Day 4 Umbrian Appetites: Norcia and cooking class No. 2

Looks like we are destined to have a hot week. Temperatures are consistently above 30 degrees. This day was no exception reaching 36. Each day it clouds over late in the afternoon, thunder rumbles and the sky looks juicy but there is no change to the hot conditions. Fortunately there is a pool waiting for us at the end of the day.

Norcia was everything we'd hoped it would be and more. Tony was in awe of all the cured meats and cheese wheels. 

This was an amazing village. Again, the village itself was surrounded by a medieval wall. All of the shops had their own quirkiness. Look carefully at the photo below and you will see all sorts of crazy things, eg, a hare using a gun (to shoot the tourists), wild boar heads outside the front of the shop and if you can read Italian, I think one of the signs is promoting 'Grandpa's balls'!

We enjoyed many delicious tastings and brought produce back to the Agriturismo for a Norcia inspired meal, still to come.

To properly try the local produce we stayed for lunch. We sampled truffle bruschetta, then I had dish of lentils with pork sausage (a very local dish) and Tony enjoyed the rabbit.

We even had local coffee, the best yet and the cheapest; 0.80 for a coffee. We have now seen coffee prices in Italy vary between 0.80 and €9. There is really no difference in the quality, perhaps the cheaper ones have the edge. 

After a quick swim at the accommodation we ventured out for a 'dinner' cooking lesson with Ettore e Lorella Benedetti del Rio. We cooked in a very old kitchen in a house that dates back to the 1500s.

Some of the equipment we used presented some challenges.

This photo might not be clear enough for you to see the old scales with the weights.

And so we prepared another delicious menu:

Cheese pizza

Gnocchi with vegetable sauce

Salsicce con Lenticchie (sausages in lentils)

Crostata (much like a jam tart)

You might have noticed that I have stopped recalling the recipes here in great detail. I have paper copies so if you really want a recipe, drop  me a comment and I'll type it up.

Food tips:

1. This gnocchi was the best I've had so far. I know I've said this before but this is the recipe for me. Lovely little, silky potato pillows! Unlike my last gnocchi recipe there was less flour in this one and less kneading. There was approximately 400g flour to 1kg of potatoes. Of course this cannot be an exact science due to the changing moisture content of the potatoes and even the size of the eggs. We used one egg only. No olive oil was used in the cooking water. Followers may remember that oil was used in the cooking oil on another class. I am getting mixed messages here. Anyway, without the oil, it was perfecto!

2. The potatoes for the gnocchi were once again boiled in their skins, left to cool and then peeled.

3. After forming the gnocchi pieces they were generously floured and left to dry for probably an hour, spread in a single layer on a tablecloth. I fear that I am starting to sound a little gnocchi obsessed.

4. The sausage and lentil recipe was interesting. The sausages were boiled gently in water until cooked through. The water didn't quite cover them, the skins were pierced and they were turned over half way through. With the lentils, celery, carot and onion were sautéed in olive oil, chilli and homemade tomato sauce were added and the lentils were slowly simmered in this 'brew' until soft. The sausages and lentils were eventually combined together in the one pan, with the water from the sausages (this had reduced significantly).

5. Once again not much garlic is used, in fact none at all in this menu!

Bon apetito!