Near Montepulciano in the small southern Tuscan town of Acquaviva, don’t miss lunch at Ristorante/Pizzeria L’Angolo.
Before lunch, the butcher shop around the corner is worth a stop. Pino had been there before for salami varieties you can’t find here in Umbria.
Beneath dangling prosciutti topped with evergreens in red bows and ornaments and red-ribbon-bound salami, Siliana – the wife of butcher, Giuliano – was serving a gathering of local women doing holiday meat-shopping.
[lcaption]Prosciutti – for Christmas gifts[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Pino near the salami Siliana and Giuliano make[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Siliana serves up her customers[/lcaption]
A salami in a basket – in the form of a piglet – caught my eye: a prefect addition to the Christmas food basket we’re preparing for Peppa.
[lcaption]Piglet-shaped salami – made by Giuliano – perfect for a Peppa Christmas food basket[/lcaption]
[lcaption]“Peppa will love this one!”[/lcaption]
Pino asked Siliana for a few slices of their finocchiona, a typical southern Tuscan salami seasoned with red wine and wild fennel seeds.
As we left, we passed glass cases of fresh meats, showing off everything from rabbit to chicken to duck to guinea fowl to hefty slices of the famed bistecca alla fiorentina. On the wall, Siliana’s hand-printed sign on butcher paper listed all the temptations of this macelleria including dishes they prepare for customers.
With our salami for Peppa and finocchiona, we headed off to Ristorante/Pizzeria L’Angolo just around the corner. That bistecca Pino would order there came from this macelleria….logicamente!
Click here to read about the good eating at the nearby Ristorante/Pizzeria L’Angolo
Read about good eating of the Tuscan steaks
Read about a magical Deruta Christmastime visit for an American family
Yum! You made me feel una nostalgia forte per la Toscana, davvero.