A Good Day for Soup

Wednesday is market day in Spello; unfortunately, since Spello is a very small town, the market here is more flea market than produce market.  There are only 2 produce sellers, the rest sell clothing, shoes, and plants.
My guy talks non-stop to the buyers, and is a lovely man.  Happy to sell you his wares, and also adding what he thinks you'll need for your meal.  Since I was gifted with a few zucchini and an onion from a friend, I wanted to make a minestrone.  That necessitated a few more ingredients from the frutivendolo.  As I was making my purchases he asked if I wanted the black celery from Trevi a nearby town that has a DOP (denomination of protected origin) designation for its special celery---it is aromatic and delicious, so of course I chose it, after that he was putting extra carrots and parsley and onions into my bags.  The celery isn't actually black, they cover the root end, and the chlorophyll goes to the leaves, which turn a very dark green. There is an annual festival in Trevi celebrating the sedano nero.

Escarole

Romanesco

Here pepperoni is the vegetable, not the meat on a pizza

Eggplant

Zucchini

Golden delicious apples from the north

Gala apples from the north

Really new potatoes

Garlic

Beautiful flowers

Minestrone

Serves an army
Let me just say that you can sub in your favorite vegetables here, I usually use escarole, but the heads he had were as big as my head, and I didn't need that much, so I picked up some spinach instead.  Pancetta is also optional, perfectly acceptable to leave it out.  Minestrone means without stock but I used chicken for this one.  You can use water if you prefer, the fresher the vegetables the better your soup will be. 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
one 1/4-inch piece pancetta finely diced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (today I'm using the DOP cippolini from Cannara)
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 ribs of celery with leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/2 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup diced zucchini
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup small lentils
salt and pepper

Lining up the ingredients

1. In a Dutch oven heat the oil, and saute the pancetta until it is almost crisp.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute for 5 minutes until the onion is softened.  
2. Add the broth, spinach beans, zucchini, barley and lentils and simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the barley and lentils are softened.  
3. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.  

Bubbling on the stove top

After our lunch, we took our afternoon stroll and ended up in the piazza and had a gelato to celebrate having such a healthy lunch. 

Ciao for now.

Finding Treasure

For us, finding Spello 20 years ago was like finding treasure.  This small beautifully preserved hill town in Umbria, has one road in that is the same road out...truth be told I've driven the wrong way on this one way street a few times, but that's another story. 
On Wednesday, Dr. C. and I had some errands to run, one was dropping off our laundry with the laundress to take care of , giving us some extra time to wander, and we decided to take a peek into the new exhibition at the bottom of the hill in Spello called La Villa dei Mosaici. 
Some years ago the local workers were digging a new parking lot at the bottom of the hill, when they discovered mosaics.  Since we have been coming here so long, we remembered the construction (which always seems to go on forever) and then the stoppage, so we couldn't park our car in the lot.  Grumble, grumble. 
The next year there was a protective structure over the parking lot, and we couldn't figure out what it was.  Subsequent years saw different structures, and this year the museum is open, and it was worth waiting for. 
Dating from 27 BC, the mosaics are incredibly well preserved.  This was a beautiful villa, with large rooms, and beautiful marble.  When you think how old these mosaics are it's mind blowing, and the fact that so many have been preserved is even more astonishing. Many homeowners here, when doing renovations will come upon mosaics, or other Roman artifacts, and will cover them up, rather than wait for the historic preservation council to come and take a look and stop construction.  Others like Enoteca Properzio Uno will cover the historic finds with glass so that all can enjoy them. 

floor plan

Not a checker board

Fragments from the outside walls

I used to say that there were only 2 reasons to come to Spello:  Enoteca Properzio, and the Pinturicchio frescoes in the cathedral, but now there is a third reason, this amazing museum.  Spello is a beautiful jewel in Umbria, but if you are looking for bright lights, and lots of action, then go to Perugia and Assisi.  What we love about Spello is its timelessness and it's why we come back.  Ciao for now.

Out and About

This past week has been a mix of sun, clouds, strong winds, and some rain.  This is the view from our terrace, and we never get tired of it, even when it's raining. 

Our friends often ask us what we do when we are here.  We are living in a beautiful apartment in a palazzo, and with this view we could sit on the patio and just rest, but we get out for coffee in the morning in a beautiful garden, that gets us moving.  We sometimes head down to the Enoteca for an apperitivo before lunch, or we might decide to head somewhere for lunch, this is always an adventure since we are never sure where we are going. 
On Tuesday, we went to a new place (for us) in a neighboring town, near the Perugia airport.  We'd heard that the chef was from Emilia Romagna and that the food was fantastic..and guess what?  It was.  Click here for details.

Osteria Emiliana

In better weather you can sit by the pool

Mortadella

Gnocco Fritto

Dr. C. making what he called a mortadella burrito

My main was pasta stuffed with pumpkin (butternut squash)  and Parmigiano in a butter and sage sauce 

Dr. C. opted for the Bolognese

Dessert was foraged berries with gelato---perfetto!

After that meal we came back to Spello, and around 7 walked down to the enoteca to pick up some paperwork that we'd had printed, and were invited for dinner.  Hospitality here is something I can't explain, it's generous, it's overwhelming and it's inclusive.  I wasn't hungry, and neither was Dr. C. but who can refuse an amazing glass of wine, and then pasta with white truffles? 

We had to be rolled up the hill after this feast, and went to bed full and happy.  Although we did see this in the window of one of the shops while we were walking up the hill, and I had to share it. 

Yes, that is a purse covered in strings of macaroni.  Frankly, I'd rather have the pasta with the white truffles.  Ciao for now.