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Negroni’s, Italy’s best Japanese pasta maker and Africa in Milan

June 25, 2013 by Tania 18 Comments

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Peck Milan

Peck Milan

Motorways and Food shops in Northern Italy

We are hurtling along from one motorway to the next as you do in Italy, at speeds that are completely illegal in Australia . I have stopped wringing my hands in panic and am now resigned to whatever fate may bring.  We duck around cars in the far left hand lane and flick our lights at others to get out of our way. Andrea and I converse in a sort of broken English, as we head an hour and a half  out from Milan to Mantova to visit some interesting producers.

It has already been a a big day for me after visiting the store “Peck ” a few streets behind the magnificent Duomo in Milan.  The shop opened 129 years ago and although it has evolved over time it still offers the best fruit, vegetables, pasta, charcuterie ( some of which I have never ever seen), seafood, and groceries both with the Peck label and from all over Italy. Peck is an Italian tradition. There are 200 chefs working in the prep kitchens alone. There is a bar and a restaurant and wine room above the shop. Buy cooked meals as diverse as Lobster with caviar and saffron mayonnaise to hand filled ravioli with Castelmagno and asparagus…..anything and everything

Peck the food store, window display

Peck the food store, window display

Across the road Laudre and a tiny fish shop where you can get a glass of wine and some seafood

Across the road Laduree and a tiny fish shop where you can get a glass of wine and some seafood

Mantova is Italia’s rice bowl

Our first stop in Mantova ( also a very important rice growing area in Italy) is Le Tamerici. I mentioned the cooking school and amazing products that they produce in another post .

The cooking school at le Tamerici

The cooking school at le Tamerici

Local Breads the small  one Schiacciatine

Local Breads the small one Schiacciatine

The shop at le Tamerici

The shop at le Tamerici

We speed onwards like a little arrow from freeway to freeway through roundabouts and along country lanes to Brescia, where we have to ask for directions in a very small town that smells of cow manure and the village church takes up most of the town.

The church in  Gottolengo, Brescia

The church in Gottolengo, Brescia

Hunting for producers in Italy

We are looking for “Andrini Marmellate“, a very small production facility that has been in the one family since 1801. Along with jams and relishes they make fruit mostarda. These are fruit pastes and also puree’s blended with mustard essential oil.  It is far from the mustard fruit we see imported here into Australia in a runny syrup. The local Brescia specialities are sliceable, quince paste with mustard and purees like fig or other seasonal local fruit.  (The mustard paste was first made in this very building and distributed to pharmacies as a tonic.) Oh and dont forget the chestnut puree with chocolate and a dash of rum….OMG!

Andrini,  Gottolengo. Getting lost

Andrini, Gottolengo. Getting lost on the way….

Village life , Gottolengo

Village life , Gottolengo

A little tasting

A little tasting

I can here you asking what on earth do you use mustard paste ( senapata) for, right?. To serve with cheese or charcuterie meats like bresaola and prosciutto….. great with cheeses of all kinds. You can use this as a glaze for meat…..delicious. What about stuffing’s and sauces….Yep.  The business thrives today and we look around the small factory with Andrea Andrini the owner and his 4 year old son, and later he shows me newspaper articles and stories from up to 60 years ago. This business keeps another whole family ( in a village to the south) in business making the small round boxes they use ( see photo)

Senapata (Quince Mostarda)

Senapata (Quince Mostarda)

The old wooden rakes for storing the paste

The old wooden racks for storing the paste

The hundred year old copper pots

The hundred year old copper pots

Drinks with the chef

It’s time for a drink and I am told there are 3 surprises. The first is visiting a special  bar in Milan where I will be meeting a pasta chef that has cult status in northern Italy. My companion is so excited he is nervous. Our chef has worked at Osteria Francessca, for 10 years, it’s located in the heart of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna 2 hours from Milan by train and 3 hours from Rome. This restaurant, one of the best in Italy has 12 tables.  His name is Takahico Kondo and he is the Japanese master paster maker and a really nice guy.

We meet at Bar Basso a rustic bar with chandeliers and very classy apertivo snacks. I say yes to a Negroni thinking I hear Peroni ( Italian beer) and am shocked to receive my drink. They say Negronis originated in Florence but they may as well be from here because this bar has taken ownership.  This enormous bittersweet cocktail is made from equal parts Campari, gin and sweet vermouth, then served with a slice of orange or orange peel over ice. There are lots of variations on the theme, but this is the basis of a Negroni.

Negroni , yes I kid you not!

Negroni , yes I kid you not!

negronis

Negroni Sbagliato a specialty at bar basso!

Bar Basso Milan

Bar Basso Milan

Bar basso's style

welcome, Bar Basso’s style
Bar food

Bar food

Marco and Takahico

Marco and Takahico

Leaving  bar Basso after 3 Negronis

Leaving bar Basso after 3 Negronis

Tacha has to catch the train back to Modena  ready for work tomorrow night and we have a dinner appointment.  In one of the hippest parts of town, around Porta Venezia, you can find the restaurant Africa, specializing in Eritrean  food. It has been here for 20 years or more with little change. The tables have clothes and the wood panelling gives it an old world feel, there is affable service on this quiet night.

Africa Restaurant

Africa restaurant

Africa restaurant

Need a drink?

Need a drink?

We start with some simple Chickpea pastries with a spicy dip. They are fried but are clean and crunchy and they go down well after our apertivo drinks.

Chickpea pastries with spicy dip

Chickpea pastries with spicy dip

Eritrean restaurants, or people are not uncommon in Italy as this was once a part of Italy’s world domination- a colony.   What we have come to try is a typical dish called ” injera”       ( zighinis) a fluffy fermented pancake batter made with wheat based flour and water. This is served with a variety of richly sauced meats and vegetables with different spice levels The whole idea is eating with your hands and traditionally everybody eats from the same platter.  The pancake is light and fluffy and the variety of flavours and textures of filling have us all trying to grab the last scraps.

Ertitrean share plate eaten with the hands

Ertitrean share plate eaten with the hands

 eaten with the hands

eaten with the hands

We ate till the end

We ate till the end

It’s been a very big day, but we are in Italy, and even though we are in an Eritrean restaurant the waiter pours 3 large Limoncellos and we scull. It is a fiery alcoholicly rough drop, not at all like the one we sell in Sydney, handmade in an Italian convent (!)

limoncello

Limoncello

Around Milan

Around Milan

Just in case you want to find any of these places:

Bar Basso

Via Plinio, 39  20129 Milan, Italy
+39 02 2940 0580

Osteria Francescana

Via Stella, 22  41121 Modena, Italy
+39 059 210118

 Africa – speciality cucina Eritrea

Via Lazzaro Palazzi, Milan, Italy (Porta Venezia)

Peck

Via Spadari, 9  20123 Milan, Italy
+39 02 802 3161

Le Tamerici

Via Romana Zuccona 208 – 46031 S. Biagio di Bagnolo S. Vito MN – Tel. +39 0376 253371

Andrini Marmellate

Via Armando Diaz, 18       25023 Gottolengo (Bs)

Coming up:   Balsamic vinegar from the 186o’s, Organic Wine and pacing myself at lunch with Italians

 

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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Andrini, Bar basso, Italy, Mantova, Milan, Mostarda, Negronis, Peck

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kiran @ KiranTarun.com

    June 30, 2013 at 8:53 am

    And thanks to you, I’m now daydreaming about visiting Italy. NOW 😀
    Kiran @ KiranTarun.com recently posted..Mango Rose LassiMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Rosa

    June 28, 2013 at 4:51 pm

    Wonderful restaurants! I would love to try Ethiopian food. It looks ever so good and healthy.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  3. GourmetGetaways

    June 28, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    I feel that there is a trip to Italy in my very near future!! These stories have been totally captivating 🙂
    GourmetGetaways recently posted..Absolute Nakalay Beach Resort PhuketMy Profile

    Reply
  4. cityhippyfarmgirl

    June 28, 2013 at 7:00 am

    Love Negroni’s and love Italian bar food. Many a ‘dinner’ was snatched from various bars when I was a sloppy backpacker.
    cityhippyfarmgirl recently posted..milkwoodMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Tandy

    June 27, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    We saw so many people having negronis at breakfast time! We were in Milan for a morning on our visit – maybe we crossed paths?
    Tandy recently posted..Osteria Francescana, ModenaMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Kari @ bite-sized thoughts

    June 27, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    I almost feel like I’m in Italy with you – wow 🙂
    Kari @ bite-sized thoughts recently posted..Inviting debate – what do we do about overweight and obesity?My Profile

    Reply
  7. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    June 27, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Oh my that’s quite a Negroni! And three of them and they’re still standing? I’d have to be carried out! 😛
    Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Nahm and A Market Tour With David Thompson, BangkokMy Profile

    Reply
  8. thelittleloaf

    June 26, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    What a wonderful trip – I’m extremely jealous but off to Italy in about a month so suppose I can’t complain!
    thelittleloaf recently posted..Honey Almond Cake with Spiced Strawberry SauceMy Profile

    Reply
  9. herbie

    June 26, 2013 at 9:37 pm

    fantastic food and of course the drinks yum!!!!

    Reply
  10. InTolerant Chef

    June 26, 2013 at 5:14 pm

    I loved that bowl too, so gorgeous indeed! It’s amazing that a whole family is kept going by making those little wooden boxes, and amazing they haven’t switched to plastic!
    I would like a couple of those cocktails please… I’ll have Celia’s one if she wussed out 🙂 and that big platter with the injera looks perfect for soaking up the alcohol! X
    InTolerant Chef recently posted..Haute Chocolate for Mid WinterMy Profile

    Reply
  11. ChgoJohn

    June 26, 2013 at 3:10 pm

    Wow! It all sounds so wonderful!
    ChgoJohn recently posted..The Bartolini Have Hit The Road!My Profile

    Reply
  12. Eha

    June 26, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Oh Tania: what a wonderful journey you have produced on a horror weather day in the Southern Highlands! Will rewalk it again and shall need some of that injera afterwards 🙂 !

    Reply
  13. Hotly Spiced

    June 26, 2013 at 11:04 am

    You so make me want to pack my bags and experience Italy. What a great post. It certainly looks like you made the most of every minute you were there xx
    Hotly Spiced recently posted..Mum’s Baked Cheesecake and…JAS058My Profile

    Reply
  14. Claire @ Claire K Creations

    June 26, 2013 at 8:48 am

    What an adventure Tania. I can’t believe the size of that cup!
    Claire @ Claire K Creations recently posted..Orange and hazelnut kissesMy Profile

    Reply
  15. Danielle

    June 26, 2013 at 8:17 am

    Just simply drooling…what a fabulous day! Thanks for sharing and for the bar/resto addresses…so tempting!

    Reply
  16. Celia

    June 26, 2013 at 7:23 am

    So..could you please tell me…I saw you on Sunday, how on EARTH are you still so thin after all this eating? Such an adventure darling, although those cocktails made me shudder at the size of them. You know what I’m like with gin, I would have been weeping for a week. 🙂 Oooh, and that big copper pot made me snatch a breath.. 🙂
    Celia recently posted..Vegan Lardy CakesMy Profile

    Reply
    • MyKitchenStories

      June 26, 2013 at 7:35 am

      Yes you would have been weeping for sure- later after you had fun!!

      Reply

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Tania Cusack Hi, I'm Tania and this is My Kitchen Stories. I share all kinds of recipes here. Most recipes are quick and easy, just perfect for families. BUT, you could also find vegan, cakes and desserts too. Come and have a look around Read More
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