Sagra degli Asparagi di bosco

Asparagus from the woods. Wild asparagus. They seemingly flourish like weeds in the region of Umbria and they don't exactly win any beauty contests either, especially when compared to the typical green spears that you find at the grocers. Be it cultivated or not, learning that there would be a week-long sagra celebration not far from Gubbio was too good to believe! We are back in the sagra and festa groove, and at the end I'll share a little secret on where you can easily part with 8 euros for a bundle like this one if you happen to be in Gubbio when the season is right and the asparagus foragers are lucky in the day's harvest.

Pietrafitta - As a small neighborhood fraction (of the town of Piegaro), I would never have known about the sagra if it weren't for the magic of the internet. This is just the sort of thing that I like going to at the end of a long day hiking. The food is cheap, good and plenty. The people are warm, friendly and clearly proud of their umpteenth edition of the event. You plop yourself down on any of the commune-dining type benches and someone comes along with a laminated menu. Everything is ridiculously affordable, and I'm ticking off this, this, this and that, when within a few minutes, someone is back to take our order. I really liked how organized these guys were! With great appetite comes even greater thirst, and the bottle of inexpensive local white commences the finale of a fantastic day in the mountains. From this point on it's show-n-tell time, but I do promise to reveal where I bought my wild asparagus, and a delicious recipe to follow later.

Bruschette with asparagus puree

Tagliolini al Mulinaccio - pasta with flaked perch, asparagus and pachino tomatoes

Risotto with wild asparagus - creamy and dreamy, a perfect marriage between the delicate flavor of wild asparagus and rice

Filetto di Maialino Umbro with asparagus and walnuts - tender and juicy baby pork fillet... this was reaaally good. The radicchio garnish gave a nice contrasting "bite" to the richness.

Lasagnette with asparagus - the thin, almost meager layering of pasta sheets, cheese and asparagus belied a pure and simple taste sensation

Wild asparagus frittata - for a split second I wished that there were hash browns, bacon and a side order of toast to go with it. Americans!

Antipastone Torrione - all it means is a big mixed antipasto plate in lieu of dessert

Like I said, with great hunger comes greater thirst. We emptied this bottle before the meal was over.

Sagra degli Asparagi di bosco website

Directly across the street from Hotel Oderisi (via Mazzatinti 2, Gubbio) in the small parking square, there is a tiny fruit and vegetable vendor to the right. Generally, the season for wild asparagus begins around the last half of April until there is no more, but you won't find them stacked top to bottom at this fruttivendolo. I took a peek around to see if the elderly woman had some, and indeed she did, right there in her hands as she expertly tied bundles together with ease. Never mind the steep price - the rule of supply and demand applies here. Oddly enough, it was also market day in the square when I bought my cherished prize, but none of the fruit and vegetable sellers had any asparagi selvatici to sell me.

---

Comments for this post