We have just spent our first few weeks here in Italy and the weather has been amazing!
Summer is still here in Tuscany and on Sunday went to Eremo a very special place that was established by San Francesco of Assisi. We decided to take the challenge of walking up the mountain rather than going by car. With Shanna and Giacomo on our backs it was a tiring hour and a half walk up the steep mountain, but it was well worth it. Porcini mushrooms are in season at the moment and we were walking through thick pine forests which is where porcini’s can be found. Continually on our way up we passed older generation Italians who were out and about searching for porcini. I can promise you fresh porcini mushrooms are just amazing. They are totally different in flavour and texture to any type of mushroom that we get in Australia, I think the best way to describe them is meaty!!!
When we arrived at the top of the mountain the sun was shinning and we chose to cook our BBQ outside instead of lighting a fire inside of this amazing old monastery that has been standing for 800 years.
We enjoyed a typical Tuscan lunch, a pork feast!! Costtolicio, salsiccie, rigatino and the bistecca. Translation in English, pork spare ribs, pork sausages, pancetta, or thick cuts of bacon and pork steaks all cooked on an open flame wood BBQ. To accompany our pork feast was some traditional Tuscan bread that has no salt in it, the reason being is many years ago the Medici family from Florence put a very high tax on salt, so the Tuscan people chose to omit salt from many recipes and hence that is why they make bread without salt.
Red wine was flowing of course and lots of Italian Batta, we also met up with one of the other owners of the house in our little
hamlet and he had just been hunting and gave us a fagano, as we would
know it a pheasant. We then walked back down the mountain to our car and returned to Casalena to enjoy the stunning sunset and sounds of silence under our Tuscan sky.
We hope you enjoy this recipe to use with porcini mushrooms, unfortunately you will have to buy the dried version and rehydrate them in warm water. Click here for your copy!
Ciao,
Sioban and Carlo
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