An Occasion to Renew
Celebration banquets are the conclusion of the various feasts of medieval traces which at the end of summer are held in many centres in Umbria. Between these let us remember that which for ten years, has been held at Foligno with the title «Il gareggiare die convivi» which has as its culmination the Giostra della Quintana". Every quarter of the town prepares a celebration banquet in their homes or in an elegant palazzo or in a popular tavern. For these banquets from 1996 there was introduced a new innovation, entrusting the different courses to a chef who was not of local origins, and asking them to use the local products of Umbria following, or not, the local recipes and traditions but, above all, using their imaginations and the traditions from their own territories. The experience was encouraging from the success obtained: and so Umbrian cooking has been enriched with recipes such as: «cannoli di ricotta al dragoncello e pecorino umbro» (shortcrust pastry stuffed with ricotta cheese, tarragon and pecorino cheese from Umbria), «coniglio in porchetta con tortino di patate» (spit-roasted sucking pig stuffed with rabbit and served with potato cake), «insalata capricciosa con salsiccia di cinghiale e lenticchie» (salad capricciosa with sausages of wild pig and lentils), «lombata di agnello in crosta di cavolo con purè di lenticchie» (loin of lamb wrapped in cabbage leaves with mashed lentils), «paté di farro con gallinella di mare e salsa al tartufo» (pearl barley paté with moorhen and truffle sauce), «petto d'anatra affumicato e lenticchie con crostone di mais» (breast of smoked goose and lentils with large crouton made from sweetcorn), «zuppa di cicerchie con vongole e goletta di maiale» (chickling soup with clams and pork), and many other dishes which join tradition (in the products) with innovations coming from other culinary cultures.