Gastronomic weekend
I kissed goodbye to my diet last weekend. The temptations of interesting Italian food just proved too darn strong. It all started on Saturday with a trip to our local rosticceria. There I found that they were doing wild boar cooked in a Barolo sauce. I simply could not resist the temptation and ended up with it and some polenta. It was delicious. The Wild Boar was tender and the sauce was exquisite. My other half and son, who are not partial to wild boar, had to make do with some ‘polpette’ - meatballs, and a courgette flower frittata - a type of thick omelette. I wanted to get them some lasagne and gnocchi alla Romana, but both dishes had sold out. And I managed to get to the rosticceria well before midday. Well, that was Saturday. The best was yet to come.
On Sunday we went to the Paolo Sarpi street fair here in Milan. I will admit to having been a little worried about the size of this fair in view of the ever diminishing number of Italian shops in Via P Sarpi, but luckily, although numbers were down slightly on last year, there were plenty of stands. This is just as well because this annual fair is very well patronized. At 11 on Sunday morning the narrowish street was packed, and I hate the think just how many people would have invaded during the afternoon. Seeing as the weather was fine, I imagine that the crowds would have been on the wrong side of acceptable.
Anyway, we managed to get there early enough to grab one to two goodies. My other half got some wonderful truffle salami and some equally yummy Barolo salami. Then there were the porcini mushrooms, which were immediately turned into a risotto or fried. I ignored the risotto in favour of the fried porcini, which I love. Although I will cook them next time, because I would like these mushrooms to be fried just a little more and with less oil. Then they would be absolutely perfect!
In addition to the salami and mushrooms, we also picked up some Fontina, which is rich and creamy, some delicious long stalked capers, olives and some wine. I picked up some of my favourite honey grappa and a bottle of woodland fruits grappa, which I shall leave until Christmas, by which time it should be perfect. Next we have the Cunesi chocolates which are the most diet ruiningly scrumptious chocolates available in Italy, or so I think.
And finally there was this cheese I had never tried before, but I’m going to devote a whole post to this delicacy because it deserves much more attention.
Yes, I did put on a bit of the weight I had managed to lose, but, what the heck. A little bit of what you feel like does you good. And it did!
Paolo Sarpi - Milan, Street Fair Today!
The Paolo Sarpi Street fair is today! And it is already busy.
And here are some photos that were taken at around 11 am this morning:
Gastronomic fair - Via Paolo Sarpi, Milan*
If you happen to be in Milan on Sunday the 14th October 2007 (date corrected,Thanks to Cath), and you happen to like fresh porcini mushrooms, truffles, Italian wine, grappa and cheese, then you may find the via Paolo Sarpi street fair fascinating. You can see where Via Paolo Sarpi is on my Platial map: just click here. Via Paolo Sarpi is about 10 minutes from the centre of Milan by bus and only 20 or so minutes on foot. To find out in more detail how to get there from anywhere in Milan, try using the ATM Milan’s system: here. If you happen to find yourself in Parco Sempione that day, then make a slight detour to Paolo Sarpi, which is only 10 minutes from the park on foot.
Enough directions. This street fair has been held for quite a number of years and becomes packed with people who are getting in a little bit of early Christmas shopping and stocking up on good cheese, wine and grappa. The street will be closed to traffic, as you would expect, and should be lined by market stalls selling all manner of Italian traditional foods, wines and other interesting items. Apparently, on the 25th October there will also be more stands and an all day wine tasting will take place, although I want to find out more about this.
Apart from the sights and the smells, you can often taste-test the wine, or the grappa, if that is your thing. And if you are into salami, you should find an extensive selection to both try and buy. The wild boar (cinghiale) salami is not half bad. There are also other varieties of yummy salami with red wine and porcini mushrooms. They are very good - especially when eaten with some of the good wholesome country bread which you can also pick up from the stalls that line the streets.
Then there are all the cheeses and other rather unusual items such as the ‘bagna cauda’ - which is a sauce thing,
It’s probably worth checking out this street fair, before lunchtime though, if you would prefer not to wade through crowds. You could even, weather permitting, grab some goodies and have a picnic in nearby Parco Sempione.
You may like to note that this area has changed a lot recently, so I’m not all that sure this wonderful fair will be as interesting as it has been in past years. I do hope so.
What ever happens, I shall be there hunting for wine and grappa, amongst other things.
*This is basically last year’s post about the same event - edited and updated a little. The comments are from last year, too, but others might find them helpful, so I’ve left them.
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