If you have been following the weather in Europe, you know that it is unseasonably hot in Italy right now. We are little better off in Perguia because there is always a breeze up here. Even so, yesterday we decided to escape the heat in the city and head up into the Sibilline mountains towards the plain of Castellucio. This is another area in Umbria famous for its lentils, farro (spelt), and peas. In the early summer the plain blossoms into a sea of colors. We were a little too early for the flowers this year, but the views were stunning nonetheless.
There is still snow on the mountains!
Castelluccio, population 150, 1452 m. asl
Foss brothers
Although the town is small, there are plenty of places to eat. We chose Degusteria Lu Soccio for lunch. I love encountering menus with items so specific to that locale that you cannot find in the dictionary:
Spighe di violatri? We could not figure this out, so we ordered the frittata con i violatri. It turns out to be a local type of green (like spinach) in season right now in Castelluccio. We also got the farro de Lu Soccio, which was like a farro stew cooked with some sausage, topped with caciotta (soft cow’s milk cheese) and tartufo; and Pedar ordered the roasted capretto (young goat).
Frittata con violatri
Farro de Lu Soccio. The best farro dish I have had in Umbria!
Pedar’s capretto paired with a local beer, Birrificio Le Fate (this one is castagne – chestnut flavored).
After lunch the boys needed some exercise, so Simon and Jakob decided to climb a ‘hill’. They ended up at 1750 meters (5750 feet):
A race to the top?
We will let them tell you about that in a separate post.
On the way back to Perugia, we stopped in Colfiorito to visit the local archaeology museum and pick up some potatoes.
Today for lunch we are reprising gnocchi alla sorrentina from last year. Can’t wait!
you picked up potatoes at the archaeology museum? How old were they? 🙂
Actually, the men selling the potatoes had their trucks parked next to the museum. I was worried that we are not in the right season for potatoes (last year we bought them in January), but we used them to make gnocchi today and they were just as good as we remembered.