Page 26 - A Life - my Live - my path

Herding goats and sheep in Italy

One of my earliest memories goes back to when I was 3 or 4.
My grandfather made me a little wooden and wicker chair
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on which I used to sit on the doorstep to watch the snow fall.
I still remember that the slow-moving snowflakes were
bigger than those I later saw elsewhere.
From time to time, my grandfather would take his rifle and
shoot a blackbird or a partridge. When he managed to hit his
prey, he would retrieve it, clean it and roast it over the
embers extracted from the fireplace in the room. When the
little bird was cooked through, he would give me small
pieces of flesh that I would eat greedily.
The fireplace in the kitchen and the firebrick oven were
two important features of the house. The fireplace for
cooking stews and pasta, and the oven for bread, pizzas, and

meat.
Every year in winter, as Christmas approached, a pig was

killed. It had to be frozen for 3 nights in a row to kill off
bacteria. Prosciutti (hams), sausages and many Italian
specialities, including soppressata and ventricina , were
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18
prepared.

In Italy, meals are often served according to the same
rules, especially in restaurants:
Antipasti : as the name suggests, these are starters that
are eaten before the pasta. Generally chosen

16 MONACO Nicola
17 Typical Abruzzo salami. Produced with chosen pork cut into small pieces.
Pressed to give it its flat shape. Aged and matured for 40 days.
18 Charcuterie with a little more fat and seasoned with red peppers to give it its
colour.
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