A Risottino

Mariangela and I got back to the hotel close to midnight, and I would have skipped dinner and gone straight to bed, but Mariangela had been dreaming of white rice for her upset stomach since maybe 9pm. A lively conversation ensued with the owner of our beautiful Albergo. She was very concerned. What exactly would Mariangela like? Some Risotto with Grana (cheese)? Maybe some greens in the Risotto? A Risottino? (What’s the difference between a Risotto and a Risottino!??)

And me? What would I like? Maybe a little pasta? A nice bisteca? Maybe a little verdura? She could make me a Risotto with onions. Some Grana too. Perhaps some melon with Prociutto? And for Mariangela, yes, she’ll add just a little bit of grana, to make sure it won’t upset her stomach. And something to drink? Some wine? At least a chamomile tea…

These detailed selections of the precisely correct food for a specific state of digestive health, time of day, mood, location, are so so Italian. No wonder they never gain weight. They spend so much time deciding what to eat, that they can hardly fit the actual meal in. It does make every meal special. And the lunch I had the following day, just before we left the albergo, was to die for.