late spring in the orto
At La Petraia, our menus are based entirely on what the property provides us. The list is staggering and includes our fruit, vegetables, wine, meat, game, honey, milk, nuts, cheese, olives, vinegars and even some of our own grain.
Courtyard animals
We forage for a wide variety of wild nuts, berries, herbs, mushrooms and seeds while our friends who hunt on the property supply us with hare, venison, pheasant, and wild boar.
Wild boar, cinta senese, game birds
Needless to say I write a harvest list rather than a shopping list.
orto detail
When I do purchase ingredients they are the few staples we don’t produce that we have decided we don’t want to go without. Each year this list grows shorter, and this year I count our main purchases on six fingers: salt, coffee and chocolate along with some of our flour, a very limited amount of sugar and cow’s milk products like parmesan, cream and butter.
our vineyards
Like every year, working every day with such inspiring products we’ve discovered lots of new and innovative ways to showcase them. And like every year at this time, after we’ve said goodbye to our last guests and the harvest season is over, I turn my mind to documenting some of our more successful new ideas.
Duck liver, rye crumb, grape reduction
At the end of this post you will find a partial list of some of these amazing ingredients I am so fortunate to work with.
Our lavender fields
Please leave me a comment below if there is anything on this list you are particularly curious about. Now that the season is over, I hope to begin to post again on a regular basis and your feedback will inspire me immensely. I will do my best to post a recipe along with a story for you.
Serra and Selva with our fresh sheep’s milk cheese and a variety of wild and foraged herbs, seeds, fruits and vegetables
The List
(partial and in no particular order)
honey
black currant
wild blackberry
wild apple
pear
peach
quince
fig
burista
mulberry
raspberry
plum
apricot
gooseberry
almond
hazelnut
chestnut
elderflower
elderberry
mushroom
zolfini beans
pea bean
chick pea
black eyed pea
cannellini bean
green, purple and yellow beans
sweet pepper
hot pepper
kale
horseradish
sheep’s milk
fresh pecorino cheese
sheep’s milk yogurt
lamb
muscovy duck
mallard duck
pheasant
cardoon
goose
quail
squab
partridge
cinta senese pork
chicken
guinea hen
rabbit
hare
quail, duck, goose and hen eggs
linseed
cumin flower
cumin seed
coriander flower
coriander seed
artichoke
corniolo (dogwood cherry)
lemon verbena
borage
nigella
helichrysum
poppy seed
cherry
erba stella
oxalis
calendula
camomile
peach almond
bitter almond
saffron
basil
parsley
thyme
rosemary
chive
ruta
sage
strawberry
wild boar
venison
grapes
wine
mead
spring and fall amaro
cherry pit liqueur
wild blackberry digestivo
quince and honey digestivo
nocino
olive
raisin
bay leaf
juniper berry
grape juice
prosicutto
salami
violet tomatilla
lavender oil
gota/guanciale
spalla
lardo
olive oil
zucchini
cucumber
sausage
rigatino
farro
Oxalis tuberosa
asparagus
purslane/portulaca
wild fennel seed
wild fennel pollen
nepitella
mentuccia
scallion
shallot
garlic
celery
celery root
tomato
kohlrabi
morele di balbis
turnips
fennel
rutabaga
cauliflower
broccoli
beetroot
fave
capofreddo
pea
chard
lovage
radish
squash
leek
onion
wild and cultivated chicory
lettuce
sprouts and microgreens
valeria
rye