June Diary: a Travelling Gastronomer
Helsinki, Abruzzo, Marche, Rome, Lisbon, Mosel...
June starts in Helsinki, where I had never been before, and I am only there for 48 hours, mostly spent inside meeting rooms. But days are extra long, and I can fit in late-night park runs in a delicious spring temperature. So I discovered a very vegan-friendly city: every restaurant has on offer a vast array of plant-based options - even McDonald’s offers more than five hamburgers suitable for vegans. Here I visit Bastard Burgers and enjoy a perfect plant-based dinner.
A short stopover at Copenhagen airport allows me to FIKA, and I choose a delicious rhubarb and cardamom bun, perfect as a comforting bite during a long day of travelling across Europe.
This month feels particularly hard.
I am writing my first article, which will be published in a magazine after an almost 15-year gap, and at the same time, this opportunity makes me view the rest of my life as a chore. I am extremely fed up with the job that pays the bills, and I am resentful towards myself for having prioritised my Maslow’s desires of having an apartment and money to travel instead of pursuing my writing and living on someone’s couch.
Moreover, as many of you are, too, I am suffering from everything that happens in the world (the horrifying Gaza genocide, the unstoppable rise of the far right and the demoniac middle-class cosy right everywhere).
Another flight, and we are in Fiumicino. As we land quite late, we head off to Pascucci al Porticciolo (*) for a rather underwhelming and pretentious meal where innovation is unheard of, and even tradition is non-existent. Squeezed between things we already ate in a better version elsewhere, we have at least the joy of being able to make fun of this (expensive) dinner.
We immediately head off to L’Aquila, where my friend Alessandra, a super-talented wedding photographer, is getting married. First, we stop at La Malandrina for a quick lunch, and despite the promise of a “aglio olio e peperoncino…di mare”, we instead get a “Knorr cube pasta”.
One word about Alessandra: her pictures are whimsical, delicate, romantic and perfectly capture the essence of a couple. I would recommend her to anyone who dreams of a photo shoot where love is the protagonist.
Her wedding is super romantic.
The ceremony is held in a small former church at the feet of the impressive Castle of Rocca Calascio at 1,460 metres above sea level. You may recognise the castle building as it featured in several movies, such as Ladyhawke, The Name of the Rose, and The American.
We held a small toast at the Rifugio della Rocca. Their lentil soup, a classic dish in this area known for the production of Santo Stefano lentils, is crafted using tasty Sulmona red garlic, chilli pepper and bay leaves, and served with croutons.
The wedding party then moved towards the dinner location, the beautiful palace where the renowned restaurant Lo Scalco dell’Aquila is located. We all agreed: the best wedding meal we ever had in our lives, with a delicious sequence os dishes, many of which were vegetarian, and a beautiful risotto, cooked to perfection. The cellar is also impressive, as is the owners’ knowledge of local products and producers.
After the wedding, we headed towards the Gran Sasso d’Italia, the highest mountain system of the Apennines. Rifugio Carlo Franchetti had opened the day before, and we booked a stay to summit the Corno Grande, Vetta Occidentale.
We were in for a big surprise: resident cook Nastasia loves vegetables and plant-based cooking, with a passion for local, natural and healthy food. A physiotherapist by trade, she loves to spend all summers as a mountain cook at Carlo Franchetti - a very arduous place to work, without an electric lift and using only two helicopter rotations per season, with all produce being carried in backpacks.
She delighted us with hearty, delicious soups (one with cicerchie, one with lentils), mouthwatering crostata, and savoury pie with bitter herbs and turmeric. Healing and delicious.
Nastasia also has a cat with her, a beautiful tortie who likes to peek out of the windows and greet the customers.
The ascent was steep, in soft, mushy snow but we beat our best expectations and we enjoyed a summit barrette and a summit gel, before going back down.