"Never a more perfect mouthful of food has been eaten".
That's what I wrote in my little black book the day we went to Matteo's restaurant, Fattorie Priore, for dinner.
Matteo, is one of those friends you like to brag about. He is the best chef I know. I would prefer to eat his food before anyone else's. The man is a bloody god and genius in the kitchen. Last year he came to give the cycling team wives, "the Clusterettes", cooking lessons at our accommodation on Lake Como, and we were all blown away - even the guys themselves sat in on the risotto lesson (and eating!). HOS and I (and my Sis, who was with us) then had the pleasure of lunch at his restaurant in the Franciacorta region - it was AMAZING - HOS and Sis declared it the best meal of their lives.
Now, on our return, HOS and The Princess declared this meal, the best meal of their lives. For me, it's the second best meal of my life (ousting Elizabeth's in Savannah - see Savannah post - leaving Quay in Sydney still as number 1), but I will say that the first mouthful (and subsequent ones) of his Gnocchi with Fresh Porcini is the best thing I have ever eaten. Ever.
By the way, Matteo's Restaurant is an "Agriturismo" business - which means that they produce what they sell - in fact, 80% of all that is presented to you during the meal is produced on the property. This means they raise their own cows and pigs (they actually send their pork legs off to Parma for curing!), they have their own fruit orchards and vegetable garden, and even grow their own grapes for the wine. It's quite something to see.
Now, back to dinner...
We rocked up to Fattoria Priore to be greeted by our mate, Matteo (pic 1). We'd had drinks and gelato (and major catch-up chitchat) with him that afternoon on Lake Iseo, so now it was time to get down to the serious business of eating!
We offered ourselves up to him - "give us whatever you want, we trust you" we all said, HOS and I already salivating, having an idea of what we were in for.
And so the delightful feast began.
Of course we started our meal with Prosecco, the Italian version of Champagne, you can see HOS and I up there enjoying ours with a twinkle in our eyes, all ready to devour anything that was put in front of us! Then along came the amuse bouche....mmmmmmm. We had a Cream of Pea Pot (pic 3)- so velvety and smooth and all you could hear around the table was mmmmmmmmm! The Princess was starting to get excited!
Next. The antipasto. Oh my goodness. Feast your eyes on pic 3 - that was all for the 3 of us! Wonderful salty cured meats with sweet crunchy marinated fresh garden vegetables. Please just breath in that picture. I've written in my little book "the cooked ham melts in the mouth like savoury fairyfloss"...it really did, it would just disintegrate on your tongue. The prosciutto and salami were equally good, in fact "to-die-for" is the term that comes to mind. The Princess was beaming!
Next. Tartare of Beef with Truffle and Lemon Juice. I think The Princess was a little dubious about trying the raw minced beef...but being the foodie she is, of course gave it a go. She bloody loved it. We all did. It was so fresh and light, and you could really taste the flavour of the meat, which seemed incongruously delicate...it's a bit of a wacky concept for us aussies, who traditionally bbq the crap out of anything, to eat raw meat, but ladies and gents...this was a triumph!
Next. Pasta 1. Risotto with Zucchini Flower, Robiola Cheese and Italian Rose Sparkling wine. Well, what does one say? I have written in my little book here, "NO WORDS", for this course. Matteo makes the best risotto I've ever had, and this one just adds testimony to that. And let's face it, a good risotto is the foodification of sex - perfectly al dente, the right ooze, with delicate subtlety and robust flavour - it's a sexy paradox - intense yet so gentle, messy yet so refined. You just want to dive in there and go for it!
Next. Pasta 2. The one. The best thing I've ever eaten in my life. Heaven. Gnocchi with Fresh Porcini. The Princess' comment on the gnocchi, "That's not even real food. This is what angels eat". And she was spot on. The perfect gnocchi pillows of heaven, so tender, so light, yet so gutsy, lavishly wrapped in the most delicious woodsy Porcini mushroom sauce...it was foodie Nirvana. Readers, I am not exaggerating when I say that when I took my first mouthful, and the flavour hit my tastebuds, I just couldn't believe it. I could not believe that food could taste like that. I just closed my eyes and listened to that magical earthy flavour infuse into me...it was a spiritual experience. I opened my eyes to find HOS and The Princess in a similar state of bliss...we were just silent, looking at each other. I then looked around the restaurant, and opened my mouth "Can you believe people have access to this food every f___king day????!!!!" It is absolutely astounding to me that the locals can eat this whenever the poricni are in season. In fact, ol' Masterchef Matteo picked the mushrooms with his own hands, he goes out weekly to the local forests to forage for his mushrooms to use in the restaurant...WHO ON EARTH DOES THAT???!!!! Sigh. All three of us were in a gourmet stupor.
Next. Meat Dish 1. BBQ Beef and Vegetables. Well, for me, anything after the gnocchi, just wasn't going to be...gnocchi!! The beef was great, tasty, thinly sliced with roast potatoes and stuff...but really...all I wanted was another plateful of gnocchi, I wanted to marry it, live in sin with it, whatever I had to do to be permanently joined to that magical mushroomy dish. But the beef was great!
Next. Meat Dish 2. "Tuna Meat". This was a wacky wacky dish. Yes, you read right, tuna meat! This dish is served in a glass jar (pic above)and is a Tuscan specialty. The beef is cooked in a way that it takes on the texture of tuna and the taste of tuna, it's an amazing concept, but I just didn't love eating it. Apparently, it's a really popular dish, and I saw plenty of it around the restaurant, for me though, it was quirky, but not amazing. HOS, though, loved it, saying "I'm really really enjoying this cowfish". Hmmmmmm.
Next. Dessert. Trio of Pistachio Semi-Freddo, Chocolate Mousse, and Strawberry Creme Brulee. HOS, The Princess and I all agree that the one course of a meal that lets down the Italians is dessert. We've never ever had a really amazing Italian dessert, excluding of course Tiramisu and gelato, and we were curious to see how Masterchef Matteo would do on this course. We were presented with the trio (pic above), and first off, I'm not a fan of semi-freddo, I just can't see the point in it, never have, it's just like extra creamy ice-cream. The others loved it, but I was no great fan. Now, the Creme Brulee was something very special, fresh strawberry was infused in the whole brulee giving amazing fresh strawberry flavour to a perfectly cooked brulee with a wonderful "crack" from the toffee on top. Superb. The mousse, too, was very very good. At first it seemed a bit gritty, then the grittiness melted on the tongue and gave a light, yet incredibly intense chocolate flavour...mmmmmmmm...that was the noise around the table. Pure appreciation. The perfect ending to a perfect meal.
By this time, most of the restaurant was empty and our buddy and magician, Matteo, came out to join us. We sat and had our espressos and biscotti praising the Master and asking a myriad of questions. I wanted to know all about the gnocchi, of course, and how people could have access to such great cooking. Mateo explained that Italians, in general, eat so well at home that if they go out to a restaurant, they must eat better than they do at home, or else why go out?! That made good sense to me. He also reminded us of the Italian religions - soccer, family, and cooking!
So, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. An incredible meal, made by an incredible chef. Matteo is actually a lawyer who abandoned his law work after 6 months to go to culinary school...THANK GOD!
Thank you dear friend, you outdid yourself, and I will never ever forget the divinity of that Porcini Gnocchi, it truly is the best thing I've ever eaten. Thank you.
And you, readers, if you're in or around Milan or Lake Como, make the effort to get to Fattorie Priore, it's a bit tricky to find, it's patronised my locals, no English is spoken (though Matteo is fluent), it sits amongst vineyards, and is absolutely worth the effort...I promise you.
Fattorie Priore
Via Sala, 43
Calino (near Brescia)
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