First night and we are feasting on Lardo. Yup. LARD. Pig fat. Not even like the French lardons – those have at least an inkling of meat. Just the fat please! On a pizza, with nothing else. Just perfect crisp wood oven/stone baked crust, Lardo, extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. After a few Sprtiz’s (Bitters, Prosecco and sparking water) to tempt the taste buds, we headed to the “Second Best” pizza place in Verona. Maybe our hosts did not find us “worthy” (yet) of the number one spot, but Du de Cope in the old city centre certainly seemed number one to us. But then again – what do we know? We just got here. I had tried Lardo once in Toronto and loved the silken texture and intense fatty/meaty flavour – but here with a glass of local Valpolicella it was pure heaven – rustic and simple – but oh so indulgent. Lardo is a type of salume, made of pork fat taken from just beneath the skin of the pig. It is cured with salt and rosemary – and then sliced impossibly thin. Once considered food of the poor, as people needed to use every scrap of the animal, it is now considered a delicacy. If you have the chance to try this – do not be put off by the thought of eating a slice of pork fat…ok – that is what it technically is – but it is so much more than that. Get over it! The near transparent slices touched down on that perfectly browned crust, and started at once to melt away…
I think this is going to be a good week….a very delicious week.
