Ferragosto in Umbria: August Feasting with the Locals

As you probably know, Italians share good eating with gusto (“gusto” means “taste” in italiano!) to celebrate feast days, milestone occasions, holidays and holydays, too. Ferragosto (“August holiday”) on August 15th is both of those: a national holiday and the Feast of the Assumption, a holyday.

And what a feast we shared this year: four hours of endless courses in the Assisi mountainside area of Paradiso di Assisi shared by over two hundred culinary enthusiasts.

As at all local food festivals – le sagre – volunteers cooked….

…served at table (young ones too!), both foods and beverages…

….cleared after each of multiple courses, and handled all the final clean-up tasks.

For Ferragosto, the goose reigns following a first course (maybe more than one!), generally a pasta with goose meat which will follow various antipasti.

I was quite satiated after our antipasto!

Prosciutto and melon joined bruschetta al pomodoro, un crostino topped with the Umbrian liver pate’, la torta (Umbrian flat bread) – and a cup of coratelle d’agnello (lamb innards, a favorite Umbrian antipasto – which I would have skipped in any case).

An exquisite lasagne ai carciofi (lasagne with artichokes) followed:

Fischioni all’oca (a thick pasta with goose meat sauce) was our second pasta:

Roast veal with sautéed wild chicory on the side arrived next but, mamma mia, I could only just taste the wiild chicory:

Roast goose with baked potatoes – that Umbria Ferragosto star dish – was served up next, anticipated by all……

…and by Pino, too:

Everyone satiated? Not yet. The dessert was enjoyed by all: a cup of ice cream with a slice of crostata on the side as well as tozzetti (“little chunks,” known outside of Italy as “biscotti”)…..