PEACH SAGRA

Italians can come up with just about anything to have a festival for, especially when dealing with food! These are called “SAGRA”(s). Since this must be the height of the peach season a little town nearby was celebrating this delicious juicy fruit. My friend was actually deejaying at one bar so we went for an aperitivo and then proceeding on through this tiny town of Revello. There were big radio djs in the center, other “piazzas” full of music like a live band playing some good ol’ MJ and another corner where girls were displaying their belly dancing skills!

As for the gastronomical choices… well I skipped dinner due to the vast array of fruit and veggies at the aperitivo hour but claudio chose the stand offering Ligurian Farinata. An oven baked pizza like bread eaten hot made out of ceci or garbanzo beans! Seems very simple yet it is very hard to perfect. If you add some rosemary on top with some olive oil and salt…it turns into a true delicacy. The one we tried was one of the best I have ever tasted. They came from MONTABONE (AT)from a Farinata shop called Fainà. You should go if you are ever in the area.

There was artisanal beer, fontina from Valle d’Aosta, fried fish, barbequed meats and most of all PEACHES. The most popular dish their was the regional delicacy PERSE PIEN (dialect for stuffed peaches) Peaches baked in the oven with a chocolate amaretti filling. (see recipe below)People were walking away with trays full of these things to take back. We danced until about midnight in the town square under the dim light of one of my favorite places. The clock tower of Revello. We got in bed by 1 ready to go walking in the mountains the next day.

I persi pien (stuffed peaches)

Ingredients

* 4 Cuneo peaches
* 4 spoonfuls chocolate powder
* ½ glass rum or amaretto
* 1 spoonful sugar
* butter

Preparation

I persi pien

Wash and halve the peaches without peeling. Remove a little flesh with a teaspoon and mix this with the chocolate powder, rum and sugar separately. Fill the peaches with this mixture and decorate with a knob of butter on the top of each. Bake in the oven for about one hour. Serve cold.

Recipe for Farinata

Ingredients:
300 grams of ceci bean flour
1 liter of water
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Pour the water slowly while mixing into the ceci bean flour and then salt to avoid lumps. Let the mix sit for two hours. Pour the olive oil on a baking sheet (preferably in copper)and add batter. Heat it well in the oven at maximum temperature. Bake until you see a golden top layer. Served hot.