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Home Dining

Arrosticini!!!! Lamb skewers!!! Le rustelle!!!

Host Connie

$55.79 per guest

At a glance

Start time

Dinner 7 pm - for tours of the bee hives and olive groves 4 pm

Duration

Dinner 3 hours - tour and dinner 6 hours

Group size

2 to 6

Class language

English

ABOUT THEEXPERIENCE

Summer nights in Abruzzo are warm and magical and you wish they could go on forever.
Easy and tasty menus are de rigueur and the inclusion of our "arrosticini" is a must!

ABOUT THEMENU

Summer nights in Abruzzo are all about leisurely dinners outdoors and making the most of our intense yet brief summers.
Most evenings whether in the countryside or in the villages the aroma of barbeque is so intense that it's mouth-watering. This is the time in which our famous arrosticini take the limelight.
Arrosticini are tender skewers of lamb cooked over an open fire, called arrustelle in the local dialect. Initially, the slender kebabs were made from the meat of castrated sheep, but nowadays they tend to be a mix of lamb and mutton.
The skewer originated as a portable food for shepherds to cook outdoors and the small pieces of meat cooked quickly while remaining succulent. This tradition has resulted in the uniform cutting of the meat to ensure all skewers are the same length (10 cm) and width (1 cm).
Using all the meat from the animal from shoulder to leg and with occasional deposits of fat layered in-between, wooden skewers are driven through and then the arrosticini are cut with a very sharp knife giving them the well-known cubed look. Modern production now uses machines capable of making upwards of 500 at a time, but the uniformity and appearance remains true to the original creation.
These staples of the barbecue season are cooked over a specially designed charcoal burning brazier called a canale, meaning channel, resembling a narrow gutter where the meat is placed in line over the coals. It’s not rare to see locals cooking these with a modern portable hairdryer inserted in one end of the brazier to blow hot air down the channel so all the kebabs cook at the same time, a practice that I’d not recommend you try at home.
Our meal based on these tender and delicious skewers will be accompanied by cheeses, bruschette, crunchy bread and abundant olive oil. Absolutely unforgettable! Buon Appetit!!

ABOUT THELOCATION

Tocco is a small medieval town tucked away in the Maiella and Morrone Mountains. My home is in the historical centre. If we are lucky and the weather is nice, eating in my inner courtyard is a real treat.

Contact Host

THEHOST

Connie

Connie

abruzzo casauria pescara

We live in Tocco da Casauria, a beautiful medieval town, in the National Park of Maiella and

WHAT OTHERPEOPLE SAY

lindy

lindy

from

spending time with connie is a lovely way to immerse yourself in abruzzese culture; she is kind&dynamic&knowledgable, and if you are blessed enough to meet her family as well during your time with her, it is icing on the cake ;)......we emmensley enjoyed an arrosticini evening nestled in their delightfully cozy&natural backyard, it was sooooooo memorable...you have not sunk your teeth into abruzzese food until you have eaten arrosticini, and what better place than with locals in their home...and in the mountains of tocco, wow!...a must do with connie (&family ;)...

SOME TESTIMONIALS

Maria

Maria

from Milano

Connie (ma anche Concetta per gli amici) è arrivata in Abruzzo, aTocco da Casauria, giovanissima e amante della Coca Cola e delle patatine fritte  (e mi fermo qui!). Nel corso del tempo, grazie all'influenza di Nicola ma anche all'ascolto degli antenati, toccolani e marsicani, ha completamente rivoluzionato il suo posizionamento gastronomico. Scoprendo una genuina vocazione per la cucina e per l'ospitalità,  ha studiato, si è messa alla ricerca delle materie prime e le ha trasformate in magnifici piatti, preparati con sapienza e allegria, offerti con gioia e soddisfazione. Antico e moderno, tradizione e innovazione si combinano in maniera sublime nella cucina di Concetta. Così ha superato tutti noi, che ora possiamo solo sperare di essere suoi invitati.

Karla

Karla

from Sopot

A speachless experience Last summer we decided to visit this little medieval town - Tocco da Casauria- in the middle of Abruzzo region and to have just very traditional food. Connie offers genuine, tasty and fresh local food, homemade pasta courses and a unique visit to the olive groves as well as to the apiaries of her husband's and son's farm. Nothing better could we ask for. Food spoke for itself: freshness, very authentic flavors straight from the garden, perfectly cooked by Connie's ability but most of all passion and kindness. Hope to come back soon and enjoy them!

Jenny

Jenny

from Newark-on-Trent

My daughter and I were taken to Connie's in September 2018. It was a very enjoyable evening. She and her family were most hospitable and really made us feel at home. We ate in her cosy, well equiped kitchen and Connie chatted with us while she prepared our food. All the dishes were regional fayre, made with local, seasonal ingredients. We also consumed generous quantities of excellent local wine. Our hostess is an excellent cook with an extensive knowledge of the cuisine of Abruzzo. I lost count of the number of courses but they were generous and we left, that evening, feeling happy and well fed.

Hugh Lloyd

Hugh Lloyd

from Chester

I ate with Connie and her family and what a experience it was. Connie cooks like an angel, her family are welcoming warm and friendly. She is fluent in Italian and English and uses them to make a visit to her house very memorable, both for her cooking and herself. Connie is a larger than life character who explains what she is doing and makes it interesting. She cooks traditional Abruzzese cuisine which is tasty and satisfying. She can teach you how to make pasta from scratch, I had a lesson in making pasta and then using it to make ravioli which was sooo good. Connie is old-school and knows all the old ways of providing food and drink for discerning palates. Connie's family produce honey and lean towards things organic. I loved dining with Connie and I think you will too.

Patricia

Patricia

from Melbourne

Connie is a magnificent cook and brilliant teacher with a genuinely warm and welcoming nature, her belief in simplicity truly does make her lessons replicable. Thoroughly enjoyed my day in a beautiful family friendly environment. Great way to spend a day, would do this again in a heartbeat!

Join us!

$55.79 per guest

Tocco da Casauria

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