autumn – Italianissimo

Just a short drive out of Città di Castello, Monte Santa Maria Tiberina welcomes you with beautiful vistas and great food, where chestnut and oak forests spread out over the hillsides, and where truffles, porcini mushrooms, excellent olive oil and local wine dominate the menus!

La Festa d’Autunno is the biggest festival of the fall season here, celebrating the chestnut harvest in the most delicious way!

Feel free to take in the spectacular views during the fall foliage…

Framing the festival, as usual, is the picturesque piazza, with live music and performances.

An interesting re-enactment of knights in combat by the Lupi di Ventura, the knights armament group from Città di Castello

Monte Santa Maria Tiberina is really full of charm! The former Prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, has his summer retreat here. The town sits right at the border where Umbria meets Tuscany. It’s quite small, but there are several restaurants and cafes.

You can visit Palazzo Bourbon, built in the 1500s, the castle and the lovely Church of Santa Maria (La Pieve), with an interesting baptismal fount and the Bourbon family chapel.

You can savour the abundant chestnuts, gourmet food, artisan beer (including chestnut beer!), and sample a mouth-watering variety of chestnut foods.

Lunch at local taverna with gorgeous views

Treat yourselves to the local flavours: traditionally-made cheeses and salamis, porchetta, chocolate, honey and more. Local restaurants and food stalls are packed with nothing but life’s little pleasures 100% made in Umbria.

There’s always something for everyone to enjoy!

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If you haven’t already, it is high time to get in the mood for autumn! And if you like mushrooms as much as I do, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the pancakes

250ml milk
125g plain flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
30g butter
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the filling

200g mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots
500ml milk
50g butter
50g flour
100g Taleggio DOP cheese
50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
1 egg
grated nutmeg
extra virgin olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the beaten eggs and the flour into a large bowl and mix well. Gradually whisk in the milk until your batter gets the right consistency. Add 1 spoon of oil, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper, cover and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a frying pan, butter it a bit each time you add a ladleful of the batter, and fry until golden on both sides, turning with a fish slice.

Clean and chop the shallots, simmer for 2-3 minutes in a frying pan with 1 spoon of olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms, then the seasoning, stir and cook slowly in a covered pan for 10 minutes.

For your besciamella sauce: melt the remaining butter, work in the flour, add milk and cook until thick, stirring briskly, season with salt and grated nutmeg. Add half of this sauce to the mushrooms, along with the diced Taleggio cheese, 1 egg, and one-third of Parmigiano.

Put a tablespoon of filling centrally on each pancake, fold into envelopes, and place in a buttered ovenproof dish, cover with remaining sauce, sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano, and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Buon appetito!

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Tag: autumn

Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, The Autumn Feast

Taleggio and Mushroom Stuffed Pancakes