Near Assisi, a Pino Feast as a Coronavirus Antidote

The mimosa bunches on our table remain, a memento of our March 8th Festa delle Donne lunch cooked by Pino for “le mie donne“: our Giulia and myself.

Another memorable day here in Umbria with no place at all for a CPA (Coronavirus Panic Attack).

At lunchtime, Guglielmo helped Pino serve up his pasta creation:

Buonissimo, this savory pasta dish starring diced sun-dried tomatoes, almonds and pine nuts. You can see here how Pino made this dish and you may wish to try it.

A recipe? There isn’t one. Pino’s eye – and palate – decide the quantities. (Use the same method).

Pino diced the tomatoes…

…and then also a bit of barbozza (pork cheek):

He finely sliced a couple of small onions….

…..as well as a couple garlic cloves….

…..crushing the cloves with both hands before dicing:

Our visitor, Daniela, captured that moment on video:

Pino briefly simmered the diced onions, garlic, and pork cheek tidbits in our olive oil, then added the tomatoes and pine nuts:

As the mixture simmered, Pino ground about a cup of almonds ….

….which he then stirred into the sun-dried tomato goodness.

As the spaghetti cooked in salted boiling water, Pino lightly toasted bread crumbs…..

…..and he stirred those crispy breadcrumbs into the pasta before serving:

Pino added a small splash of the boiling pasta water – which is always saved when draining pasta – to moisten the goodness:

Mille grazie, Pino for this delicious primo……

….which I enjoyed so much that I could barely taste your secondo!

And for our second course, Pino had created a tasty goat meat/artichoke stew.

He’d marinated the meat cuts overnight in a mixture of white wine, olive oil, diced garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme and marjoram.

That morning, Pino had finely sliced a potato….

…and joined the sliced potato pieces to the onion and garlic simmering in olive oil “per fare una salsa cremosa” (to make a creamy sauce,” he’d explained):

The artichokes were added after the stew had simmered about an hour and a half; “se messi prima, si disfanno tutti” (“if added sooner, they’ll come apart”), Pino warned.

…and logicamente, Pino added that ubiquitous sprinkle of peperoncino:

Nothing like having an “in-house” chef for the Festa della Donna…..

….and for warding off a CPA.

Read here about March 8th, Interntional Women’s Day (in Italy, la Festa della Donna)

Read more about warding off coronovirus worries on March 8th, International Women’s Day

Read about pasta as a coronavirus antidote

Read about avoiding CPA near Orvieto

No coronavirus in glorious Assisi