After the vintage when the grapes have been pressed a residue, called most, is used for various delicious products, such as pan di mosto (bread made of most, flour, yeast and aniseed). Sapa is made of the most of blue grapes and is used in the same way as balsamic vinegar.

Autumn is also the time for chestnuts and walnuts. The Marchigiani are experts in putting these products to good use. For example, sughetti is a cake made of walnuts and castagnata is a cake made of chestnuts. Every weekend you can find a sagra in a local community dedicated to one of these products.

The truffle is probably the most prestigious delicacy this time of year. Two towns, famous for their truffles, are Acqualagna, in the North and Amandola, in the South of Le Marche. Important fairs are dedicated to this exquisite product. In Acqualagna, the National Fair of the White Truffle this year will take place on 26 October, 1, 2, 8 and 9 November. More information can be found on http://www.comune.acqualagna.ps.it/index.php?id=11140 .

In Amandola, their fair is called ‘Diamanti a tavola’, and rightly so. This year it will take place from 7-9 November. Everything you always wanted to know about truffles is here, from information to actually tasting truffle dishes. More information can be found on http://www.prolocoamandola.org/programma_diamanti_a_tavola.htm.

In the province of Macerata, the agriturismo I Gelsi organised a 5 course dinner with the truffle theme. Each course had either white or black truffle. Here are some pictures, since they tell more than a thousand words:

Crema di ceci con tartufo nero

This cream of chick peas was the second starter after a delicious salade with white truffles. Although chick peas are generally considered quite heavy, this cream turned out to be very light.

Tagliatelle con tartufo bianco

On its own this dish would have been sufficient to create a feeling of elation. In all its simplicity, it’s only pasta, olive oil and white truffle, the taste is absolutely heavenly.

Usually, Italy is a tourist destination during summer. However, autumn offers a wide variety of culinary wealth and wonderful views because of the beautiful colours. So come to Le Marche, look around and taste the autumn flavours.

As in all of the Italian penninsula, the more local you eat, the more art you can find. Here in Le Marche, the cuisine is quite different in the micro regional sense, particularly between the more experimental and modern touches apparent in the coastal cuisine versus the neoclassical cooking of the interior Apennines. My faves start on the southern coast, where several towns house nearly all of the great restaurants.

San Benedetto del Tronto

One of the most enticing things along the entire Costa Marchigiana is the offering of what is one of my favorite meal starters, raw or marinated seafood. The raw bounty of the Adriatic is well represented on many menus, particularly at Messer Chichibio (via Tiepolo 5 …tel 0735584001). Do not let the decor keep you away; the food is really good here. I love the marinated tuna with wild fennel, the great pastas, and the fact that the secondi, whether grilled or sautéed, often come with contorni and the odd vinaigrette. On the Piazza Nardone, number 8, is Ristorante Roma, a classic since 1948, where, apart from the sushi rice on one appetizer, I loved nearly everything. In particular, I loved the maccheroncini with cuttlefish and the mind bending eggplant involtino with monkfish and basil. They also served me a wacky dessert wine called visciolato, a kind of a cherry infusion that paired beautifully with a prickly pear sorbetto.

Grottamare

Up the coast a touch is the town of Grottamare where Lacche (via Procida, 1 tel…0735582728), is right on the lungomare and serves simple classic seafood at fair prices. Up the hill, a bit off of the tourist path, is Osteria dell’Arancio (piazza Peretti tel…0735631059), where they offer a killer prix-fixe menu for about 35 euro that may begin with a combo of local salumi, alici marinati, and some great takes on vegetables; followed by simple pasta and a choice of the main course of the day, which can include fish, guinea hen, or goose or other game. The meal finishes with delicious desserts.

Senigallia

Up past the not-so-pretty port town of Ancona is another treasure of a town, Senigallia. The guidebooks rave about La Madonnina del Pescatore, but I did not enjoy my experience there. I loved Al Cuoco di Bordo (Dante Aligheri 94 tel… 0717929661), where the verbal menu changes daily and always includes some interesting crudo, spectacular pastas like black spaghetti alla chitarra with squash blossoms and tiny shrimp, or a surprising orecchiette with clams and sea beans, or a great salt crusted bass. A couple of kilometers to the north is a pretty special country house, hotel and restaurant called Strada della Marina in a town called Scapezzano (tel… 0716608633). The rooms are a good deal and the food is definitely worth an overnight stay. My most recent meal started with a classic octopus salad with waxy potatoes, then went into a poetic gnocchi with a bug like shellfish called cannocchie cooked in a light tomato sauce that sang the song of sirens. The secondo sealed the deal; a monkfish in a red wine broth with snails and tiny trumpet mushrooms that was matched brilliantly with a young rosso piceno. There is a separate cheese tasting room for fanatics and a killer cellar to run up the check if you so desire.

Serrugarina

Further north is truffle country, particularly white truffle country, as well as the zona di produzione di prosciutto carpegna and the cooking matches the ingredients. A place I did not want to like but could not resist is called Symposium Quattro Stagioni, in Serrungarina (tel…. 0721898320). Pricey and tiny at 36 seats, you definitely need to call in advance and bring plenty of money. The 5 menus are at least 110 euros each plus wine, and you will want wine. There are the oddities like foie gras, but the vast basis of the menus is local with a capital L. I still dream of a meal that started with a simple lentil soup with breast of thrush and truffles, followed by a dish of potato pappardelle with game bird ragù and lemon thyme, continued on with wild boar with an ethereal potato and celery puree, then a taste of some pecorino that had been buried a couple of months in a divine ditch, and finished with a cool zabaglione on a piece of bitter chocolate. After a meal here, spend a couple of days on the prosciutto carpegna diet at an osteria called L’Angolo Divino (via Sant’Andrea 12 tel…0722327559) in Urbino and your wallet may heal.

When we decided to move to Le Marche to start a new life as a real estate agent we did what we were supposed to do. First we enrolled at a training centre to follow a course for real estate agent. The course comprised the following subjects: tax law, civil law, legislation regarding the real estate business, economics and mortgages, planning permission and surveys. After that we had to take two written exams and one oral exam in Italian covering the subjects mentioned before. After we had passed the exam we could officially register as real estate agents (nr 874 and 875 of the Ruolo at the Chamber of Commerce of Macerata).

Doing the course we realised how important it is to have done so, because now we can answer all the questions our clients may have. As qualified agents we feel that we can provide the best service possible to our clients.

Carlien and André van Lieshout

A sagra is not a historical event but is a fair dedicated to one or two local food products. They are usually organised by local sports clubs, parishes or the local tourist office. Each evening a selection of food products and dishes is offered from which guests can compose their evening meal. It’s an excellent way to sample local food and to get in touch with the locals. For example the tiny hill town of Pievefavera organises a ’sagra de lu Vitellu’ (veal) in August, Treia has a ’sagra del Calcione e del Raviolo in May. These are just two of hundreds of sagre organised throughout Le Marche.

If you have any questions regarding historical events and sagre in Le Marche, please contact us.

André and Carlien van Lieshout