Today was, by far, the best day of the trip so far. We went to a restaurant called Locanda Rovicciano in a little town just outside of Spoleto. We drove up the gravel driveway to an enormous and beautiful, stone villa built in the 1600’s that was surrounded by roses, daisies, olive trees, and herb gardens. The head chef of the restaurant, Andrea, and his wife restored the villa and turned the bottom level the restaurant and the top level their home. Andrea came out to greet us and immediately brought us inside the restaurant and made us cappuccinos. The walls of the restaurant were stone and painted a deep red and golden yellow. Each table was simply decorated with a white tablecloth and long-stemmed wine glasses. It felt warm and inviting while still appearing sophisticated. After we had each downed our cappuccinos, we moved into the kitchen to begin cooking.
First, he had us chop onions for the tomato sauce. He brought out three knives than were so large they were reminiscent of machetes, and he showed us how to cut properly. He made it look effortless with smooth, rocking motions that produced diced onions perfectly equal in size. Our results were less than the perfection he created, but he assured us they were beautiful. He threw them into a pan filled with oil and let them simmer for about twenty minutes. The aroma that filled the kitchen was intoxicating. After they were done simmering, we added tomato puree, stock, basil, oil, salt, and pepper. He had me dip a finger in to taste the final product. When he asked me how it was, all I could do was smile. Words couldn’t do it justice.
Next, he had us work on a béchamel sauce with more butter than even Paula Deen would use. We added the butter, flour, and cream into a large pan and stirred until it was smooth. It’s hard to make something with that much butter taste bad, so, needless to say, it was delicious.
We then moved away from the stove momentarily to the islands in the middle of the kitchen. He handed us each a large bowl filled with flour and had us pour oil, salt, pepper, and cracked eggs into the bowl. We began squeezing it all with our hands making sure it was all mixed. The end result was the pasta we would use for our vegetable lasagna. After we finished making the pasta, we took a short break during which Andrea served us cheese plates (one of my favorite things in the world) with wine (my favorite thing in the world). I was already in Heaven and we hadn’t even eaten lunch yet.
After our break, we began to cut up eggplant for the eggplant parmesan. We dusted the eggplant with flour and dropped them in a pot filled with a gallon of oil. Once they were slightly browned, we put them on a pan and assembled a small tower made of four eggplant slices each with the tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese in between. We moved on to the assembly of the vegetable lasagna. We cut the noodles into circles four inches in diameter and filled same size metal cylinders that were lined with butter and breadcrumbs with pasta, béchamel, tomato sauce, spinach, zucchini, mozzarella, and parmesan.
We all thought we were done cooking, but then Andrea walked in with an entire lamb. He began trimming the fat and carving out chops. We went into the garden to get herbs for the rub- rosemary, scallion flowers, oregano, and mint. He put the lamb into the scalding hot oven for ten minutes, took them out to sprinkle on the rub, and then put them back in the oven for another ten minutes. While they were cooking, we made pumpkin florets filled with ricotta and sprinkled with parmesan. With the bulk of the cooking done, we moved outside to begin eating.
We sat on the patio overlooking the gardens at an iron table under enormous, canvas umbrellas. The meal began with the eggplant parmesan and pumpkin florets. Everyone took their first bite, and there was a collective moan from the table. Each of us unconsciously closed our eyes and took a deep breath, savoring each bite. Next came the vegetable lasagna. They each slipped seamlessly from their metal containers onto the round, white plates. No other embellishments were needed; the lasagna was decoration enough. After the first few bites of this little circle of Heaven, I looked around the table and saw smiles of satisfaction painted on everyone’s lips. Andrea then brought out the lamb with a small side salad. It was so tender that no knife was needed. The flavors were perfectly balanced and nothing was overpowering. There was richness from the fat marbled throughout, crispiness from the breadcrumbs, and a beautiful aroma from the herbs- absolute perfection. At this point, everyone began loosening their belts and sinking a little deeper into their seats after a marathon of eating, but we weren’t done yet. We moved back into the kitchen to make dessert- whipped cream and mascarpone with chocolate sauce and nuts. It was light but satisfied my insatiable sweet tooth. After the meal, we sipped limoncello talked with Andrea for another hour. It was a perfect afternoon.
On the way out, Andrea’s wife and two young children drove up, reminding us that he didn’t just invite us into his restaurant, but also his home. He made us feel like we had been friends for years and was generous in every sense of the word. We are going back there tonight, and he is going to take us to his next-door neighbor’s house to make ricotta cheese. Next Tuesday, we are going to have a meal at his restaurant that only he will be cooking. I can’t even imagine how amazing it will be. I don’t know if I will be able to handle it, but I’m sure I’ll manage.
No comments:
Post a Comment