Podere il Casale

Now that the Cinque Terre group was all settled in, we welcomed the Rome group. This morning, we ate at the B&B where Johnny, the man who helps manage the land and upkeep the property, brings in fresh pastries from town each morning. There were also fresh eggs, cereal and milk, fresh fruit, yogurt, and toast for our breakfast selection. I just ended up snagging a peach for breakfast and some juice.

After the other group was able to get cleaned up and moved in, we headed off to dinner at an organic farm. This was quite the treat and the scenery was to die for. We overlooked the valleys of Tuscany and were served foods that are called the Presidia which are products that are at risk of becoming extinct.

On the menu:

- Casentino prosciutto served with truffle pecorino foam and asparagus, topped with curry chips

- Pontremoli testarolo with sheep ragù and carmignano dried fig

- Roasted prato mortadella, lucca red beans, mashed potatoes, and arugula

- Ricotta parfait and roccalbegna savory biscuit crumbs

The prosciutto and asparagus dish was just alright. I think I was just so over prosciutto by this point that it was difficult to enjoy. The asparagus was really light and refreshing and the curry chip was a nice touch that added a variety in textures for the dish. Of this dish though, the truffle foam was the star. I literally could have licked the bowl clean. The distinct flavor of truffles was prominent and the airiness of the foam just melted in my mouth.

Next, we had a sheep ragù with dried figs. The pasta was chewy but looked like limpy bread; however, it was surprisingly very tasty. It took a couple of bites to get use to the texture of the pasta but when you got the perfect mouthful of sheep and the candied figs, it was really delicious. The figs were so great that I found myself picking them out and eating them separately.

The third course was roasted mortadela which I was a little hesitant to eat because it looked a little too much like tofu or rubbery meat. However, once I took a bite of it, I found myself surprised to like it. The saltiness and seer on the pork was perfect and I ended up eating the entire thing. The arugula was a nice touch, but I think its purpose was to make the dish more appealing and tie the plate together more than anything. Additionally, the bean puree was delicious and reminded me of refried beans; I wish there was more on the plate. Finally, the beans kidney beans were just that, kidney beans. They weren't anything special.

Finally, for dessert, I was excited to dig in because it just looked so yummy. It was a cold dessert and was the consistency of a soft serve ice cream. I wasn't shocked at how good it tasted! I have a bit of a sweet tooth so it would be hard to disappoint on something that's sweet and creamy like such. The ginger sauce on the side of the dessert was a great balance to the reserved tasting dessert.

The wines we had included Carema Classico DOC and Carema Riserva DOC.