[slideshow=36]
photos by Karen Landes
“What is a pig with three eyes?”
“I don’t know, I give up.”
“A piiig.”
This was some of the odd banter that was encountered at the 2009 ‘This Little Piggy’ event and that made the day so enjoyable. We had a delightful group of people who (bless their hearts) braved traffic and terrible weather, drawn by the simple prospect of… well…pigging out.
Before lunch we went to see the Convento dei Lattani, placed high on the slopes of the Rocamonfina volcano overlooking the lush Volturno Valley. With it’s beautifully frescoed cloisters and breathtaking view the visit was enjoyed by both young and old.
Lunch this year was a sublime expression of the local and traditional (see below). Rachel Rennie of Whisky, Wine and Words read us Roald Dahl’s ‘Three Little Pigs’ from his Book of Revolting Rhymes. Pigs were praised in anecdotes, quotations and world records.
THE MENU
Vino (Wine)
Sabus (Aglianico, Piedirosso e Montepulciano) di Tenuta Spada
Antipasti (Hors D’oeuvres)
Stringata
Insalata di Rinforzo (‘fortified’ salad)
Pizza rustica con porri e patate (Pastry pie with leek and potatoes)
Frittata con porri (leek omelette)
Verza e patate con stringata (cabbage, potatoes and stringata)
Pancotto con broccoli (cooked bread with broccoli-raab)
Pancotto con fagioli (cooked bread with beans)
Crema di fave con cicoria di campo (broad beans pureé with wild chickory)
Primi (First Course)
Polenta con sugo di salsicciata al finocchio selvatico (cornmeal with sausage, fennel and tomato sauce)
Ziti al sugo di tracchie (ziti with spare ribs and tomato sauce)
Secondi (Second Course)
Tracchie (spare ribs)
Maialino al forno (roast pig)
Contorno (Vegetable)
Insalata di scarola con finocchio, olive ed arance (endive salad with fennel, olives and oranges)
Dessert
Castagnole di Carnevale (the little balls covered in sugar which have no translation)
Biscotti ‘sabbiati’ al burro con marmellata fatta in casa (butter cookies with home-made jams)
Arrotolati alle mele e pinoli (apple macaroons with pine nuts)