Fresh Tortellini - Image S. Feldstein CC 2.0

In Castelfranco Emilia, a town in the province of Modena, the Feast of St Nicholas is celebrated on the second week of September. The Sagra di San Nicola is actually a Tortellino Festival where the creation of tortellini is re-enacted every year.

Legend of the Tortellini

If you think that your favourite pasta looks like a belly-button, there is a reason for this.  According to one interesting legend, an innkeeper was so captivated by the beauty of a guest that he couldn’t resist peeping into her room through the keyhole to watch her undress. In the dim candlelit room, all he could see was her naval, but that was enough to send him wild with excitement.  Entranced by the woman’s perfectly shaped navel he rushed to the kitchen and created a tortellino in its likeness.

There are of course other legends relating to the tortellini’s creation but in Castelfranco Emilia, the Peeping Tom version suits them fine.

Tortellino Festival

Each year, during the second week of September, Castelfranco Emilia celebrates the Sagra di San Nicola or Tortellino Festival during which the creation of the tortellino is re-enacted. The historical re-enactment of the tortellino’s creation is intended to keep the pasta tradition going.  The town folk dress up for the festivity and the voyeur awarded the “Oste” title has the responsibility to uphold the tortellini tradition for a year. A small square of pasta stuffed with pork loin, ham, mortadella, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, pepper and salt has always been the symbol for the culinary tradition of the region.

Tortellini in Castelfranco Emilia

Visitors to the Tortillino Festival will have the opportunity to enjoy this traditional pasta from Castelfranco Emilia. These folks take their pasta very seriously and the hand-made egg pasta are cooked in a sumptuous capon and veal broth. And to show that you’re one of the Purists, don’t sprinkle your tortellini with grated Parmigiano.

Event  :  Festival of Tortellini (Feast of St Nicholas)
When  :  Annually – Second Week in September
Venue :  Castelfranco, Emilia Romagna

Chianti by Hoffmeister/Wiki

Tuscany is universally famous for its good food, classic wines and natural beauty so naturally food and wine tasting in Tuscany are part of the reasons why many visitors come to this region of Italy. Some may be the interested in the art of winemaking, but for the majority of visitors, their wine tasting interest is more for pleasure.

But whether for the art of wine-making or pleasurable pursuits, the wineries around Tuscany are the place to enjoy both.

Chianti

In times past, Chianti may bring to mind cheap table wines. But rest assured the vintages produced in this area forty minutes from Florence are anything but a cheap, table reds.

Close to Siena, there are dozens of wineries with offerings that will suit the most discriminating of palettes. Some of the finest grapes anywhere in Italy are grown on these hilltops. They are then turned into some equally fine wines.

Several of the wineries are located near medieval castles, adding an authentic historical air to the whole trip. One outstanding example is the Castello di Uzzano renowned for its Chianti Classico. The castle is nearby a residential villa so visitors can taste wonderful wine and enjoy superb sights.

Montalcino

Montalcino is another of the famous wine-producing regions of Tuscany. Tours of the Castello Banfi estate will impress even the most finicky of wine drinkers. Over 7,100 acres provide this winery with ample grapes from which to produce outstanding wines. Unlike many of its neighbours, Castello Banfi is only 25 years old, so it has state of the art equipment. But the 11th century castle has been amazing visitors for centuries.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano may be best known for its medieval towers, but this small town is also well known for its white wines. Il Grande Prato can persuade any connoisseur that its wine-making reputation  is well deserved. Here visitors can enjoy their favourite vintages and enjoy a light snack in a country setting.

Siena

Siena is the site of one of Italy’s most beautiful Gothic cathedrals. It also offers some outstanding wine tasting opportunities. Among the rolling hills outside the town are nestled many superb wineries. The Villa Dievole is only one example. Only 45 minutes from Florence and half an hour from Chianti, there are over 800 acres here.

It’s possible to tour much of Tuscany on a bicycle. But many will want to rent a car and take in several of the stellar villas and wineries that offer some of the best wines in the world.

Or, if you only have a limited time in Florence, you could combine wine-tasting and a country drive through magnificent Tuscan landscapes on one of these Tuscany wine tours :

Chianti Region Wine Tasting and Dinner half-day trip from Florence
Chianti Region Wine Tasting Half-Day Trip from Florence
Small Group Chianti Wine Region Day Trip from Florence

Jars of Pesto - Cinque Terre

The Ligurian region is the birthplace of the Pesto sauce.  More precisely, it was in Genoa, on the north Ligurian coast, that Pesto originated.

Basil, a main ingredient of pesto sauce, grows well in the Ligurian temperate climate. Travelling around Liguria, you’ll see that this sauce is used extensively in dishes.

Traditionally, families would use a mortar and a pestle (hence the name) to make pesto. The grinding action of the pestle brings out the flavours of the various ingredients as well as allowing for a smoother pesto texture.

If you’ve got a mortar and pestle at home, you may like to try making the pesto in the traditional way at least once so you can discern the difference in flavours. I personally don’t like spending a lot of time in the kitchen and using a blender is much easier even though there is a difference in quality.

Genovese Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil – don’t use cheap olive oil as it’ll affect the flavour of your pesto
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2 cloves of garlic
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Process:

• Wash the basil in cold water and pat dry
• Put basil, pine nuts, garlic and pinch of salt in the blender
• Drizzle olive oil in the blender and process until creamy
• Scoop blended pesto into a bowl or jar and stir in the grated cheeses

Note that ground basil oxidizes quickly turning into a dirty green color so use it immediately or store your pesto with a protective layer of olive oil.

Pesto is commonly used in pesto pasta dishes like Trofie al Pesto or Fettuccine di Pesto alla Genovese. It is quite a versatile sauce that can be served with potatoes and French beans as well. I like spooning it over a plate of sliced smoked mozzarella, avocado, tomatoes and basil leaves. Served with bread, this makes for a quick and delicious snack when friends drop in.

Baia Saracena - Vernazza

This bar on the breakwater enjoys a splendid location. For parched, sunbathers this is a convenient place to get a drink.

Baia Saracena is the first café/bar that visitors will see when they come off their boat from one of the other villages.  It is a nice place to stop and have a drink, whilst enjoying the sea view. It’s fantastic location also makes it an ideal place to enjoy that sundowner and watch the sunset.

Food Quality is Wanting

Note that Bais Saracena is a bar that serves food and should not be mistaken for a restaurant. The place enjoys a busy trade during the day, but this is no indication of the quality of the food.

The pastas and pizzas are really cheap and that’s where its food attribute ends. This is one of the rare Italian eateries where it’s a mistake not to specify that you like your pasta al dente and the food is bland. The thick pizza base had very little on it and when it comes to the struggle between the pizza base and the blunt knife, the pizza base won out.

For the price that they charge, one is not expecting spectacular cuisine, but they should at least get the basics right.

The place doesn’t pretend to be anything but a convenient waterfront café, so don’t come here if you’re planning a romantic dinner, even if the moon and the stars make the setting look promising.

It would be a dynamite place if they charge a little more for their food, but improve on the quality.

Address:
Baia Saracena
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, 16
19018 Vernazza

Cozze at Trattoria da Sandro

Maria, our landlady recommended this place and said that she and the locals would dine here. This trattoria is on the right-hand side of via Roma as you walk towards the train station. There is an inside restaurant, but even without any views, we prefer al fresco dining .

What I remember most about Trattoria da Sandro is not the food, but the extremely long wait for service and meals. There was only one other couple who arrived later than us and a small family on the inside table and yet it took over half and hour for the entreé to arrive and then another long wait for the main meal.

We are firm believers in “slow food” especially in relaxed places like the Cinque Terre, but such long waits would even irate the founders of the Slow Food movement.

The waitress was getting more stressed than us, presumably because she couldn’t bear being asked again by the two tables when the food was coming.  We then asked the manager why the long wait and she said that the kitchen was really busy and that they were having problems coping?  You could look through the service window of the kitchen and the two chefs were cruising and not at all in a hurry to feed the restaurant’s diners. The food, when they finally arrived were lacking in flavour and not at all memorable. If not for the photos, I could have easily forgotten the cozzé and swordfish that we ate.

We asked for the bill and this was another long wait – you could hardly blame the kitchen for this delay! Exasperated and against his normal practice, Tony went up to the cashier to pay.

Da Sandro’s prices are cheaper and it’s a much quieter place than the harbour-front restaurants, but the slow service is a real put-off and the bland food certainly wouldn’t draw us back here again.

Seafood Platter at Ristorante Al Castello

For our final dinner in Vernazza we dine at Ristorante al Castello which is high above Vernazza’s main square, just below the castle.

To ensure we got a cliff-side table overlooking the sea, we hiked up here earlier in the day to make a booking.   Yes, the restaurant enjoys an incredible location and the views from up here is breathtaking indeed.

Ristorante Al Castello is owned by Monica and her husband Massimo.   They also let out rooms in Vernazza under the name Monica Lercari Rooms.  Specialties at Ristorante Al Castello are essentially seafood, which suits us perfectly.

What We Ate

For entrée, I order the Anti-pasto Misto Mare which is made up of chopped octopus and prawns with lots of herbs, which is quite tasty .   Tony orders the Stuffed Anchovy, but unfortunately has to send it back. The dish looks good but it turns out that there’s minced mortadela ham in the stuffing. To get a quick replacement entrée Tony opts for a  Salad Caprese.

For the main, being a pasta addict, I can’t go past the Spaghetti Vongole.  Tony has a mixed seafood platter of calamari, shrimps and fish – the calamari outnumber the shrimps and fish.

Anti Pasto Misto Mare - Ristorante Al Castello

Food at  Ristorante Al Castello feature regional specialties and the simplicity of its cooking is no different to the rest of the Cinque Terre.  So, for the provincial style of cooking, meal prices are expensive.

It’s a bit windy tonight so we’re pleased that we didn’t have a table by the railings.

Service is not the restaurant’s strongest point and one couple got quite stroppy, with the wife instructing her husband not to leave any tips! Not leaving tips for Americans is pretty serious indication of the customers’ dissatisfaction. We instead apply a little humour and politeness and we find the waiter very responsive to our requests.  He didn’t even charge us for the entrée that Tony sent back which earns him brownie points from us.

Prices at Ristorante Al Castello are a little more expensive than down in the town square but like anywhere else in the world you pay for the location and the views.  It does cost the restaurant more to have supplies carted up the hill as well.

Restaurant Reviews

Reviews are very split reviews on this restaurant – 50% of the reviewers love it and the other 50% wouldn’t recommend it, mainly because of the service.

Yes, I agree that the service isn’t slick and could be improved, meal prices are higher than in town and the food is not haute cuisine, but dining among the stars with the moon idling over us, is a pretty romantic and memorable experience and a nice way to finish our stay in Cinque Terre.

Address:
Via Guidoni 56, 19018 Vernazza

Trattoria Gianni - Spaghetti Vongole

For standard of food, service and price of meals, Trattoria Gianni gets our vote for the best trattoria/restaurant in Piazza Marconi. This trattoria enjoys a full house most evenings, leaving the other restaurants salivating over its success.

We also notice that when Trattoria Gianni closes on Wednesday night, the other trattorias and restaurants on the square get a few more diners.

Trattoria Gianni is on Piazza Marconi and they have an indoor restaurant and bar. In summer and autumn when the weather is fine, it’s the outdoor tables on the Piazza, facing the sea, that are popular with diners.

In its former life, it operated as “Trattoria Della Stella” until Gianni Viacava bought it over in the 1960′s. Gianni Franzi also runs a hotel and has other rooms to let in Vernazza, all of which are very popular with visitors.

Trattoria Gianni Specialties

Trattoria Gianni specializes in seafood. They say that the secret to their good food is sticking to typical Ligurian recipes which remain unaltered for decades. You won’t find any fancy adaptations of modern cuisine here.

Some of the signature dishes include stuffed anchovies, lemon anchovies, stuffed fish ravioli, Genovese soup, stockfish, stuffed mussels, the famous Tegame alla Vernazza and Trofie al Pesto. Grilled or baked fish are also the specialities of the restaurant. They recently expanded on their wine selection to cater for a wider range of tastes.

What We Ate

Trattoria Gianni - Braised Octopus

Tony has the Trofie al Pesto which is much tastier than those he tasted elsewhere and I have my favourite Spaghetti Vongole.

My main dish is a braised octopus which smells so aromatic that even the cats are clamouring to have a bit of it, and yes it is really tasty. But, after the spaghetti, finishing this dish is a challenge. Tony tries his first Ligurian pizza and is happy that it is thin crusted the way he likes it.

Al fresco dining at Trattoria Gianni is certainly one of the enjoyable moments of our holiday Cinque Terre.

Address:
Piazza G. Marconi, 5
19018 Vernazza
Cinque Terre

Restaurant Dining - Cinque Terre

Vernazza has a nice square by the harbour that is filled with a range of restaurants, trattorias and cafés.  Along the main street, via Roma, there are more eateries.

If you’re staying in this town during your Cinque Terre holidays, there are enough restaurants and trattorias here to keep you nicely fed. We certainly found it convenient to have all our evening meals here as hopping on trains to get to the next town for dinner and back is too much of a bother for a Cinque Terre type holiday.

Where We Ate

Around the main square, we tried Trattoria del Capitano, Trattoria Gianni and Bar Baia Saracena near the breakwater. On the main drag, via Roma, we had a meal at Trattoria da Sandro and our final dinner was above town at the Ristorante Al Castello.

Seafood is a specialty of Cinque Terre which is a bonus for people like us who do not eat meat. Fish dishes that include sword fish, bream, bass and anchovies are common as are octopus, cuttlefish, calamari and crustaceans.  Meat eaters need not worry, there’s plenty of meat dishes as well.

The restaurants here mostly specialize in regional Ligurian dishes (cucina tipica Vernazza) and cooking styles are quite simple, using recipes that probably haven’t changed over the century.  Locally grown herbs like oregano, thyme, basil and majoram and local olive oil add to the flavours of the food. You’ll find the restaurants all offer pretty much the same dishes and it’s a case of who does the best version of Trofie al Pesto or Tegame alla Vernazza.

Restaurant prices here we thought were a little more expensive than those in Rome, considering the standard of cooking and service. In these small and extremely popular coastal towns that are shut during the winter season, I guess businesses need to make as much as possible to cover their off season.

But for the price you pay, the food is tasty and you’re enjoying al fresco dining on the harbour front in a fabulous part of the Italian Riviera.

Dining In

If you’re renting an apartment and prefer to dine in on some evenings, there are a  couple of grocery shops on via Roma that stock a good range of foods including cheeses, hams, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc.  There’s also a fishmonger, a butcher, bread shop etc, where you can stock up on supplies.

Trofie al Pesto - Ligurian specialty

Trofie pasta is a Ligurian specialty and this is one dish that you’ll find on most restaurant menus.

Trofie is often served with pesto (Trofie al Pesto) which is also a specialty of the Ligurian region. In fact, Liguria is the birthplace of pesto which uses basil as its main ingredient. Basil grows very well in the temperate Ligurian climate.

The Trofie pasta is made with flour and water  and the dough is rolled on a flat surface until it forms a thin rounded strip of pasta with tapered ends. It is then cut into little pieces and twisted into its final shape. You can buy the dried version, which look like thin, pale “Twisties”. They plump up to 2-3 times their size when cooked.

Trofie al Pesto is a quick and simple enough pesto pasta dish to prepare if you buy the pesto sauce and of course its flavour relies heavily on the quality of the pesto.  Freshly made pesto is always preferable as you can’t beat the smell of freshly grounded basil.   Grounded basil also oxidizes quickly turning into a dark shade, so it’s the freshly made pesto that gives the fresh green colour that you see in this photo.

We found the pesto quality varied quite a bit in Cinque Terre with some restaurants using diluted pesto sauce resulting in a tasteless Trofie al Pesto.  However, when you come across a good version, its delicious.

A Quick Recipe for Trofie al Pesto

Ingredients:

125g tub of bought fresh pesto sauce
400g Trofie pasta
125g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cooked and chopped potato and some beans (optional)
Salt

Preparation:

Heat some water in a large saucepan with a tablespoon of salt and bring it up to a boil. Add the pasta, stir and let it cook for 10 minutes.  Drain the pasta in a colander, then tip it back into the saucepan.  Add the pesto sauce (and vegetable) and stir it to give everything a good coating.  Serve in heated pasta bowls and sprinkle with parmesan. Cooking time is 15-20 minutes.

Buon appetito!

Porcini Arrosto at La Carbonara

On our first night in Rome, we race off to our favourite restaurant on Campo dei Fiori.  After a few weeks on the road, a fix of good Italian food is much needed and at La Carbonara, we know that we’ll have a good meal.

I eagerly ask the waiter if they have funghi porcini and he points to the next table saying that the last serve has just gone to the people at that table. What a tragedy!  I couldn’t hide my disappointment – there didn’t even have a few slivers of it to put in my pasta.  The waiter quickly reassures me that we haven’t missed the porcini season.  It’s just that it’s Sunday, the markets are closed and they weren’t able to get more supplies.  He promises that when we return from our Cinque Terre trip, they’ll still have porcini.

So here I am again tonight on my mission to dine on this King of Mushrooms! For my primi piati I order linguine ai porcini and for my secondi piati I’m having porcini arrosto.  Tony tells me that it’s silly to  have porcini in both courses as there’s no contrast in flavours, but my waiter friend says that I’m not breaking any gastronomical codes and that it’s okay to have whatever I like.

I tuck into my porcini pasta, managing to splatter oil all over my blouse. The food is absolutely delicious and the linguine ai porcini takes care of my addictions on two fronts – my love of pasta as well as love of porcini.    The  porcini arrosto arrives and the heavenly aroma hits our brains.  On biting into the delectable mushrooms, the roasted flavours hit your palette first and it then gives way to an almost ‘creamy’ texture on the inside. The fresh chargrilled porcini that we’ve been dreaming off since last season did not disappoint.

Was I crazy to have two porcini dishes, well actually no.  The porcini cooked in the pasta has a different flavour to the chargrilled porcini and besides it’s a long wait till the next porcini season.