Campo dei Fiori and environs.  A food tour....

First, find breakfast....

...tempting...

Ah...perfect!

Then off to the amazing neighborhood bakery...

A short walk to Campo dei Fiori...

A stop at a wonderfest of delicacies...

Then to the campo...

Notice that wild, field asparagus is also on offer....  Il Conte Matto's wild asparagus with spaghetti comes to my mind...I've never seen it for sale before.  Made me want to have an apartment.

 

Agretti for sale.  It's an Italy-only and only-in-the-spring vegetable.   I can buy it in Sinalunga, but here it's loose in boxes and already washed....  More on this at the end...  It's delicious.

 

Someone in my life LOVES pumpkin...

These melons, in the 85F temperatures of the day were perfuming the air. 

More agretti...

Busy morning at the market.

 

Wild strawberries, mirtilli and lamponi.

 Agretti, close up...

 

Nespole - what Californians call loquats.   They are short season, delicate to ship and taste of apricots and strawberries.  They have smooth seeds in the center and can be peeled.  Possibly the most delicious tree fruit I know.  I was raised on them in Santa Barbara.  I wanted to plant one immediately in Montisi, but found that they do best where their leaf drop and dropped fruit aren't close to terraces.

Serbian mushrooms!

Cherries ripening in Tuscany, but these are from the south.

And now a walk through the flower stalls.  Enjoy!!

 

Marguerites and below, sweet William for nosegays.

 

 

And now final word on agretti.  Steam it until tender.  Drizzle with really good olive oil and add a squeeze of lemon and a grind of salt.  It's really such a subtle, lightly asparagusy flavor, but sweeter.  If you get the chance, try it.  See below.

So, that catches you up with the sights, colors and maybe the fragrances of Rome just a few days ago.  Evenings were spent dining with friends in little places I would not have found.  Good friends and Rome, what a wonderful combination!  Thank you for the hospitality!

M