Truffle hunting and michelin star food&wine tasting in Bologna's hills - #TheBrilliantWeekend pt. 2
By Italians on the move - 06:55
“Truffles - anyone who does not declare himself ready to leave Paradise or Hell for such a treat is not worthy to be born again.”
Maurice Goudeket
Hello my traveller friends!
Today it's sunny and warm in Italy, Springtime is already knocking on our doors, birds are tweeting, magnolias are blooming and the bloggers are blogging.
Yes, as you already know from the title, today we talk about Truffle! This precious tuber is the "black and white gold" of gastronomy, around which has revolved the entire second day of our trip on the hills of Bologna.
Here truffle is not just an ingredient, it is a treasure, the leading role in culinary traditions, economy and tourism.
So, the amazing team of Bologna Welcome brought us to discover everything about it.
First stop: the headquarters of Appennino Food, a company that's been hunting, studying and transforming this beauty for over thirty years, selling all kinds of fragrant goods around the globe: truffle cheese, truffle spreads, truffle pasta sauces and, obviously, truffle itself.
Here, in between tasting, cheering and drinking some amazing Prosecco, Angelo gave us a lesson on the varieties of truffles and their life cycles, letting us touch and smell them, as a prelude to a visit of the facility where all the amazing goods are made.
We found out that this is more than a company, it is a family of people living nearby, knowing and respecting eachother, with a huge passion for their work.
And very funny, too.
At the end of our tour there was someone waiting to take us on an adventure in the woods surrounding the facility, the real truffle hunt!
She's one of the most important members of this family, the one this company couldn't do without, the one who's "nose" for the business is indisputable. Her name is Perla and she's the sweetest dog I have ever met.
Together with her carers, the hunters of the company, she sniffs and discovers the ripest and biggest truffles buried in the soil.
We were joined by large group of people, mostly english and irish tourists, italian foodies and a couple of bloggers from Canada, who stayed with us the whole day, and we all enjoyed our walk.
The air was cool and the view was amazing, it's been a short immersion in nature that we all needed after months spent in the city.
Si parte alla ricerca del tartufo bianco 🐶🌳 #thebrilliantweekend #cityoffood pic.twitter.com/7Uk5PnXguz— Bologna Welcome (@BolognaWelcome) 12 novembre 2016
Well, as you know, a hike in the woods does wonder to your health but also to your hunger...
So our merry party was very enthusiastic to get back in town for our well deserved lunch!
We arrived in Savigno, a municipality of Valsamoggia, a few miles form Bologna, and home of Tartòfla, the international festival of white truffle.
We were welcomed by the sunniest, nicest town, full of amazingly friendly people, food stands of every sort and, of course, the smell of fresh truffle.
Right in the center of the main square, the pop up restaurant of Tartòfla was already working to delight us with a selection of the best truffle dishes, created by Alberto Bettini, chef of the two star michelin Trattoria da Amerigo and of local wines, chosen and perfectly illustrated to us by the simply amazing Helena Kyriakides of Yummy Italy.Ready to drool on my favourite parts of this super tasty menu?
Lasagne con funghi e tartufo accompagnati da un Merlot bolognese (premio 4viti - #VitaeAis) #TheBrilliantWeekend #cityoffood #tartofla pic.twitter.com/AQRZtcNrSA— Bologna Welcome (@BolognaWelcome) 12 novembre 2016
The Lasagne were followed by Passatelli asciutti with white truffle and paired with a 2015 Bianco del Grotto and the best dish in the whole menu imho, a Poached egg with black truffle and Tolè potatoes cream. So decadent in its simplicity, I still have dreams about it...
Of course, no lunch is complete without a dessert... so we had four!
This poker of sweet deliciousness, called Pinzimonio of grandma's cakes was the perfect conclusion to an unforgettable lunch.
— Ester Garufi (@EsterHelloItaly) 12 novembre 2016
Now, with our bellies full and our spirits raised, we took a walk around town, talking to exhibitors and tourists about their experience in Bologna's hills and I found the time to fall in love with the cutest little shop, entirely furnished only with handmade, reclaimed wood furnitures and antique tools. The owner eve let us taste some apples of the pippin variety, so small, sweet and juicy, perfect for apple pies.
This day trip has been the best depiction of Bologna's hills traditions, culinary artistry and natural beauty, definitely more than we expected and we all decided that we would be back soon to experience everything we didn't have time to see, eat and drink.
It's a promise!!
If you want to know more details about the itinerary, places and products, please comment down below or contact me on my facebook page or Yummy Italy's and Bologna Welcome's page!
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