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Busciun means cork!
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| Desserts
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A wonderful end to a meal!
After relaxing over a good meal with a good wine, how can you refuse a dessert?
Preparing sweets is my great passion, knowing beforeand that they’ll always be a sweet memory for my guests, I imagine them on their way home, looking at the scenery, commenting on the meal and, I know, the sweets will be mentioned more than once. Maybe because sweets touch your heart – maybe because not everyone orders the same one, so you have to describe them – maybe because it’s the last course and so a kind of ‘ciao’, and goodbye – an adieu, in other words, but I know that you start off talking about the sweets and then, slowly, slowly about all the rest – I hope so, anyway – if not about the cook, who’s sometimes a bit grumpy, but what a meal, eh? Forgive my personal intrusion, but this is my site, after all, and, like my kitchen, I want to run it my way as I don’t want it to be just a cold web page of advertising – I’m not interested in hoards of customers – on the contrary, I’d like lots of friends. What I really want is to put something of me in whatever I do, and it’s not so odd for me to describe myself in this part dedicated to sweets, because hiding behind this hard shell of mine, you’ll find the sweetest little girl, just waiting to communicate and help others enjoy themselves – but that’s enough or it’ll become a boring blog! Let’s go back to desserts; fridge cakes with very fresh cream, eggs and natural ingredients; Marsala for the one ‘allo zabaione’, served with flambè-ed icing sugar, contrasting hot and cold (very zen), berries, peaches and ‘amaretti’, strawberries, cream cheese – there are so many different ways – embellished with whipped cream, baby meringues, icing, little biscuits...long live creativity! Home-made crème caramel – the real thing, is never missing from my fridge; hazelnut cake in winter, walnut cake with chestnut honey, home-made jam ‘salame’ and tarts. In summer it has became a rule to make lemon curd tart! - some customers come just for this, almost! - in fact it’s very good. Traditional sweets come according to the calendar; ‘catagnun, peti di monaga (nun’s farts), bugie,ciambella, friscieu di mele – that’s all for now, dear friends and here’s to a sweet tooth!
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| THE BUSCIUN
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Restaurant Busciun
Nestled between the mountains and the coast, the Busciun Restaurant, situated at the foot of the picturesque village, Castelvittorio – 450m above sea level – will welcome you warmly. Opening onto the main street of the village, it allows you to take part in the daily life of the locals in the bar and hear all about the olive crop, the amount of mushrooms being picked, or where the wild boar are hiding out.
You will find warmth and intimacy within the restaurant, with its pleasant, personal, family atmosphere. Gianluigi at the tables and Terry in the kitchen provide you with a menu rich in tasty ‘mouthfuls’ of the typical local cuisine, which changes according to the season.
The hors d’oeuvres, including the characteristic ‘turtun’, were once part of the peasants’ frugal meal when they worked in the fields The home-made ‘pinched by hand’ ravioli, with their sauces, which give that special flavour to their fillings of green vegetables or potatoes; game stewed in the local red ‘rossese’ wine, rabbit with ‘taggiasche’ olives, ‘castelluzza’ snails with a touch of special mint, goat and the renowned Pigna beans, are some of the dishes we suggest – without forgetting the mushroom season! Gianluigi is a licensed mushroom picker! The numerous neighbourhood vegetable gardens provide Terry with the necessary vegetables and herbs as well as the delicious virgin olive oil to make her green pies, vegetables preserved in oil and various tasty mouthfuls. Furthermore, to complete a good lunch or dinner, the home-made cakes and desserts will melt your heart as they are made with love as well as genuine ingredients.
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| Val Nervia
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A REDISCOVERED TREASURE
The answer to the mystery of equanimity to one like me, in search of somewhere to live, has been resolved in the delicate balance between the mountains and the sea, where a forgotten past is found in the scent of thyme and the essence of lavender, a sip of good wine with goat cheese, discussions about the invading wild boar or naughty badgers, the flowering olive trees, which later donate their precious oil, the peasants’ passion for the phases of the moon, the fresh breezes and summer daydreams. I have found my place here, cooking simple dishes – don’t ask me for elaborate food, I’m not up-to-date with the times....I’m still in the world of healthy ingredients found in the environs , freshly picked., what you can find at any given moment. Don’t ask for anything strange. Here you will find only local food, which for many of you is already strange.....be happy with the traditional food handed down from one generation to the other and still eaten in the houses of Castelvittorio today - you are very welcome!
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| Hors d'oeuvres
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A SPECIALITY YOU MUST NOT MISS
Hors d’oeuvres are part of the ceremony of slow food, the way to discover flavours, which delectably stimulate your appetite. There’s no need to exaggerate otherwise the other delicious courses will be offended! The cold starters include vegetables preserved in oil, home-made as far as possible – it looks as if this year should be excellent for mushrooms: big and small jars are awaiting the delicately flavoured boletus for you to enjoy. April was the moment for artichokes, bought from local farmers, in two or three months they’ll be ready to eat. I can’t always manage to find local products as, although excellent, the production is limited so I have to admit to having to use bought products, too, but they are always of excellent quality and personalised with various herbs and flavours. According to the season, we also serve goat cheese, home-cured ‘bresaola’ – dried beef, maybe with raw artichokes on it, potato salad, ricotta with chives, the delicious Pigna beans dressed with our own extra-virgin olive oil. These are followed by hot hors d’oeuvres: Turtun, Barbajuan, a large sized fried raviolo, filled with pumpkin and ‘brusso’ or spinach and goat cheese, Frisceu: fritters filled with mushrooms or zucchini, Panizza – what could be more simple and old-fashioned than chick-pea flour? ...stuffed peppers, onions or mushrooms. These are all tasty bites of inestimable value – each with its own history and culture behind it. They were once made from leftovers the peasants took with them – and they still do - for their midday meal in the fields. Today’s restaurants have transformed them into hors d’oeuvres – not a bad idea, isn’t it? Do you want to know what the Castelluzzi villagers are mad about? Well, it’s baking a lovely Turtun in their wood ovens in their country cottages – I’ve never seen people so happy as they sit at table waiting for it to be ready, smelling the mouth-watering aroma as it’s baking. There’s also a Turtun made with mashed potatoes, spring onions and lots of good cheese and, of course, plenty of olive oil.
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| The home made fresh pastas
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 Simplicity is served.....and how good it is!
The various kinds of ‘pasta’ are fresh and prepared daily. Flour, eggs and tasty fillings – the real recipe for goodness!
The ravioli are made by hand – rolled very fine and ‘pinched ‘ to enclose their delicious fillings.
The vegetable ravioli are filled with spinach, chard, borage, parmisan cheese, eggs and meat, and are served with a light meat sauce or else with butter and sage or walnut sauce.
Potato ravioli are filled with potatoes, marjoram, onion, egg and parmisan and are served with a creamy sauce made of boletus mushrooms, truffles and cream, but they are also very good with a meat sauce or tomato and mushroom sauce.
The tagliatelle are cut by hand just before being boiled and served with either a mushroom or wild boar sauce.
When the freshly pressed olive oil arrives, it’s the tradition to have it with the ‘Pasta sciancaa’, ‘maltagliati’ made with white and a bit of brown flour, with the new oil, seasonal greens and lots of parmisan.
In summer, the Crusetti and fajoi, big, hand-made ‘butterflies’, with a dash of brown flour, cooked with green beans from our garden, tomatoes dipped in boiling water and good extra-virgin olive oil.
Occasionally, and especially for banquets, I make oven dishes like spinach and ricotta rolls, crèpes with mushrooms or ham and cheese, lasagne with meat sauce or pesto.
Recently I have been asked to make ‘Tacùi’, a maltagliati pasta with a third of chestnut flour. We tried them with pesto made with marjoram and walnuts, traditional pesto, as well as a sausage and boletus mushroom sauce –mmmmmmm!! It’s difficult to decide which is the best. I think I’ll often make this pasta in winter in honour of the chestnut woods surrounding us. I usually make little rolls stuffed with chestnuts and rabbit for the Christmas meal – they are very good and always well appreciated.
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| In other words:
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Edamus, bibamus, gaudeamus *
The different kinds of meat, inland, are flavoured with wine and time. As much time as is necessary to make even the toughest wild boar tender in the end.
‘Cinghiale al Rossese’, wild boar cooked in the local red wine, that gives it that special taste, is a dish that is never missing from the Busciun, as well as Coniglio alla Ligure, where herbs and local Taggiasche olives combine with the good rabbits from Apricale and white wine to result in a tender dish. Another slow-cooking dish, which quickly disappears from sight, is the Capra e fagioli, which even I can’t resist tasting as it bubbles in the big pot..... embraced by the beans from Pigna it’s so good! – good company is essential at table! Roast leg of lamb, boned and garnished with herbs and garlic, delicately flavoured with a crisp crust exuding enticing aromas and ending up on your plate.. In summer, a very popular dish is Snails. I cook them slowly in litres and litres of wine – and with the added flavour of wild mint the slow snail is ready. After a long search, I have finally found a local snail breeder. These delicious snails arrive from the Argentina valley. Crumbed boletus mushrooms is the dish of the day in June and September. My husband, Gianluigi, is a licensed mushroom picker – even though sometimes this mania of his exasperates me, I’m always happy when he arrives with his precious load, which is immediately prepared and served. The fortunate customers can taste royal agaric (ovoli), boletus and others, cooked in various ways – when they can be found, of course! .....and when they can’t – alas! – I have to resort to frozen products – I have to admit that some of our products are frozen and it’s good for you to know – however, whatever you eat is of the best quality – take the cook’s word for it!
*Let’s eat, drink and enjoy!
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me...Terry
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| TURTUN
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Ingredients for 6
Pastry :
400 gr flour
1 glass extra-virgin olive oil
salt
Filling
1kg large light green courgettes
2 potatoes (or a handful of rice)
1 onion
1 egg
200gr fresh cheese (tuma)
150gr grated grana cheese (or pecorino)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt
For the pastry: mix flour and oil and need it twice to get a compact, but soft texture and leave it to rest beneath a cloth. If you sing it a little song, you can be sure to make everyone happy.
Filling: chop the courgettes into little cubes, the onion and potatoes must be finely chopped, and mix them all together with the other ingredients, using the oil to amalgamate them. Roll out the pastry on a wooden board to form a circle. Put the filling in the centre, leaving a border all around, which you delicately stretch towards the centre to cover the filling, pleating the pastry to form ‘wrinkles’. Sprinkle with oil, make some holes with a fork. Bake in a wood oven directly on the slab, without using a baking tin, for 40-50 minutes.
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| Il Cinghiale
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Wild boar in Rossese wine
Cut the meat into pieces and put them into a casserole dish with a big onion cut into pieces and a few bay leaves. When the meat has expelled its liquid, put it all in a colander and rinse with cold water; then put the meat to brown in extra virgin olive oil with onion, celery, carrot, pine nuts, rosemary, sage, thyme, pepper and chili pepper. When it’s well browned, add salt and some good beer. When the beer has been reduced, carry on adding red wine till it’s cooked. (I use a good local Rossese red wine).
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| Coniglio alla Ligure
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Cut the rabbit into pieces. Brown the it very well, it must almost burn, in extra virgin olive oil, together with onion, sage, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, salt and pepper, stirring regularly and adding white wine. When it’s cooked, add a handful of taggiasche olives and serve.
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Wild herbs for a Turtun
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Mushroom salad
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