Pasta, Baby!

We just happened to arrive in Montefalco the weekend of their wine-tasting event, so on Sunday we drove into Montefalco, and made our way to a large room in which tables for about 20 different Montefalco wineries were set up. I paid my 7 euros for a glass and unlimited tastings, and together Steve and I went through and sampled multiple Sagrantinos, trying to find our favorite one.

It was lots of fun tasting all those wines, but on an empty stomach, that acidic wine was a reflux nightmare, and after drinking our way to glory I was desperate for some food.

As we left the main wine tasting area we emerged into a courtyard around which tables were placed, along with a small menu of breads, meats and cheeses. At one nearby stall, however was this so very Italian looking man, and he had several pots simmering away, releasing the most incredible aromas.

When I looked in one pot I could see onions, some sort of ham, and lemon peel with a hefty dose of Rosemary. There was a crowd assembling, drawn by the heavenly smells, and he entertained all of us with Italian which I could not understand, and gestures which I could which made everybody laugh as he waited for the other pot of water to come to a boil.

At one point he saw me waiting with what was probably an idiotic look of joyful anticipation on my face and spoke to me in excited and animated Italian. Seeing my glazed look of total incomprehension, he immediately switched to English and told me that in 20 minutes the pasta would be ready.

Steve set his watch and we took a quick stroll around the town and returned to find that we had missed the first batch! I almost filed for divorce right then and there, because Steve should know at this point in our relationship, that he should NEVER allow ANYTHING to come between me and my pasta.

Luckily, our Italian friend was just draining another huge vat of freshly cooked pasta, to which he added mascarpone and black pepper. When he saw us standing there, he shouted to us in English: “You eat this pasta?!” to which we desperately cried “Yes!”, to which he shouted “You want this pasta right here??!!!” “Yes!!” we again replied, at which point he threw out his arms and yelled “Oh yeah, baby!!!” to huge laughs from the crowd.

He then gave us two heaping bowls of pasta and we ran to a table to enjoy our winnings. It was delicious, of course, and again, surprisingly simple, just the light coating of cheese and pepper on thick pasta tubes cooked, of course, to perfect al dente.

I could eat pasta all day, and this one in particular I could have just eaten and eaten. Steve insists that the guy gave me a much bigger bowl than he gave Steve, but I think I just ate mine slower! Or maybe it was my look of desperation that made him take pity on me and pile the food into my bowl.

Either way, delicious!!!