The first time I revisited italy is was magical.
We had made connections with family. They were wonderful. As I said we stayed in an agritourismo called le magnolie in the hills outside of Loreto Apurtino. it was August.
It was a working farm and one could go to the fields to pick perfect peppers, tomatoes..etc..
all ripe and succulent. For Free. Some days we went to the market (cheese etc.) and cooked with his amazing produce .Mario was the head guy. He wore the same shirt for days who knows why.
His mother in law Olga was the cook. The deal we had was breakfast and one had to pay more for a dinner.
We decided to treat our Italian relatives to a
dinner there. What a dinner.
First you have to know that in that part of Abruzzo, a certan old but funtional roman series of arches hold up many layers of building. The scene for dinner was beautiful and ancient. It was a simple dinner mostly.
Primi: Salty prosciutto and melon, bowls of red peppers fried with garlic and eggs and fried
mushrooms with cheese.
Secondo more intense: Stuffed goose. very rich stuffed with minced lamb and chicken livers spices, herbs and wine. I wish I knew the recipe..there was cheese and a little rosemary. The bones were removed from the goose. The outside was crispy (goose fat). the inside moist and full of flavour.
Next came a clean green salad simply dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
There was desert. i am sorry I do not remember as that is not my thing
There was wonderful bread off course but no pasta.
Side note
Italians take the olive oil seriously.
There were arguments at that dinner about olive oil