A Stroll Through Montefalco

Umbria is known for producing olive oil, wine, and grains

Umbria is a part of Italy that is completely landlocked. What it lacks in coastline it makes up for in rolling hills, fields of grains, bright poppies in springtime, olive groves, vineyards, and its many hill towns. 

Some of the hill towns, such as Spello, Assisi, and Perugia, are well known and attract many visitors.  Others are smaller and quieter, with fewer tourists. Those small towns, Panicale, Rasiglia, and Bevagna for example, are especially delightful.  

On a recent trip to Umbria, after a morning of farmhouse cooking and a visit to a winery, we (a group from Let’s Cook in Umbria) made a quick detour to the village of Montefalco, not far from Bevagna. Montefalco is small (less than 6,000 residents), quiet, and uncrowded. It is a slice of everyday Italy.

Montefalco is on the list of the Borghi Più Belli d’Italia (Italy’s most beautiful villages).  A walled hill town, it still has its Medieval gates and streetscape. 

Old stone buildings, pretty windows, and flowers are part of Montefalco’s charm

It also has a most enviable location – perched high above the surrounding valley with panoramic views of the Umbrian countryside and, most importantly, of the Sagrantino vineyards.   Montefalco Sagrantino DOC, a bold, dry red wine, is the areas claim to fame and a must-try when in this area.

We began our walk through Montefalco at the Belvedere Viewpoint near Porta della Rocca, one of the Medieval gates into the town. It has spectacular views over the valley below, making it clear why Montefalco is known as the Balcony of Umbria.

The Piazza del Comune is the heart of the village and where the town hall is located.  It is also where many cafes can be found and where the market and various festivals take place. Just before the piazza is the Church & Museum of San Francesco. I’ll have to explore that on a future visit!

Heading downhill towards Porta di Sant’Agostino, one of Montefalco’s Medieval gates.

From the piazza, a wander down “main street” reveals a street lined with shops, galleries, a small hotel, and restaurants.  Lots of opportunities to buy a bottle of Sagrantino or other local products. Keep walking and find Porta di Sant’Agostino, another of the town’s Medieval gates.

Small lanes branch out from the central street, many of them filled with stone houses, flower filled windows, arched alleyways, and pretty doors. As a bonus, they often end with stunning views over the valleys below.

Our detour to Montefalco gave us only enough time for a brief introduction to the town.  I will need a return trip and more time to better explore all that the village has to offer. One thing is clear to me, the more time I spend in Umbria, the more I fall in love with this unique part of Italy.

Now that is my kind of Farmacia!

Cooking with Raffaella

If you’ve ever dreamed of living on an Italian fattoria (farm) and cooking in a farm kitchen, then Raffaella’s kitchen is just what you’ve dreamed of.

Located in the Umbrian countryside near Perugia, Raffaella Bucefalo and her husband Roberto run Agriturismo La volpe e l’uva, which has several simple yet charming farmhouse style cottages surrounded by shaded pergolas, beautiful lawns, pots of flowers, and an inviting swimming pool.  Of course there are also olive trees and vines as the farm produces its own wine and olive oil.

The agriturismo is also the location of the cooking school Let’s Cook in Umbria, where Raffaella teaches traditional Umbrian dishes.  The cooking school is what is what drew me to La volpe e l’uva in June.

I spent 3 days cooking with Raffaella and 6 other students in her charming farmhouse. The classes are hands-on, with no more than 8 people in a group, which makes for lots of individual instruction and plenty of opportunities to measure, mix, knead, and shape pasta. As well as make sauces, meats, and cakes in an authentic Umbrian home. 

Our group consisted of my long-time friends Susan and Jim, plus four fun ladies from the US (Gay, Cathy, Vicky, and Kristi) who quickly felt like new friends, and me.  There was a lot of laughter around the farmhouse worktable as we practiced new skills, crafted new dishes, and discovered new must-have kitchen tools. Each day our efforts were rewarded with a 4-course meal in Raffaella’s beautiful dining room or outside in the garden.

The best thing about Let’s Cook in Umbria is Raffaella herself.  She is a wonderful teacher - energetic, fun, with a great sense of humor. She provided encouragement, and occasional cries of “oh no, disastro”, as we learned to make various types of pasta, doing it all by hand.  Even our disasters were fun and by the end of the week “oh no, disastro” became our rallying cry.

Each day we made an appetizer - fabulous little melanzane (eggplant) parmigiana stacks, flat breads stuffed with either prosciutto or arugula and cheese, and a thin focaccia baked with cheese inside.  I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. All are recipes that I will make at home

. 

We made a different type of pasta each day.  The first was strangozzi, a typical Umbrian pasta made with semolina flour, salt, water and a touch of olive oil.  As we kneaded it, Raffaella introduced us to the kneading song.  Exactly 2 ½ minutes long, we had to knead “with energy” for the length of the song.  There just may have been some spontaneous dancing too. After kneading and resting the dough, we used a chitarra to cut the pasta.  Chitarra in Italian means guitar and a chitarra has metal wires like the strings of a guitar.  The pasta dough is placed on the strings, rolled to cut the pasta, and then when you strum the strings, out falls the pasta. I think I earned my official Italian Nonna badge using the chitarra. To go with the strangozzi we made a sausage ragu – delicious!

Day two we made tagliatelle, an egg-based pasta which we rolled and cut by hand.  Raffaella taught a method of rolling the dough to the required thinness that was new to us all (no cheating with a pasta machine!) and one I want to try again at home.  A simple zucchini and speck sauce was perfect with the tagliatelle.

Our third pasta dish was gnocchi made with potatoes and flour. Gnocchi can be tricky to make but, with Raffaella’s guidance, ours were soft and delicate. The fresh tomato sauce made it a perfect light dish for a summer meal.

I think we could have made a whole meal out of each of the pastas, but a second course was also on the menu.  Day one we made a delicious chicken with peppers.  Day two, Umbrian special occasion polpette (meatballs).  The ingredients sounded a bit strange to me – they included orange zest and finely chopped raisins, not things I’ve ever seen in polpette recipes before. But the taste was wonderful with just a touch of sweetness from the raisins and a subtle hint of citrus.  They were served in a simple tomato sauce.

The last meat dish was a pan roasted pork tenderloin with grapes, shallots, juniper berries, fresh bay leaves, and white wine. The scent of it cooking was hunger-inducing and the grapes cooked down with the herbs and wine to make a lovely sauce. This would make a perfect special occasion meal.

I arrived the day before the cooking class began, and a piece of cake baked that morning by the previous guests was in my cottage for breakfast. I appreciated their efforts to make this peach cake.

Lastly, a dolce (sweet).  Each day we made a different cake, having a piece for dessert and saving some for breakfast the next morning. 

It’s hard to beat a cup of coffee, a slice of not-too-sweet cake, a seat under a shady portal, bird song, the smell of jasmine in bloom, and a view of an Umbrian hillside as a way to start the day.

Day one, and my personal favorite, was a carrot cake with lemon glaze.  Ground nuts gave the cake a wonderful texture. The lemon glaze kept it light and more tangy than sweet. 

Next up was a chocolate cake with pears.  Tender and not too sweet, it was delicious topped with a little cream.

Lastly, a crostata with ricotta and strawberries.  Ok – maybe this was my favorite.  Can I have more than one favorite? 

After each lunch we had a short rest and then headed off for some fun.  One afternoon we went to Col Santo winery for a tasting, another to Frantoio Decimi for an olive oil tasting and to a ceramics producer in Deruta where we had a demonstration and a chance to try shaping the clay.  

Raffaella is a joy - I miss her already!

As if the cooking and dining together were not enough, our course was one of Let’s Cook in Umbria’s seasonal courses.  In this case the seasonal special event was the Infiorata in Spello.  It took place on the last day of our time with Raffaella and so on that day we went to Spello early in the morning (transportation and a guide included in our cooking program) and cooked in the afternoon for an evening meal. The Infiorata is a truly spectacular event (see post from June 15th). It was a lovely way to end our time in Umbria.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about Let’s Cook in Umbria.  Raffaella is a joy.  I learned new skills and new dishes, ones that I can make at home.  And really, is there anything more satisfying than making perfect pasta by hand?

The shared meals were wonderful.  And leftover cake for breakfast? What a treat.  The small group was a delight.  The extra curricula excursions were fun.  The setting in the Umbrian countryside was beautiful.  It was a delightful and memorable experience.

To find more information or to schedule a class, visit the website for Let’s Cook in Umbria.   www.cookinumbria.it

Raffaella also has a cookbook: Sprinkle with Flour. It is available on Amazon. I can hardly wait for my copy to arrive.

A big thanks to Gay, Cathy, Vicky, Kristi, Jim, and Susan for graciously allowing me to use photos from our work in the kitchen! I would travel with this group anywhere, anytime. They helped make this a fantastic few days of cooking together.

The Windows of Umbria

It’s August, it is hot, and I am feeling pigra (that’s Italian for lazy). To escape the heat I am inside, daydreaming about the cool April week I spent in Umbria this past spring.

Panicale

I must have taken 1,000 photos on that trip, mostly of the beautiful architecture, stunning views over the Umbrian hillsides, and spring flowers

Assisi

Looking back at my photos, many feature beautiful doors and windows. I posted some door photos last week, so today it is windows.

Panicale

Many of the windows were filled with flowers, others were shuttered and bare. Most were set into Medieval stone or brick walls. All made me wonder about all the stories they might tell.

A few of the windows were more modern, set in a vineyard in Bevagna. They provided me with a view of vines, sunsets, cats, and an occasional rabbit.

Old or new, all invited me to take their photo.

Orvieto

This week is also my birthday week and I am thinking that a perfect gift to give myself would be a return to Umbria for the Infiorata (Spello’s famous event where the streets are paved with flowers) as part of a cooking class week next June. Anyone want to join me?

Assisi

The Doors of Umbria

Umbria is full of Medieval hill towns, each with its own character and charm. Every village is unique in character but they all have in common their beautiful architecture. I am drawn to the details of the buildings, especially the many gorgeous doors. Umbria is a good place to find those special details.

I took a lot of photos during a week spent exploring Umbria this past spring and many of them featured doors. Some were worn and neglected, some were beautifully cared for. Many were surrounded by plants and flowers. Here are some of my favorites.

(The windows were pretty spectacular too, but I’ll save those for next week)

Assisi

Bevagna

Orvieto

Panicale

Spello

Do you have some favorite Italian door photos ? I’d be happy to see them on the Two Parts Italy Facebook page!

Good Memories of Traditional Italian Cuisine - Part Two

The chef at Osteria La Techie designed this plate which was then hand-painted and boxed as a memory for those who ordered the special menu.

Last week I began writing about my first experience with the Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo – the group of Italian restaurants dedicated to traditional, local, and authentic foods. Each restaurant makes a signature dish that is represented in a unique hand painted plate. Order the dish and the collect a plate as a memory.

After dining at Osteria La Tecchia in Pietrasanta last winter, and taking home my first plate, I knew I had found a new hobby – searching out the Buon Ricordo restaurants and building my plate collection.

Since I was planning a spring-time vacation in Emilia-Romagna and Umbria, I searched for places belonging to the Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo in the cities I planned to visit. From the list of participating places, I chose two to visit on my trip. The first was in Parma (Emilia-Romagna region) and the other in Assisi (Umbria). 

In Parma, traditional ingredients include Proscuitto di Parma (and heaven help the person that calls it simply “prosciutto”) and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Both were featured in the dishes at La Forchetta, an upscale restaurant, where they use classic flavors, sometimes in non-traditional ways.

Earning a take-home plate from La Forchetta required ordering the full Buon Ricordo menu - an antipasto (starter), a primi (first course), a secondo (main dish) and a dolci (dessert). That’s a big meal so my travel companion and I decided (after discussing it with the server) to share the primi. One problem - at the end of the meal we were told that we should have ordered two of them if we wanted to each take home a plate and that since we shared we could only have one plate! Definitely not ok since we specifically requested the Buon Ricordo menu so we’d each earn a plate and it was the server’s suggestion to share the starter. It took a little negotiating, thank goodness I’ve learned to argue in Italian, but in the end, we did each take home a plate (because of course I’ve now hooked my friend on collecting them too). Lesson learned - clarify ahead of time exactly what needs to be ordered to get the plate!

The meal started with an “amuse bouche” (if there is an Italian word for this little pre-meal tease I do not know it). Almost too pretty to eat, it was a small dab of Parmigiano Reggiano mousse on a crisp wafer, served on a chilled stone block (left photo below).  Pretty fancy!

Our shared primi was a rich yet delicate soufflè with a parmigiano-reggiano cream topping. Plenty to share, but good enough to eat the whole thing. This dish was swoon-worthy; I may have to make a trip back to Parma just to taste it again.

Next came the specialty dish, a risotto with radicchio, Prosciutto di Parma dust, and gel di ribes (current jelly) topped with a Parmigiano-Reggiano cream. The flavors were unexpected and each bite was just a little different, savory with the cream, a bit sweet with the currents, slightly bitter with the radicchio. Wonderful! We were given a choice of secondi. I had guanciale di vitello (veal cheek) in a red wine reduction with creamy potatoes. Tender, deeply flavorful, and delicious. My friend opted for lamb chops crusted with pistachio, another great choice. Desert was a classic tiramisu.  Are you getting hungry yet? I am hungry just remembering this meal.

Plate #3 !

A few days later, it was on to Assisi and the Ristorante Buca di San Francesco. This family-run restaurant, set in a Medieval building near the Basilica, has a warm and cozy interior and a charming outdoor patio. The staff were warm, friendly, and helpful in explaining the dishes. Somehow they made it feel like we were dining in their home. Here you only need to order the Buon Ricordo specialty dish (not an entire menu) to earn a take-home plate. The specialty depicted on the plate is a soup typical of this part of Umbria, a type of cucina povera, the food of peasants.

Umbria is known for growing a variety of legumes and grains and this soup brings them all together in a happy chorus of beans, lentils, chickpeas, barley, and spelt. The rich flavor comes from the “holy trinity” of veggies – onion, carrots, celery – along with some garlic, lardo, olive oil, and spices. The soup is called Imbrecciata Umbra (not a typo, it is Umbra not Umbria in this use). On the plate Saint Francis stirs a cauldron of it as a wolf keeps watch. This soup, simple but with complex flavors, was definitely memorable.

Imbrecciata Umbra

The soup was followed by agnello (lamb) scottadito (scotta = burned, dito = finger) for me. Thin, flavorful, and tender they were delicious (though I did use knife and fork rather than burn my fingers).  For my travel companion, another traditional dish, spezzatini di cinghiale  (stewed boar) with polenta.  Both were delicious, but it was hard to top the soup!

Each of my three dining experiences at Buon Ricordo restaurants (so far!) were different, which is really the point.  Every one reflected local ingredients and traditional, regional foods. The atmospheres ranged from simple to cozy to elegant, with the foods matching the setting. I would be hard pressed to name a favorite, but my memory is strongest of that soup !

And now I have 3 colorful plates to remind me of those culinary memories. I will have fun searching for my next “plate” restaurant and adding to my collection.  To find restaurant locations go to the website for the Union deli Ristorante del Buon Ricordo - www.buonricordo.it

The pretty potion at Buca di San Francesco, Assisi