The drive from Rome to Tuscany was less than three hours, simple! However, we took a short detour & popped on over to a small town called Todi. My hub spent a few months studying abroad in Todi years ago, so we surely had to say hello to the family & I had to see the town he always chats about! The family was pure – living on a chicken farm, harvesting grapes & living life, to me, seems like paradise. We were welcomed with open arms, one of the sons poured us homemade wine straight from the barrel & asked us to stay for lunch as soon as we arrived. When he mentioned that lunch was going to include wild asparagus I knew we had to stay! The dish is called Bosciaolo, and is a traditional pasta dish in the region. It includes fresh farm eggs, pig cheek, freshly pressed EVOO, wild asparagus, chili flakes & pasta. This was by far one of our best dishes in Italy to date!
If you are intrigued to whip up this dish then follow the directions below…
- Cut up 1C wild asparagus, sauté in 2T EVOO – lower heat & let simmer
- Dice up 1/4C pig cheek (is that in our grocery stores?) and sauté – add to asparagus when crisp (in place of pig cheek you could use thick slices of bacon)
- Cook pasta for four people, drain when ready & add back into the pot (leave a little of the pasta water at the bottom)
- Stir in the asparagus, pig cheek (or bacon), 3 fresh eggs, 1t chili red pepper flakes & salt/pepper – continuously stir till eggs cook
To serve, top with fresh parmesan cheese & presto – this is a traditional Italian meal that will leave you wanting more!
Nutritional Info Per Serving (Serves 4): Calories do not count when in Italy!What a charming city Todi was & THANK YOU to Emanuele for letting us crash your day & making us feel welcomed!
