Moving west from Puglia, I enter the region of Basilicata and the town of Matera. Matera is home to the Sassi, ancient hillside structures and a UNESCO world heritage site. I’ll spend only one night here as I'm on the move toward the west and the Amalfi Coast. Too bad really, I liked the town.
I had adopted my theory of big lunches and gelato dinners at this point in the trip. I just couldn’t continue doing two massive meals a day and gaining weight like a prized Hereford waiting for slaughter. Halfway between my hotel and the town square, I walked by Il Cantuccio several times as I roamed the city. I noticed the previous day, lunch and dinner were packed.
Talk about a tough reservation to get. The restaurant is a single room with 10 tables, all 4 tops. I walked in the moment they opened for lunch and was seated immediately. However, if I’d walked in 10 minutes later, too bad, they’re all full. During my lunch, they turned away several diners. I felt only slightly guilty that I was taking up only one seat at the table, but by this time in the trip, I was eating and drinking for two anyway.
The wine I ordered was a regional specialty, Terre di Orazio, Aglianico del Vulture, 2006, Cantina di Venosa at 13% alcohol, I would drink this over Rhone wine any day. As the wine was served, so was some of the best smelling and tasting bread I had on the entire trip. Don’t ask me why I remember this detail but it was delicious. I had been eating bread since my first day in Southern Italy (Florentine bread in Tuscany was inferior) but none I tried tasted this good.
After several minutes with the menu to plan my luncheon feast, I started with a Polenta Lucana con Salsiccia di Chiaromonte. I don’t recall seeing polenta outside of my Polentaria experience in Lake Como early on in the trip, so I figured I’d see what the deep south had to offer. Firm polenta with a high quality sausage and adorned with a spicy tomato sauce. It looked pretty on the plate and was under $10 US. Just what I would have expected. Not that $22 polenta and sausage outrage from Palio in San Francisco.
In the interests of full disclosure, my next dish will break an Italian rule, ordering pasta just after polenta. A wide noodle, short cut pasta made with chickpea flour. Pancetta was used in the preparation of the sauce. I didn’t detect any garlic or shallot pieces in the sauce itself, yet there is a hint, a whisper in the background. The primary herb is bay leaf, fresh. The texture of the sauce is not quite as thick as béchamel and not quite pure cream either. In this case, they pureed some of the ceci beans and added them to the sauce to thicken it. Cool little trick.
My final course was lamb tagine with potato. Really infused flavor of herbs in the lamb and potato. Chunks of lamb mostly on the bone, not pieces. With a slight amount of pressure, the meat would release from the bone. There were a few choice cuts, but in the spirit of the dish, not many. I recall spices and flavors more typical of North Africa than Italy, but it’s not a surprise this far south. I love lamb!
Fueled up on my triple carbohydrate polenta, pasta, and potato lunch, it was time to hit the road for Paestum on the West Coast. I enjoyed my brief stay in Matera and wish I could return to this town someday. I snapped over 100 photos in just over 24 hours. One of my favorites is below, Dawn in Matera.
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