La Morra is a picturesque hilltop village in Piedmont, in the northwest corner of Italy. We spent the morning here, sampling barolo and other wines at a local wine expo. That was great, but now we need some nourishment, so we’re settling in for a nice, leisurely lunch in La Morra.
People at the wine expo recommended this restaurant. It’s a bit on the hotsy-totsy side for us, especially for lunch, but here we are. Oh well!
The setting here is beautiful. We’ve been seated at a table outdoors under some trees and big, white umbrellas. From here we can look out over the green, rolling hills of the Langhe.
Pranzo a La Morra (Lunch in La Morra)
We started off with pumpkin soup. Mmmm. Very tasty. We had two more courses to go, not counting dessert. Well, I had two more courses to go. My more conservative Better Half opted to skip a course.
I, on the other hand, want to try as many things as I can while I’m in Italy, so I try to eat like I’m Italian. I may have mentioned this before, but just in case, meals in Italy typically go like this…
First, start off with a little something to stimulate your appetite – maybe a glass of champagne, or more likely prosecco. Then come antipasti – appetizers. Usually something light like a small soup or a simple salad.
Don’t worry about the bread and something to dip it in. A server already put it on the table along with a pitcher of water. It’s not easy, but try not to eat too much bread. You’ve got a long way to go.
When the antipasti are gone, it’s time for il primo – the first course. Il primo is usually a serving of some kind of pasta. This sounds like a lot, but servings are down-sized from what we think of when we think about a plate full of pasta. (Thank goodness).
When you’re done with il primo, get ready for il secondo – the second course. This is the main event – usually meat, chicken, or fish, with a side of vegetables and maybe potatoes. Back home, we’d consider this to be the whole meal.
Non Ancora Finito (Not Finished Yet)
By now, you’re probably starting to get full, but you’re not finished yet, because you haven’t had dulce – dessert, or maybe a cheese plate. And maybe you still have to finish the bottle of vino that we neglected to mention.
Then, coffee. Coffee is mandatory at this point, no matter what time of day or night it might be. Don’t worry. Do you really think getting to sleep will be a problem after a meal like this? You’d be lucky to stay awake.
But getting back to our lunch, we finished the soup, then our first courses appeared. One was a plate of pasta with mushrooms and the other, mushroom ravioli. Remember from Santa Margherita Ligure – it’s mushroom season here.
For my second course I had wild boar with a side of polenta. Wild boar meat is tough, so they have to cook it for hours. Wild boar are really ugly, but they sure taste good. And, of course, I’ve never met any polenta that I didn’t like. We didn’t have room for any dulce, so we finished up with coffees.
That was a great way to do lunch, but after finishing we needed to move around. (You gotta move after a meal like that). A stroll around La Morra was our dulce.
Barolo – Oh yeah. I’ve Been There.
After our walk, since we were in the neighborhood, we took a drive to the nearby town of Barolo. That way, if the famous Barolo vino ever comes up in a conversation, I can nonchalantly say, “Barolo – Oh yeah. I’ve been there. Very nice.”
Barolo is another hilltop town like La Morra. Villages like La Morra and Barolo look quaint and unassuming. But someone has to be making tons of money from the exclusive wines produced in this area. There just aren’t many signs of it. Interesting.
On the way to Barolo, we pulled over to the side of the road to take a picture or two. I was snapping away when a farmer drove by with a load of just-picked nebbiolo grapes. The harvest had recently begun. He gave us a friendly nod and went on about his business.
It’s been a great day out here, getting acquainted with the hilltop villages and vine-covered slopes of the Langhe. But we’ve got to get ourselves back to Alba. There’s a Truffle Festival going on!
To be continued…
