Porchetta Monte San Savino with Mark the Food Hunter

Mark cooking in our kitchen in Santa Fe.

When Mark and Molly were in Santa Fe, they were eager to find out about northern New Mexican food, so I made calabacitas and red chile from Velarde.

Mark made porchetta Monte San Savino-style. (The town has a porchetta sagra (festival) each autumn, and they are striving for a denominazione for their particular style of porchetta. Molly made an apple tart, and Chris made his famous gelato to go with it.

Here's the way Mark made the porchetta, based on Aldo the butcher's method):






Porchetta Monte San Savino Style

Fennel pollen*
1 large head garlic,peeled and chopped
Rosemary, leaves removed from the stems
Olive oil
1 large pork shoulder or butt roast (4-6 pounds), butterflied, fat untrimmed
(If the pork doesn't have a nice thick layer of fat on the outside, buy enough from the butcher to tie around the roast.)
Unsmoked bacon or pancetta
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Butcher's twine




Spread the pork roast out flat with the fat side down. Salt and pepper liberally; spread with garlic herb mixture. Line the roast with the bacon or pancetta. Repeat
seasoning as on the roast. Roll up tightly and secure with twine.




Season liberally. Tie the additional fat slabs on the roast with some sprigs of rosemary. (We used sage out of the garden in the picture.) Refrigerate overnight.



Remove the pork roast from the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the roast in a roasting pan and place in the center of the oven. Roast for 2-3 hours, or until a meat thermometer registers 170 degrees. Remove from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes. Carve with the twine still in place. Serve hot or cold on a crusty bun.



*Fennel pollen is a terrific ingredient, one of those wild plants like nettles that Italians had always picked to add flavor to their food. Order it from www.chefshop.com or substitute pounded fennel seed

Arriving in Monte San Savino

I'm going to backtrack a little and set the stage for porchetta, Monte San Savino style. I'll also tell you a little more about our house exchanging experience.

The evening we arrived in Monte San Savino was after the day we drove through Lucca where I lost and found my purse. Lots of flailing around, rain, and upset. It was a long, intense day of driving. We wearily drove up the tiny road that snakes around the mountain to Monte San Savino, gradually feeling our spirits lift. We had crawled around the autostrata for hours, our little Peugeot circling Florence like a tortoise. Here's a picture of the car, which drives like a Ferrari (sort of)during an unscheduled photo break.


It was evening, the piazza was lit up, and no one was on the streets.

Mark Brownstein and Molly Kellog gave us directions to pick up the key to their house from the man at the Tabaccheria. Mirco and his wife are gorgeous; they could be the stars of "Monte San Savino: The Movie". Their shop sells wine, tobacco, olive oil, and lots of eye catching doodads. There's a salumeria case in the back where the make sandwiches. We bought some olio nuovo (this year's crop of olive oil), took our key, and bounced our luggage over the cobblestones to the house.

Home exchanging is always full of surprises. No matter how many pictures we look at, it's thrilling to travel across the ocean, arrive in a town a millenia old, and open the door to the unknown. We were so happy as we walked through the house, up the stairs, admiring the lofty comforters and stone fireplaces. We couldn't have been more pleased to end up in Monte San Savino at Mark and Molly's house, feeling comfortable, safe, and at home.

They visited us last summer in a hospitality exchange. It's an arrangement whereby the home owner hosts the exchangers. We have had several very enjoyable hospitality exchanges with interesting people; what could be nicer as a foreigner than meeting the locals and having them show you the town, introduce them to your friends, and feed you the local specialties? We have had hospitality exchangers who kept their distance, but when Mark and Molly visited us the summer of 2009 in Santa Fe, we became friends almost immediately. We picked them up from the shuttle (not ever having clapped eyes on them before) and chattered all the way home. The next day we set out to help them have a good time. We cooked together, and I learned how to make the most delicious pork roast, flavored with wild fennel pollen, garlic, and herbs.



One of the several shops in Monte San Savino that make porchetta daily.