Montefalco has it all.....food, wine, art, history. But actually, I think the same could be said for all the hill towns of Umbria. This bit of fresco is in the underground church below the current museum in town. Once, I waited out a terrific thunderstorm while visiting the church. Imagine....crashing thunder, and flashes of lightning illuminating scenes like this. It kind of made my hair stand on end.
This time I am visiting in February, and though Italy has had a brutal winter, I think I must have brought the sunshine. You can still see the snow in the hills and mountains, but the days have been pretty glorious since my arrival. This photo was taken on the outskirts of Montefalco showing the surrounding olive groves.
Two Words: Wild Boar.
Need I say more? I love it in every way. It makes the most delicious stew. It's my favorite kind of salami. And here, you see it as a ragu sauce served over gnocchi. It is simply, oh, soooo delicious. Umbria is wild boar country. It's very often on the menu, and if you see it there, you should order it. Please.
Need I say more? I love it in every way. It makes the most delicious stew. It's my favorite kind of salami. And here, you see it as a ragu sauce served over gnocchi. It is simply, oh, soooo delicious. Umbria is wild boar country. It's very often on the menu, and if you see it there, you should order it. Please.
Okay, this one was a little different, even for me. This is salt cod (which I have claimed my love for in a previous blog) served on a bed of lentils with chestnuts, and cooked in a vacuum. What was "different" about it was the nouveau way in which it was prepared. In the end, it was still salt cod with lentils. It was a wee bit odd to eat out of a jar, but it was very tasty. I absolutely love chestnuts, and there were bits of them scattered throughout the lentils. Umbria is also very famous for its grains; lentils, farro, orzo....all delicious and having the added benefit of being good for you.
How should every good meal end? I know.....we were both thinking, "with dessert!". But, alas, no. I simply can't taste test every dessert in Umbria for you or I wouldn't fit in my airplane seat back to the U.S. On the other hand, every meal should definitely end with a good coffee. In this bar in Montefalco, I had the best cafe machiatto of the trip yet. It was so good in fact, that as soon as I finished it, I ordered another one. The coffee was deliciously dark and full of crema, and there was the perfect amount of milk "stain". sigh. Looking at it now makes me want to drive back there and get another one.
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