of Bettona, about 15 kilometers south of the Eurochocolate epicenter. You will be perfectly situated for other Eurochoclate events that take place surrounding Perugia as well. Private apartments with one or two bedrooms available as well as two double rooms as a B&B. aWeekinUmbria.com is offering a Eurochocolate special rate which includes chocolate croissants for breakfast, my famous ‘chococello’ after dinner, and baci on your pillow at night. Contact us immediately for reservations at info@aWeekinUmbria.com.

Cabbage! I’ve never really liked it no matter how it was cooked.

Usually recognized as the soggy mess boiled to death and found next to corned beef for St. Patricks Day, it was something to be pushed around the plate and then scraped into the bin. As a real sign of disapproval, not even the dogs would touch it.

Then last year I had a revelatory moment — a cabbage revelatory moment, if you will allow me.

My friend Ivo and I met Andrea and his daughter for a Sunday lunch at a restaurant near the Tre Archi in Perugia. It was a nondescript restaurant and somewhat deserted for a Sunday which usually makes me a bit leery. It did have table cloths and cloth napkins but nothing led me to suspect I was in for a revelatory experience.

Vittoria was a bit shy and said hello in English before everyone lapsed back into Italian and I went back to paying attention to the decor and musing about Italian food, in general. One of the things I like about most restaurants in Italy is that you don’t have to place your entire order at once. That way, if you’re full, you don’t have to eat the second plate. So civilized it would never work in New York where the goal of a successful restaurant is to turn the table three times in an evening. Here its possible to relax for the entire evening enjoying your friends, good food, and the local wine.

For the first course we all ordered the Penne alla Norcia (Andrea said it was quite good here) and a bottle of San Geovese. After the Norcia, which was every bit as Andrea said it would be, the waiter stood ready to take our orders for second plates. I was brave and ordered one of the specials — Coniglio Arrosto (roast rabbit). Given the other special had the words ‘lamb hearts’ in the name, I went with the more comforting Roast Thumper. I asked for the vegetable and was told it was Cavolo con Patate (cabbage with potatoes). Both Andre and the waiter nodded their approval.

Having enjoyed the Norcia and being quite pleased with the rabbit, I was not prepared that the side dish would be the star of the meal. I’ve never tasted cabbage like this. It was cooked till soft, combined with delicate boiled potatoes, then drenched in Umbrian olive oil. It was nothing short of perfect. It was only after the meal that Andrea told me he trained the chef and the cabbage was one of his recipes.

It’s easy to make it yourself and come off as the expert chef you always knew you were. However, the secret is in the springy, textured leaves of the Savoy cabbage. Something that will only be found in the autumn and winter. Here’s the recipe.

CABBAGE WITH POTATOES
1 head of Savoy cabbage*
4 good sized potatoes (Yukon Gold are nice but Russets work just as well).
4 gloves of fresh garlic, crushed
Extra Virgin olive oil (I’m predisposed to olive oil from Umbria)

Cut up cabbage into quarters, remove core, and cut into inch wedges. Break apart and rinse. Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into an inch by half inch cubes. Not too small because you don’t want to make mashed potatoes. Boil cabbage in salted water for about half an hour until tender but not mushy. Boil potatoes remembering that they need to stay somewhat together. When the two are done let sit while you saute the crushed cloves of garlic in enough Extra Virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet. When garlic is ready, drain cabbage and potatoes and combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and more Olive Oil. Serve steaming next to any meat dish. I’ve chosen baked chicken for this photo.

Let me know if this is a revelatory experience for you as well.

* if you can’t find the Savoy cabbage, you can use half a regular waxed cabbage and a bunch of kale. It will be close is texture and flavor but really, try hard to find the Savoy.