{"id":473,"date":"2009-01-12T22:14:52","date_gmt":"2009-01-12T22:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marialiberati.com\/blog2\/?p=473"},"modified":"2009-01-12T22:14:52","modified_gmt":"2009-01-12T22:14:52","slug":"sismano-la-veranda-fettucine-al-tartufo-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/2009\/01\/12\/sismano-la-veranda-fettucine-al-tartufo-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Sismano, La Veranda & Fettucine al Tartufo…"},"content":{"rendered":"

copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking
\n\u00a0After our cooking program in a little town called Baschi, right outside of Orvieto (more on that tomorrow) and meeting with my good friends there Domenico and Paola at Borgo le Fontanile and Velia & Gianluca at La Champagnerie in Orvieto we headed for the Autostrada to continue our visit in Umbria..We headed in the direction of \u00a0Todi- to\u00a0\u00a0a nearby little village called Sismano. A \u2018piccolo paese\u2019 of only 300 residents. Most of the land is still owned by a Contessa. part of the town is a beautiful natural reserve that has been preserved for truffles and\u00a0hunting.\u00a0Some of the old buildings are being renovated into private villas.
\n\u00a0As I was there to visit a friend of mine Susan Evans at her villa-\u00a0La Veranda, once owned by\u00a0an Italian Contessa.\u00a0Susan is an American who fell in love with the beautiful scenery of Umbria. She is the real life version of the \u2018Under the Tuscan Sun\u2019 story of finding an old building and renovating it into a beautiful villa.
\nNeedless to say my stay at La Veranda this weekend was wonderful\u2026we\u00a0 could only visitifor 2 days but they were filled with everything possible..cooking in the beautiful\u00a0kitchen at La Veranda to relaxing outside and taking in the view of the Umbrian Hills on a warm January day to a walking tour\u00a0of a natural reserve and a \u00a0view of wild cinghiale (boars)\u00a0 to a tour of the castello of Sismano and its\u2019 renovation\u00a0 and getting a taste of local foods.
\nBut my visit was also to map out the site of The Basic Art of Italian by Maria Liberati tm Cooking school.\u00a0 La Veranda not only has a large open kitchen for the cooking classes but also a wood burning oven outside in the courtyard \u00a0perfect for cooking pizza, chicken, bread.\u00a0 The setting is perfect for giving anyone an experience of eating outdoors in Umbria at night or under the Umbrian sun for an afternoon picnic.
\nThe villa is a perfect way to experience living in a true Italian villa and getting the full experience of the beauty of not only cooking Italian food but eating\u00a0at \u00a0home (and a beautiful one I might add)..
\nOur last lunch was held at on Osteria de la Posta..that was opened by a former postman (hence the\u00a0name\u00a0\u00a0\u2019de la\u00a0posta\u2019) that loved to cook. But while waiting for our lunch we were entertained with some history about the \u2018Osterie de le Poste\u2019 that were once typical places to be found throughout Italy. They were places that you would travel to in horse and carriage- to get your mail, send your mail and also get feed and water for your horses but also stop to have a meal. And sometimes ,yes, the mailman might also have been your chef\u2026
\nUmbria is famous for Tartufi (truffles) my favorite dish this weekend there \u00a0was a plate of Fettucini al Tartufi.\u00a0 This recipe is sometimes made with a pasta that is traditional to Umbria (known as Strangozzi)\u00a0because there is an Umbrian legend connected to it.
\nLegend has it that during medieval times, in a castle in a town called Pissignano, the conqueror Barbarossa was there because he was planning to destroy Umbria. But legend has it that the cook in the castle served Barbarossa a plate of Strangozzi al Tartufo so good that\u00a0it convinced him\u00a0not to destroy Umbria (or something like that)\u2026
\nHere is the recipe, but if you can\u2019t find trufffles- use a drizzle of truffle oil to add some truffle flavor..
\nFettucini al Tartufo
\n*1 lb of fresh fettucine pasta
\n*1 black truffle-(finely chopped)
\n*3 tblsps olive oil
\n* 1\/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
\n*1 clove garlic (whole)
\nPlace extra\u00a0 virgin olive oil in a saucepan and heat, place in cloves of garlic. Saute garlic till just about golden. Remove garlic. Place in chopped truffles and let saute for approx 3 minutes. Remove\u00a0 from heat. Toss in cooked pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
\nAnd for a perfect accompaniment-serve with Orvieto Classico white wine.
\nMangia Bene, Vivi Bene
\nMaria
\nFor more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at https:\/\/www.marialiberati.com<\/font><\/a>
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