{"id":4180,"date":"2015-03-02T14:25:22","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T13:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=4180"},"modified":"2019-09-30T16:55:58","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T14:55:58","slug":"organic-italian-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/organic-italian-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Organic Italian Recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gnocchi2\"During the early summer of 2014, I spent about 40 days \u201con the road\u201d in Italy, descending the entire peninsula from North to South. I started in Lake Como and ended in Messina, Sicily, with dozens of stops along the way.<\/p>\n

About ten days into the trip I realized, to my horror, that I had grossly underestimated the degree of stamina required for such a tour-de-force, especially with a 9-month old baby on board. To put it plainly, I was exhausted and not looking forward to another whirlwind spin through yet another charming hill town (oh, the sacrifices I make for my blog). And I still had three weeks to go. (What\u2019s the saying about \u201cthe best laid plans\u201d?)<\/p>\n

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It was a chilly, rainy night when at last I arrived at Fontanaro and to the hospitality of Alina Pinelli. She must have sensed my exasperation. We were welcomed with wine and pasta and a genuine warmth and concern for our comfort. That meal was a fabulous blur, but after a good night\u2019s sleep, I woke the next morning to a splendid sunrise and the full panorama of Fontanaro\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n

The front door of our villa spilled out onto a rolling, green countryside, like every postcard you\u2019ve seen of rustic Italian bliss. Alina greeted us again (this time with coffee and fresh pastries from her kitchen), and we took a lazy stroll around the property as she explained the workings of her organic farm.<\/p>\n

\"organic<\/a>I had all kinds of questions. What exactly does it mean to be \u201corganic,\u201d anyway? And who verifies this? What about other distinctions, such as D.O.C.G. and D.O.P.?<\/p>\n

One could almost be forgiven for overlooking these details, given the entire country\u2019s reputation for culinary excellence. But no, the more that I learned about the importance of organic farming and seasonal, local ingredients, the more I became aware that many Italian producers, restaurants, and foodie destinations in Italy use their culture\u2019s exalted reputation to take advantage of less-informed tourists.<\/p>\n

At Fontanaro, they don\u2019t just \u201ctalk the talk.\u201d They live it; it\u2019s part of their history, and indeed the food and the recipes are part of their family.<\/p>\n

OK, I should just shut up and let Alina tell her own story. Here you go\u2026<\/p>\n

Hi, I\u2019m Alina Pinelli.<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m 38 years-old, and I was born and raised in Rome. But all of my vacations and most of my free time was spent here, at Fontanaro, my eco farm on the border between Tuscany and Umbria.<\/p>\n

Since I was little, I loved to eat and to learn how to cook. I remember being in the kitchen with my nonna Loredana from Trieste, who raised 6 children during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

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