Learning Old Traditions - Foraging for Wild Greens
On Sunday March 30th, the Tandem Spirits joined some friends in Vescia and went out to the countryside to forage for Wild Greens, Andar per erbe, with a Nocera Umbra trekking group. We drove to Nocera Umbra, a charming village about 23 km northeast of Foligno.
First a Lesson About Wild Greens
Before going out to the countryside, we listened to our guide, Ivo Picciarelli, discuss the history of foraging for wild greens and identifying those that are good to eat raw in salads and others that are best cooked.
Then Out to the Countryside!
Next it was time to drive out to the countryside and get to work. Ivo and his wife helped us identify the various types in the field and showed us the right way to dig them out and to clean them. They recommended cleaning them well in the field. Of course they will also have to be looked over and washed at home. After a couple of hours we filled our bag with a variety of greens.
Then Lunch at Hotel Fichetto in Vescia!
When we finished it was lunchtime. We drove back to Vescia and enjoyed an incredible lunch at our friend Stefano’s restaurant, Fichetto, which has just celebrated its 100 year anniversary. We were treated to a variety of appetizers: pizza, garbanzo beans with truffles, and scrambled eggs with truffles. They also brought out bowls of cuoratella, and lumache (snails) both of which are traditional foods in Umbria.
Main Dishes - Lasagna, Pacchetti and Faraona
For the first course, we both had lasagne and then for a second course James had Faraona with potatoes. Some of our friends had tagliatelle with truffles. We washed it all down with a very nice Umbria Rosso.
Dulce anyone? We got to try a tart that Stefano was experimenting with. It had an almond crust, fruit and apricot jam.
A Gallery of Other Images from the Day
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Great post! Love the idea of foraging.