Abruzzo Food
Abruzzo Hunters feast, never refuse food from the farmers tableOne evening, we turned up to our friend’s house to buy some eggs. They were busy eating a wonderful dinner. All 15 people, mostly extended family and nieces and nephews invited us to sit down and dine with them. As if by magic 2 foldaway chairs were produced and knives and forks were spirited up from somewhere. Our Abruzzo friends always grow very excited at the prospect of unexpected guests feasting with them on their finest foods. So they started eating their hunters feast. All of these families were hunters. We were graciously offered cinghiale, wild boar stew, which was lovely. Merrily I tucked in and it was very good. It tastes a bit like beef that has been stewed for a while. Our hosts all did the usual Abruzzo thing of piling up your plate every time you looked away to talk to some-one. As usual the conversation was exuberant and excitable and of course, we were interrogated by everyone with enormous and thinly veiled fascination. But next our hostess proudly brought out a huge round wide pan filled with tiny rabbit carcasses and showed it to me with a huge eagar smile. I had never eaten rabbit and didn’t relish the thought of eating something so furry and cute. Panic set in and I told my husband we would have to go. If you have ever tried excusing yourself from a dining table in Abruzzo for any reason whatsoever you will know how hard this task was. But we insisted determinedly and amidst many protestations we made our getaway, phew that was close….. |
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