La cucina sonninese (parte 3)

above, my cousins welcomed me to Sonnino, with homemade Fettuccine all' ouvo in a light tomato sauce cooked with erba pepe (the little herb found all over Sonnino, you can see it on the fork).  Ciacaprete is another type of pasta popular in the small town.

Above is a jug of vino Sonninese sitting at the table, and you will notice how bizarre this wine looks by the colour.  There is no elegance here just a rugged ass house wine... But delicious! I'm not exactly sure of the wine making techniques used, but they are definitely minimal.  The beautiful orange colour shows some skin contact during the maceration. There is very little alcohol present in the wine and it tastes of tea and old grape juice.  When I tasted the Coenobium ''Rusticum'' (also coming from Lazio) I realized how similar the two wines were... It is amazingly light slightly tannic and refreshing in the summer heat, very unique nonetheless.

There is a site online of La Cucina Sonninese, which also has for sale the book ''La Cucina delle Nonne Sonninesi''.  The goods you find at a table in Sonnino are always very simple, fresh, delicious and local, whether theres a sauce cooked with goat meat, a pizza bianca con fichi freschi for breakfast, or minestra con ciammaruche (lumache italian, snails english).

above, Cousins (Nonno Antonio & Nonna Rosa Contenta) practicing a typical style of cooking spaghetti in the summer... in a big ass pot of boiling water over an open fire!

above, making traditional pizza sonninese, in a cast iron pan..

If you descend, and go to the very bottom of Sonnino, you will find a magnificent cheese shop, with some impressive cacciocavallo & mozzarella di bufala...

 above, nearby grape vines, la vite sonninese...

  
above, harvesting the freshest of fichi...

  
above, fresh figs, drying in the sun......