Food in Italy - Autumn

I know, I know autumn has almost gone but not officially until 21 December or so I’ve been told. We’ve had a wonderful autumn here in Lucca. A real autumn as I remember them; fresh mornings, warm sunny days and cooler (getting cold now) evenings. We’ve seen the most amazing changes of colour in the foliage right outside our window. A picture perfect season!

So what’s been good on the food front ……..

What’s in season?

It’s been apples and pears since the beginning of the season and porcini and fungi aplenty - thanks to the early rainfall. The chestnut trees around the famous wall of Lucca have been laden with chestnuts, castagne as they're known here (pronounced can't stand ya!) why anyone would pay money for them at the market when they’re free on the ground I don’t understand. Autumn is also the season for ‘new oil’, here in Lucca they pick the olives early, the fruit is much smaller and pip quite large, according to the Lucchese it’s the best oil in Italy. Mind you, Italians of all regions say that!

NEW SEASON APPLES & PEARS

CASTAGNE - WHO’D PAY FOR THEM?

Marino is still enjoying the mortadella, I’m not sure there’s a seaon for mortadella - thank goodness, as I’m not sure what he’d eat if it ended. We have a fantastic ‘alimentari’ or deli that comes to the market twice a week, they hand cut all their meats (which Marino loves) which therefore means it takes an eternity to be served. No one seems to mind, and why would you when the produce is delicious - and we do have time on our hands!

MARINO PATIENTLY AWAITS THE MORTADELLA ……

What I’m cooking at home …..

Still slaving over the hot stove and loving every minute of it! First cab off the rank was porcini ragu with homemade gnocchi. One of Marino’s favourites and another pasta I’ve mastered since being in Italy. This was another dish that was a chore for me at home, but after a few quick tips from Angela (the receptionist at the language school) – I’ve finally got it. I have to admit that even I think it’s pretty good!

PORCINI – UGLY BUT YUMMY

NOT BAD HEY!

With the market swimming in new season’s apples it was time to attempt an apple strudel. Not like the Swiss/Austrian variety this is a northern Italy style strudel. Marino’s mum (Mela) makes a great one so beating this was always going to be a challenge. She’d mentioned to me about the pastry and how it was really tough and you have to beat it to get it to stretch. Mama Mia!! I had no idea it was going to be THAT tough. So the final result was; the filling was delicious (must be the good apples), the pastry was awful!  Back to the drawing board for this one!!

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING!

Another mushroom story …….

Here’s the end result of the dinner plate sized mushrooms we picked on our weekend at the religious sanctuary of La Verna (November post).

THEY WERE GOOD!

Now that the weather is cooling we’ve been indulging in few slow cooked meals with some delicious red wines but I’ll leave those stories for when it’s really cold.

What & where we’ve been eating …

There are plenty of restaurants in Lucca to choose from, as in all cities some very good and some very average. The one thing we are short of in Lucca is contemporary restaurants and whilst I love provincial food, just every now and again I hanker for something with a little edge. We recently took a ride on the Vespa (our last for the season) to the small town of San Miniato in the province of Pisa. San Miniato is the home of the precious white truffle (more highly valued than the black truffles of Umbria and Le Marche). November is white truffle season and the town hosts a festival devoted to this precious gastronomical number. Marino was desperate for a truffle dish, I just wanted something yummy and interesting – we found it in a small enoteca that had only recently opened. Run by group of 4 foodies that are clearly passionate about their food. After a delicious lunch and a bottle of local tempranillo (yes local) we left well satisfied.

MMM …. INTERESTING

MMM …. TASTY

MARINO CAN’T WAIT TO GET INTO THIS!

We both love pizza and are always on the lookout for a pizza to rival the likes of our favourites in Melbourne  ‘I Carusi’ and ‘DOC’. I have had a great one in Trieste, but that’s just a little too far for a Friday night. Last week after a wine tasting in Florence we were recommended a local pizzeria for a quick bite before catching the late train home – HOORAY!! I’ve found the best pizza in Tuscany (and at least that’s closer than Trieste). A small menu of only 3 pizzas, Margherita, Napolitana and Marinara (and that’s not with seafood). YUMMO!! Wood fired, a thin, puffy and bubbly crust, the right amount of toppings - it was so good I wolfed it down and forgot to take a photo. You’ll just have to believe me.

Dinner at Ave’s

In an earlier November post, I mentioned our invite to dinner at Ave’s having assisted in the collection of that huge bag of fungi on the weekend at La Verna. There were 16 of us! Ave did all the cooking, we started with mushroom crostini – yum, followed by ‘zuppa di frantoio’ a local soup made thick with vegetables, beans and bread finished with a good schlug of new season olive oil (from Ave’s trees of course). Then came the polenta – mamma mia – this was to accompany the 2 fungi ragu dishes and another 2 chicken dishes! Dolce followed which was a smorgasbord of offerings from all guests; gelati, chocolate mousse, trifle (Italian style), biscotti and other things. Thank goodness I took along a small box of my homemade cantuccini. One never knows what the protocol is in these situations? A very special meal and a very special evening.

WE WERE 16!

ZUPPA DI FRANTOIO

THAT’S A LOT OF POLENTA

CASTAGNACCIO – A ‘CAN’T STAND YA’ SPECIALITY

Our olive oil

CHECK OUT THE COLOUR!

And finally OUR new season olive oil! Yes here’s a look at our precious drop. We love it! We are drowning everything in it. We finish our pasta dishes with it, drizzle it over our soup, Lucchese style – the only thing we’re not doing is drinking it straight!

Now that would be going overboard.