The sheep, aaaah, the sheep....
We've mentioned the sheep and goats in previous posts.... Most days we see them come up the mountain in the morning and back down in the evening, herded by shepherd Salvatore in his Fiat Panda and his wonderful dogs. We actually hear them before seeing them, with their bells ringing and all the neighborhood dogs barking. After a few glasses of wine one night, Diego and Karen asked if we'd like to see Salvatore and his wife make pecorino and fresh ricotta some morning, and of course we quickly agreed. Then something was mumbled about 5:30am Monday morning, hmmmm....
Monday morning at 5:30 we were ready. Karen knocked on our door... no Diego? Apparently he was sleeping off the agony of Chelsea's 2-0 loss to Manchester City the night before. Guess "Football" fans are the same everywhere! So the three of us made the two-minute drive to the farm. Amazingly fit and energetic at 74, Salvatore had already been there for two hours. The big kettle of ewe's milk had been heated to the right temperature and then stirred with his special paddle to break up the curds and whey. Just before we got there, he had reached into the bottom of the big kettle and with experienced hands, brought together all the curd , placing it on his draining table. There, black peppercorns were blended in, and the curd was divided and placed into three different size plastic baskets. Three new wheels of pecorino cheese were born! The Italian word for sheep is pecora, hence pecorino for the cheese.
New pecorino cheeses are covered with salt, turned every couple of days, and washed to prevent mold from forming. They are aged for up to one year, with the texture and flavor changing dramatically during that time. At one month of aging, they are slightly rubbery, light in color, and tangy; at one year they are hard, crumbly, and sharp.
We arrived as he was pressing the fresh wheels of pecorino down with the palms of his hands to force out the moisture. Warm greetings were exchanged, and Salvatore said his wife would be along soon. With the pecorino curds extracted from the whey, the process of making ricotta was to begin. Someone figured out long ago that after the curds were pulled from the whey, and the whey was then re-heated, ricotta (literally re-cooked) would result. Salvatore disappeared outside for a minute, and returned with a fig branch. With a sharp knife he peeled back the bark, broke the branch into small pieces which he threw into a bucket of water to steep for a few minutes. He explained that the fig added a subtle color and flavor to the ricotta. The strained fig water and a pail of goat's milk was dumped into the big kettle, and it was swung over to the fire for the second heating, which took several minutes.
Using his decades of experience, at precisely the right moment Salvatore swung the kettle away from the fire and back to his draining table. He quickly filled the table with small plastic baskets. Using his handmade ladles as a maestro would use a baton, he filled the baskets with the amazing fresh ricotta, which had formed a layer of goodness on top of the remaining whey in the kettle. Salvatore's wife had now arrived, bringing with her some fresh bread. Fresh ricotta was ladled onto a plate for us, and with the bread, and early morning sun now beaming through the window of his formaggeria, we ate one of the most amazing breakfasts we've ever had.
Our visit was coming to an end, and of course we couldn't leave empty handed. So we purchased a basket of fresh ricotta, and a 2 lb. wedge of semi-aged pecorino, cut off a wheel in front of us. Total cost... 10 euros, the experience... priceless. We had a final question for Salvatore, regarding how he controlled the sheep on the road when cars were approaching. With Karen's deft translating, he explained that when he beeped his horn and slapped the side of the car, the black and white dog Stella knew to move the herd over so the cars could pass. What can you say after that? ...Other than last night Chris made pasta using the fresh ricotta, spinach, garlic, and lemon, and it was delicious!
Joe and his happy she got up that early wife.....
