Tuesday 18 September: What a marvellous day. I took the train from Sant'Anna station 'cos I still haven't braved the MiniMetro, had to change at Ponte San Giovanni but that was fine and I got a cappucino while waiting for my Assisi train. Found our meeting place easily. Terra Umbra is a small shop selling local produce. Together with Letizia we were six: two Americans, two young Dutchmen and me. We began our tastings. First olive oil, two types, then cheese, six types of pecorino from young to aged. Delicious. Then six types of salume, so extremely tasty. After this we tried three types of balsamico over cheese. Still going, we then had two types of biscotti with sweet balsamico - strawberry and fig and some chocolates. We ended with three liquers. I tried two: amaro (nice but a medicinal taste) and then a glorious nocello. I bought a very small bottle of balsamico, finally trying to think about my luggage (ouch!) I went in Letizia's car to her B&B where we would be cooking. Letizia is charming. We relaxed on her terrace with a glass of grechetto and enjoyed the stunning view of the valley and across to Assisi while she prepared the kitchen for us.
Then the work began - not hard and a lot of fun; although I had to pit the olives and the good machine broke. I simply could not use the other one so I massacred some olives with a knife while Maria, Letizia's helper, finished them off beautifully. We chopped zuchinni into small pieces, made a sweet pastry for the crostata and two kinds of pasta: a type of fettucine and stringozzi, a typical Umbrian pasta.
Me doing the stringozzi
Letizia showing us the ropes.
Zucchini sauce
Fettucine with zucchini sauce
Puttanesca sauce: tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, olives
One of the sauces also had a handful of parmigiano but I cannot recall which one. She explained how to cook everything and how to add the pasta to the sauce and finish it all off. We went back to the terrace for antipasti, a wonderful selection of cheese and meat we had chosen at Terra Umbra together with homemade chutney and elderflower jam. We had Montefalco rosso and grechetto to drink.
We ate two pastas, both excellent, and I think we were all struggling after that but we were courageous. Next the wonderful crostata with fig jam. The crust was incredible. We had this with homemade limoncello, the best I've ever tasted.
It was an amazing day: great company and a lot of fun and laughter. All her recipes are available on her blogsite.
The happy and well-fed group
I can truly recommend Alla Madonna del Piatto and Letizia. It was a splendid day. We stayed so long I had no chance to revisit Assisi. The boys dropped me off at the station and I came back to Perugia Fontevigge, could not see where the MiniMetro station was so took the bus to Piazza Cavalotti and back to via Ritornata to buy another gift, I was so pleased with what I got yesterday. She wraps them so beautifully.
Then I headed to Caffè di Perugia for a well-earned vodka tonic and a gorgeous plate of nibblies: some sort of zucca with aspic, stunning patè and a little profiterol with ricotta. Definitely no dinner for me.
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