A Foodie's Joy: Lunch in a rustic farm in the mountains

Thursday 14 June 2012

Lunch in a rustic farm in the mountains

This is the first time in our trip that we are heading up to the mountains. We came prepared with some jumpers/jackets as it can get quite brisk up there. Maeve was recommended this place and did try it out when she was firming up the tour last year and we were told enough about it to eagerly anticipate the lunch plus the surrounds.

We met our tour guide Susan (pronounced like Suzanne) for the first time. She is an absolute gem, her knowledge of Corsican history and cuisine is exceptional. On top of that she has such a charisma and wit about her that we loved hearing her tell us all that she knew. Susan's passion for all things Corsican is quite infectious!

The road up to the mountain with a jalopy of a bus was interesting in itself. By that I mean, the roads were quite winding and some of the group were starting to feel a little car sick. But when we did eventually arrive, they were fine enough to have the meal (thank goodness!).

The owner of the restaurant and surrounding farm land is Marie France. Her husband and children were away at the beach so she was holding the fort with some other help. She was a dynamo. She had so much to tell us. The charcuterie served here is made on the farm. There were wild herbs everywhere (we went on a short trek after lunch) and some of the herbs were used for the cooking of the meal.

One thing Susan emphasised was the Maquis of Corsica. The different foliage and soil unique to Corsica makes the food taste special. Maquis in this case refers to the scrubland of Corsica. The unique fragrance permeates the island and everything around it. What makes up the maquis? The wild herbs prevalent in this area, in this case it would be rosemary, thyme, myrtle, immortelle, arbutus and rock rose incense. We all had a smell from Susan's bag of maquis magic and it was so fragrant. I could still smell it from my hands even during the evening.

Lunch consisted of the following dishes:

Carpaccio of lonza with lemon, olive oil and capers dressing. Charcuterie of wild boar and sausages. They were quite delicious.

We then tried Polenta made with chestnut flour. It was quite lovely. I could taste the chestnuts in the polenta fritter.

For our main course, we had polenta, salad, wild boar and lamb. Plus some chips cooked the French way. Surprisingly I was more keen on the wild boar than the lamb. The meat was beautifully cooked and very tender.

Then there was a serving of pecorino cheese (sheep's milk).

Desserts were combinations of Panna cotta with fig jam, Panna cotta with blackberry jam and Creme caramel. My favourite dessert was the Panna cotta with the home made fig jam. Yummy!

This one's for Annette and Brian!

Marie France was kind enough to show us a little of her farm and we did quite a hike up the hill to view the landscape. Beautiful panoramic views. Plus along the way, we learnt about wild artichoke, wild thyme, honeysuckle and saw some cute ducks!