I visited the trattoria back in 2006, having read about it in ‘eGForums’ and Bill Buford’s book “Heat”.
Zibello and a small area round it is known for its cured pork cut, the culatello, which is considered to be the king of salumi.
It is made from the best cut of the pig’s leg, and is boneless.
It was early afternoon, the lunch service was over, and the owner – chef Miriam Leonardi (1940 – 2018) was enjoying a few moments of relaxation in the garden. I approached her and asked if I could have something to eat. Miriam was very friendly and offered not only to serve me a meal but also to give me a quick tour of the cellar where the ‘culatelli’ were cured.
Miriam’s grandmother immigrated to Italy from Brasil at the beginning of the 20th century and opened the trattoria. Her mother took over from the grandmother, and taught Miriam how to cook and cure the culatello.
“This Trattoria has been a woman’s’ business from the very start” she told me smiling.
Miriam was very proud of her culatello slicing machine.
After the quick tour in the cellar where the ‘culatelli’ are cured, she gave me a menu to browse, but she suggested that she would offer me a selection of small portions that represent what the trattoria offers. I gladly accepted her offer.
I started with thinly sliced culatello, served with bread and butter. The meat has a creamy texture, almost melts in your mouth, and has a long aftertaste.
I continued with home made tagliatelle with morsels of culatello and pumpkin tortelli (zucca).
My lunch ended with eel from river Po cooked in a tomato sauce with peas.
Miriam passed away in 2018. Her daughter Laura Lanfredi has been in charge of the trattoria since.
As Miriam said, “This Trattoria has been a woman’s’ business from the very start”.
Gastrolvios 