Sunday is a great day to go up into the mountains for lunch. It was a cold, misty day when we headed up to nearby village,Vico Pancellorum, and restaurant Buca di Baldabo for some delicous local food.
heading up to Vico Pancellorum
a mountain village sitting in the mist
we had a table by the fire
The menu changes according to what is in season and the waitress rattled off in rapid Italian what was available for lunch. I chose the pumpkin ravioli, Tina had gnocchi and Rina had ricotta and spinach ravioli. All the pasta was made on the premises and was delicate in flavour and very, very good.
my pumpkin ravioli
gnocchi
Rina's ravioli
Our next course was supposed to be accompanied by polenta made with chestnut flour, particular to the area. When it arrived at the table it was pronounced “un disastro” and hurriedly taken back to the kitchen. This sparked a disussion which involved the entire restaurant, with several diners making their way to the kitchen to offer advice on what to do with the next batch. We managed to eat our second course without the polenta. A plate did arrive later with some fresh ricotta and I would suggest that it is an aquired taste. The ricotta was excellent.
Rina and I had pork ribs
Tina had faraona - guinea fowl
poached pear with chocolate sauce
I had a walk around the village. I absolutely love these cold, wintery days. It is such a contrast to my life in Australia. I thought it was a perfect day.
village houses and olive trees
the village church
a perfect winter scene