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| Lapo at Casale Della Torre |
“Lapo make you supper tonight!”
Lapo, our host for 2 weeks at the agriturismo Casale Della Torre, in Cortona, Tuscany spoke with his quirky custom of referring to himself in the first person. In this case, “Lapo” actually meant his family: Paula, his always-working-and-cooking wife, and two delightful 20-something-year-old daughters.
We’d been welcomed by the Salvadori famly, with open arms (literally), along with a table loaded with home-produced goods; red and white wines, fragrant pecorino cheese, grassy olive oil and salty, stinky salami – oh, and marinated olives in orange peel – delectable. Everything that went in our mouths had come either from Lapo’s farm, or the agricultural co-op to which he belongs.
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| Paula's biscott at "first bake" in outside oven |
So, back to the “Lapo dinner…We, and twelve new friends, started the meal with ribollita - Italian bread soup. Take day-old Tuscan bread, mush it into minestrone soup, and this thick and hearty soup makes a “stick to your ribs” meal. Although early September days in Cortona are still hot and sunny, the soup was the perfect start to a generous outpouring of food and kindness by the Salvadori family.
Next onto the table, came platters of braised wild boar which had been marinated in white wine, bay leaves, and other spices, which I’d be happy to share with you if I had understood Italian well enough to comprehend what Paula explained to me. Too bad, because if you could get your hands on some wild boar to recreate the dish, you would never forget how sweet, sour, fragrant, and devoured in mere minutes this meat can be.
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| Tuscan Roast Potatoes and Chicken |
The quintessential Tuscan vegetable, roasted potatoes, accompanied the pig. Soft and steamy on the inside, crunchy and brown on the outside, these potatoes seem to go with anything else you might want to serve. They, too, were consumed that evening in moments – mostly by me and, well, by me.
I’m going to save the rest of the story for another time; there’s so much good food, wine and fun to share. In the meantime, if you’re planning to turn on the oven for another dish anyway, why not make some of those Tuscan roast potatoes? Here’s my recipe from the Tuscan cooking school, Villa Delia, where 10 years ago, I spent 10 of the best days of my life.
Tuscan Double Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients:
- As many potatoes as you need for the number of guests. Make extra; these are always popular
- A handful of fresh sage (or a generous sprinkle of dried sage will work okay in a pinch)
- A handful of fresh rosemary (or a generous sprinkle of dried herbs will work okay in a pinch)
- A few garlic cloves with skin on (to avoid burning and releasing too much flavour)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A good quality olive oil – either use just enough to lighten coat the potatoes, or alternatively, drizzle some on the potatoes once they are on the baking sheet.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Peel and cut the potatoes into bite size pieces.
- Mix the potatoes in a bowl with the other ingredients and spread on a baking sheet. Don’t crowd the potatoes – if necessary, use a second baking sheet.
- Roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Do NOT toss, turn or touch the potatoes while in the oven.
- Remove the potatoes and leave on the counter to cool for at least 10 minutes.( If done to this point earlier in the day, cool and cover with a clean, dry tea towel until ready to finish cooking.)
- Scrape the potatoes off the bottom of the backing sheet and toss so that another part of the potato touches the sheet. Put back in the 400°F oven or 10 minutes to finish cooking.
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| View from the patio at Lapo's |
There you go – how easy is that? Buon appetito!
Do you have an Italian recipe or story to share? Maybe it’s something you learned from your Italian Nonna, or an Italian neighbour; maybe it’s a visit to Italy that you can’t forget, for one reason or another.
I'd love to hear anything about Italian anything.
Warmly,
Wendy Kurchak
