Spring fairs are happening all over. There is a garden tour today in Cetona which sounded interesting but the entrance was for 25 people only and by the time we realised it was being held it would have been too late we thought. Paciano is closer and a pretty little village so we all set off.
I expected there to be more plant stalls but it was more of a general market. There were lots of clothes stalls selling the usual cheap Chinese imports, socks, handbags, hats and scarves. The promised ‘street food’ was a porchetta stand (roast pork in bread rolls), a Sardinian food stall offering savoury crepes and the dried fruit and nuts stands that appear in town squares on Sundays, not the international feast we have become accustomed to back in the UK. The craft stalls had goods from India, Guatamala and things more locally made. Too much of it was very crafty with home woven, crocheted, tie-dyed and embroidered items that would be hard to find a home for as well as a surfeit of felt Minions, cushion Minions, purse Minions and mini stuffed Minions. The exception though was a stall selling naturally-dyed yarns which were in the most beautiful colours.
We did manage to buy some chili plants from the one plant stall. A Jalapeno and two ciliegia (cherry) chilli plants should fulfill our needs as last year we had loads and they were dried and strung on threads and crumbled into jars which should last us forever. They were particularly hot varieties too so a little does go a long way. This time we chose chili varieties that are more edible individually. The jalapenos are good stuffed with cream cheese or fried and the cherry chillies are the ones often seen on deli counters stuffed with tuna or feta cheese.
We lunched at La Logetta which has good reviews and has been recommended. We had booked a table as they have a beautiful terrace at the rear of the restaurant with views towards Lake Trasimeno and over the church tower. The menu looked interesting and not filled with the usual pages of pasta dishes and grilled meats. There was a good choice for vegetarians and vegans too which is good to know. I opted for the guinea fowl terrine with carrot purée and mixed leaves and Jamie had the goats cheese with pears, walnuts and honey as starters. My choice for the main course was the maltagliati pasta, which literally means ‘badly cut’ and a ragù sauce of made with pork and bone marrow, while Jamie had small pasta parcels made from kamut flour, stuffed with mushrooms and served with pumpkin purée and salted ricotta. The pudding was beautifully presented but could have been more strongly rose flavoured. Described as a ‘bavarese alla rosa’ I expected what we call a bavarois. This was more of a panna cotta and if someone isn’t a fan of rose- flavoured desserts they would not choose it so the rose volume could have been turned up just a little more. Overall, it is a very welcoming and friendly restaurant, with a beautiful terrace and excellent choices for everyone, so we will definitely visit again.
Time to go home and do a little gardening now the sun has gone down. I planted the chillies and await our crop. It has been really warm the last few days and we have resorted to tying a stripey bedsheet over the metal frame above the outside table. Not very ‘designer’ but it works so now we need to fix the rush mat which should be more pleasing to the eye.
Sunflowers and Saffron 