Читать книгу Italy's Sibillini National Park. Walking and Trekking Guide онлайн

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The Piano Grande di Castelluccio is famous all over Italy for its tiny flavoursome lentils, lenticchie (yes, Italians do get excited about such little things if it’s related to eating). They may be served in a savoury runny soup consumed with toasted unsalted bread or accompanied by spicy sausages. On the vegetable front (contorno, side dish) there is bitter cicoria, wild greens that are boiled lightly then tossed in garlic, chilli and oil. Autumn walkers have a good chance of being fed hot roast or boiled castagne (chestnuts).

Cheese (formaggio) tends to be dominated by pecorino (sheep’s milk cheese) though blends using cow’s milk (latte di mucca) are common. A variant on the delicious soft Italian ricotta cheese is creamy raviggiolo, consumed fresh or used in pasta stuffing as well as desserts. Evidently records survive from the 1500s when it was presented as a prized gift to the Pope.

In the Marche region aniseed (anice) is a common ingredient, and is used effectively with red wine in fragrant, baked biscotti. It is also the main ingredient of Varnelli, a very popular clear spirit, a bit like Pastis. A delicious dessert wine that is home-made and can be exceedingly sweet is vino cotto, with shades of Marsala. Wines vary tremendously though reds tend to dominate. If you’re after booze from the surrounding territory, the Marche has a couple of DOC raters (Dominazione di Origine controllata, an essential guarantee): Rosso Piceno is a very decent table quality, best drunk young, and a white equivalent is Falerio dei Colli Ascolani. Umbrian wines from the vicinity include Colli Martani and Colli Amerini varieties. Naturally, serious wine lists also feature vintages from leading Italian regions such as Tuscany and Piemonte.