By Chiara Petrella
It was a beautiful party to which we were invited to learn more about the cuisine of the ancient trattoria of Sarteano. The protagonists are the delicious dishes of the local tradition, prepared in a masterful way, but also old and new characters of the town.
The people of Sarteano affectionately call it ‘Tripola’, and when in the last issue I spoke of it with emotion and affection, calling it ‘home’, I was referring to the family atmosphere that reigns within these ancient walls in the center of the town. I have the opportunity to relive it on a sweet autumn evening in which Caterina Aggravi, the young owner, invited me and the staff of Valleylife to a beautiful party organized together with her friends with the aim of letting us get to know the place better and let us taste its dishes. The setting makes us happy as soon as we enter, with colorful tablecloths and centerpieces with wildflowers, but we feel even more flattered and at ease when it makes us sit at the so-called “social table”, the one where friends, relatives and ‘regulars’ usually sit, right next to the kitchen. “We call it that because it’s the ‘open’ one,” he explains smiling. “Those who sit here do not expect confidentiality, but rather know that someone will come to keep them company. Whether it’s a friend, an acquaintance or a new guest, the important thing is to have a chat and spend an hour together”.
Then she continues by telling us how she lives the kitchen today, after several years of managing the restaurant: “My dishes are those of tradition, which I have always seen made. I don’t come from an official academic background, my school was my grandmother, it was the mistakes, the experience, the recipes tried and tested until they came out well”. She tells us this with emotion and pride, while we agree on how much superb importance is attributed to food today in some, very popular television programs, in which cooking has turned into a hateful competition between snobbish characters, losing the emotional and nutritional value that is appropriate to it, and which here we finally find in all its ancestral meaning. Then she shows us the menu she has planned for us, which is a very popular Tuscan classic: a platter of local cold cuts and cheeses accompanied by crouton with livers, pici with crumbs (revisited with delicious anchovies in pesto), the typical tagliatelle with meat sauce and a ribollita, which is one of the most traditional dishes of the region, loved by both villagers and foreigners. “Here in the area we are lucky enough to have excellent raw materials,” continues Caterina, “starting from cured meats and cheeses, up to vegetables and meat.” However, it is on the second courses that the young chef feels stronger, and for the evening she prepared us the ossobuco in bianco stewed in a casserole with gremolada sauce, the classic meatballs with sauce, which take up the grandmother’s recipe, and the Livorno-style cod, a historic dish of the trattoria. “We change the menu every ten days or so, but always offering traditional recipes and always a dish of the day. On the other hand, there is never a shortage of what for us are the basics, such as tagliatelle and pici – strictly handmade – with the three classic condiments of meat sauce (commonly called ‘the sauce’), aglione and crumbs. Roast beef can also be found almost always”.
Valleylife: “Are there any dishes that you have introduced that go beyond the local and family tradition?”
Caterina Aggravi: “Mostly fish, which I offer in various forms, from grilled octopus with citrus cream to fried food, but also brick cockerel, which is a very popular dish”.
VL: “And the desserts?”
CA: “On desserts, however, I fully follow the legacy from my grandmother: cantucci and vin santo, donut, tiramisu and tarts”.
Caterina then explains the initiatives planned for the winter: “Tuesday will be dedicated to theme evenings, and we are planning aperitifs, theatrical improvisation organized together with the Accademia degli Arrischianti and board game tournaments, but also other ideas that we are developing. Except for a few days, we will be open all winter, also to give a service to the town”.
VL: “And for Christmas?”
CA: “During the holidays we will be open for lunch and dinner, available for reservations for business and family dinners. Obviously there will be Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas lunch and New Year’s Eve dinner”.
While we talk about cuisine, dishes, projects and traditions, slowly the trattoria is filled with people, life and stories, starting with the latest exploits of the “Camminatori Folli” present at the evening, an association of the town that sees trekking enthusiasts launch themselves into extreme activities, always based here at the ‘Tripola’. We are all together here for dinner and the appetizing dishes begin to set the tables. And while we enjoy flavours that are as familiar and well-known as they are true and exquisite, conversations also fill our mouths: with Filippo, Caterina’s brother (who is also the other partner of the trattoria), we remember the old characters who animated Corso Garibaldi in the 80s, from Nero the chicken coop who lived above the stairs and always sat next to Mr. G., to Hamlet, who delivered the telegrams with Garelli. Then there was Tiritunne the barber, to whom Marino the carpenter teased, but they all did it to him, like the time they replaced the shaving cream with ‘stracchino’ cheese…
Our conversations go on between one course and another and between one laugh and another, until the greetings, when we promise to interview Florisa who knows the history of the trattoria before the management of Franca, Filippo and Caterina’s grandmother … We will tell you about it in the next issue.
Info: Trattoria Tripolitania / Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, 27 – 53047 Sarteano (Si) / Tel.: +39 0578 265311
Orario: 12:30–14:30 / 19:30–21:30 / Chiusura: mercoledì
Facebook: La Tripolitania
Instagram: @TrattoriaTripolitania