Home Cooking and the Joys of Simplicity — 03/09/2023

Be sure to head over to www.olieatsitall.wordpress.com to make sure that you get all of my articles and newsletters as soon as they come out and properly formatted!

t I haven’t eaten out this week — that would be disengenous. More than anything though, both out and when cooking at home, I’ve been rediscovering the joy of simple ingredients and simple dishes. Almost always, and especially when the ingredients are fresh and local, they are the most delicious when not overburdened. That is my main theme today alongside some delightful neighbourhood stalwart finds from Orvieto to Asti.

Montanucci Musings

On the road between Orvieto’s famous cathedral and its main square is Montanucci, a sort of café/bar come bakery come restaurant. It’s very hard to explain because it sort of is everything. Above all, it’s a community hub and the ultimate people watching spot. If I lived in Orvieto, it’s the kind of place where I would set up shop in the mornings with my laptop before working away for hours, breaking now and then to watch the world go by. Everyone is here from incredibly well dressed elderly Italian men to teenagers recovering from hangovers and coach loads of American tour groups (although these are, pleasingly, kept to pre-reserved rooms at the back). The interactions between all of them is delightful to observe from afar as some sit for hours and tuck into a long lunch whilst others dash in for a morning cornetto espresso combo.

When I say that Montanucci does everything I’m really not exaggerating. I’m told by the smiling man behind the counter that there are 17 different types of cornettos (Italian croissants) and the way his eyes lit up when I asked which was which was a pleasure to witness.

As well as those pastries, all baked on site, Montanucci is famous for its countless varieties of tarts; Chocolate, almond, cherry, and more. I only have so much capacity in my stomach so didn’t try any but they looked like perfection (a certain friend of mine did recently remind me that this doesn’t guarantee tastiness though).

Of course, there’s savoury as well; panninis, foccacias, seafood salads, rice salads, omelettes. And well, we’re in Italy so there’s perfectly delicious homemade gelato too. In England, and perhaps in any other country, this whole thing wouldn’t work. Goodness knows how many times I’ve complained about long menus and used stuck-up terms like ‘confused’ and ‘lacking focus’. Just occasionally though, it all comes together.

Somehow, some way, Montanucci has managed to feature in every guidebook under the sun and still maintain its character. The reason is probably the continued local support (one of the waiters passionately recounts that this was what got them through COVID). A local hotspot and a guide-book favourite: to quote the waiter, “Orvieto runs here”.

Wine, Truffle, Porchetta

A quick note on Bottega Vera, also in Orvieto. This is an independent wine bar that you’ll also find in most guidebooks and, yet again, it’s one that lives up to the hype. Now, this isn’t the sort of local hub that I wrote about earlier but sitting outside after an evening paseo is the perfect place for a pre-dinner drink. Vera has a main site down the hill where they have rooms and produce their own wine and olive oil.

Here, an enomatic machine (like you might find at Wilding), lets you try any variety of wild and wacky grapes at reasonable prices. As well as that, there’s a tasting flight of four wines for €12 and a stunning list of sharing boards for nibbles. Above is the black truffle and porchetta that I’d highly recommend: for just €11 you get all manner of porchetta cuts (including offal), some bruschetta with the house olive oil, and a good amount of black truffle paste. Being Italy, you’ll get snacks with your aperitivo regardless but this once I really do think it’s worth ordering something else to share between a few people too.

Final Italian Musings

There are some things about Italy and the Mediterranean in general (Spain too) that really do lead to a higher quality of life, notably in the world of food. The smaller number of chains is undoubtedly a help (finding fresh pasta and meat in local bodegas is definetly more inspirational than Tesco), cheaper prices when eating out definetly play a part too. Maybe though, it’s just the focus on food in general that makes the most difference. As you all know, I’m a passionate believer in the power of food to bring people together and if food is the centre of culture then that simply means that more people come together more of the time.

I do want to quickly dispel the myth that all Italian restuarants are good. The parmigiana melanzene above was shocking in pretty much every way — drenched in oil and with almost no aubergine to be seen (I’ve had less cheesy American versions). The fish below? Perhaps the driest main dish I’ve ever tasted. And that pistachio tiramisù? Well, Giovann Attard would take personal offense…

The Cooking

Starting today and until December, I won’t have access to my own kitchen and to be honest, I’m scared. That has meant that, to the dismay of my family, I spent the last week dreaming up countless overcomplicated dishes to wile away the hours cooking and to buy ingredients for. In the end though, as I often do, I settled on simple ingredients and straightforward recipes. When the ingredients are as good and as fresh as they are in the Umbrian countryside it would be a shame to do anything else really.

First up, in typical Itlaian fashion, Pasta. This was a case of using those pre-discussed bodegas and salumerias that you’ll find tonnes of in every Italian city and it all came together more easily than some ready meals. The fresh pasta was Strangozzi which is long, rectangular, and typical of Umbria. It is basically a square and thicker spaghetti and that means that it can hold a pretty thick sauce as well. On this occasion, I didn’t even make that sauce — it was a pesto that the little bodega in question had made themselves. There was SO much garlic in this but somehow you still got those fresh basil flavours. Above all, the joys of fresh and al dente pasta meant that you still got that taste too.

This was a truly bizzare meal and I actually served that pasta as a side to a selection of different meat creations from the same shop. All were fine, none were stunning, but my favourite was the ‘bistecca surprise’. They are the triangles in the piture and despite the name evoking dark memories of ‘mystery meat’ school lunches, the layering of thinly sliced steak and local cheese was delightfully different to what I expected.

Chicken picanha is admittedly slightly more complex process wise but this too reminded me of how the simplest and shortest list of ingredients is often best. Sometimes, despite the desire for healthy living, copious amounts of butter are required in a sauce. Mixed with lemon, capers, stock, and olive oil and the result is almost guaranteed to be stunning.

Just one more meal and another case of making do with whatever I could find. This time the meat base was veal which is a personal favourite of mine for it’s distinct flavour. I made this recipe up as I went along really but started off with some diced potatoes roasting in the oven for about 40 minutes. After that, I crammed in some local giant Umbrian garlic and layered the thinly cut veal slices on top. These were seasoned with salt and pepper, sprinkled with some capers and, of course, olive oil, before roasting for a further 15 minutes. The end result went perfectly with some salad and fried mushrooms from the very same understocked local supermarket.

Veal

One more thing…

Again, this week’s one more thing is two things. Torturous I know…

Being in Italy, I’ve been thinking a lot about pizza. Actually, you might have noticed that I’m always thinking a lot about pizza. Firstly, I have a new current favourite base that is a long way from the fluffy sourdough and neopolitan trends that seem to dominate the market at the moment. Lazio bases are thin and remarkably crispy which means they can both hold their shape and let the sauce and toppings shine. The crusts themselves are full of flavour and the base is light too. You can’t beat it.

Also, why can’t we get pizza by the slice in England? Italy’s ‘pizza al trancio’ is Italy’s refined take on the New York slice and makes for the perfect snack. Alternatively, pick up a few for pre-dinner snacks — the three below cost 80 cents each…

And finally finally, I might have said that Italy is short of chains but some very much do exist. One friend from Turin texted me to say : “I’m SOOOO happy you’ve discovered Old Wild West!!!”. I’m not sure I was ‘SOOOO happy’ but it was certainly humuorous. I don’t expect the cultrural appropriation of native American totem poles and tee-pees would last very long in England but it certainly makes for a novel service station stop-off!

So that’s it for this week. Coming soon is an entire article on the joys of Montannuci, at least one podcast, and some reporting as I touch down in yet another European country…