LUNCH IN THE PIAZZA ( Panicale)

Last weekend was the Pan Olio Festival, the Olive Oil festival, in Panicale. 

Saturday was beautiful which prompted James and I to go out for lunch.
We walked to the piazza and decided to eat at Osteria Il Gallo Nel Pozzo.
Which was once an apartment and the first place we stayed in Panicale.

ANTIPASTI

They have a creative take on traditional Italian recipes, like this interesting twist on
Veal in Tuna Sauce.....or in this case thin slices of veal with a mousse of smoked fish  and capers
from Lake Trasimeno, finished with capers, caper leaves and apple.
As pleasing to the palette as it was to the eye!

PRIMI

James ordered 'Ravioli Carbonara',
a deconstructed version of the classic Roman dish Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Inside each ravioli was
a fully cooked egg yolk surrounded by a sauce made of Pecorino Cheese, then
sprinkled with crispy bits of guanciale.
 James said, "I could have had another plateful, but sometimes, less is really more."( or at least enough).

 Since I knew we were having a pasta at dinner, I ordered the Gnudi, a type
of dumpling made of
sheep ricotta  and spinach with tomato sauce and crispy onions on top.



DOLCI

Dessert is not to be overlooked here. I love semifreddo, so when I saw it on the menu

I had to have it! Chocolate chestnut , passionfruit, each drizzled with a salted caramel sauce.

It nearly brought me to tears.

The creme brûlée that James ordered came in a rich shortbread crust upon which the
ubiquitous Frutta di Bosco was spread in a thin layer under the silky smooth
creme brûlée  with it shatteringly crisp crust.
Can I have another one?

The owners, Simone and Lorena, who is also the chef,
along with Giada who is part of the crew.

Complimenti!

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EPILOGUE

As we ate our lunch we noticed cases of wine and olive oil
being wheeled into the piazza for the festival.
After lunch we walked over to a table where a man, who is an artist
and musician, had set up a table. He offered us a piece of 'fish', which turned
out to be  Sicilian marzipan, almond paste. Then he showed us his book on Lake Trasimeno.
We bought one. It is all in Italian, so it will take some time to read it, but, we will try.