The chef at Fattoria del Colle, Antonio Corsano, prepares for us some “Gnocchi di semolino with white truffle of Crete Senesi” ideal for winter days

Gnocchi di semolino_restaurant_Fattoria del Colle

We suggest a recipe which is simple and quick: gnocchi di semolino. These are disks of Durum wheat or, depending on the occasion they can be shaped differently. They can also be called “gnocchi alla romana“, and in fact it is not a typically Tuscan dish but where we are, in southern Tuscany, it has now become a traditional dish coke during cold winter evenings.

Already in the late 19th century this recipe had been inserted in the famous manual Pellegrino Artusi “La Scienza in cucina e l’Arte di mangiar bene” in the section called “trasmessi” or rather those dishes that were to be served between one course and another. But, quite on the contrary it is a rich and delicious dish…you try it and tell us what you think!

Ingredients for 4 people

1/2 lt of milk
100 gr of durum wheat flour
Salt and pepper
150 gr of grated Parmigiano
White truffle flakes
Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Boil the milk and add the flour, slowly while continuously stirring. Add salt, pepper and Parmigiano. Continue stirring until you get

chef Antonio Corsano_Gnocchi di semolino_Fattoria del Colle

smooth texture. Lay the mixture on a tray and smooth it out with a spatula. Leave it to cool. Cut with a cutter into round shapes and put the disks into a greased Pyrex dish. Put in the oven and cook until they get a golden colouring. As soon as they are out of the oven cover with the truffle flakes and add a little extra virgin olive oil. Serve while still hot.

Advise for gluttons by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

To experience Cinderella’s dream, Fattoria del Colle – country inn in Tuscany – presents its villa

Fattoria del Colle - San Clemente - living room

Cenerentola (Cinderella) is the name of an old stone farmhouse on a hill surrounded by vineyards and looking over the spectacular panoramas of the Crete Senesi and of the Val d’ Orcia. The lodging is on the first floor and is divided into two apartments united by a small lodge: San Clemente and Sanchimento can be used divided or together if require by a large group. In total there are five bedrooms, four bathrooms, two sitting rooms with cooking area and a large fireplace.

I would have never thought that some of the old traditions I have discovered during my working experience at Fattoria del Colle were the same I already knew and grew up with. It has simply been a rediscovery.

I was born in Chiusi, a small village located on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, south of Siena. It is an old town with Etruscan origins surrounded by countryside and small lakes.

I have always wished to leave the countryside, and sometimes I did, to look for different spaces, different ways of living and views. Always very nice!

the kitchen of the farm

At Fattoria del Colle, located between Crete Senesi and Val d’Orcia and not far from Chiusi, I have found a place projected into the future but with strong ties with the past and its traditions. It is a place that makes its key feature the old customs, the old tales, the old winter games and folk evenings, nature and contact with it.
All this is a precious cultural richness which it is worth to transmit to all the guests who come for a visit  or for a holiday  in Tuscany.
And the interest that all this inspires in them is evident..
I remember once, I was carrying out a guided tour of the estate trying to catch the attention of a group who’s wish was to visit a real old farm, beside their interest in wine .
I had the impression that at the beginning they where thinking I was telling something I had only heard about, but when I specified that at home I had the same old jars for the extra virgin olive oil that I was showing them, their interest immediately changed. This increased when I showed them the old kitchen with the original fireplace. It has a corner used in the past as an incubator for the small chicks during winter. I added that my grandmother used to bring the chicks next to the fireplace to protect them from the cold winter. This habit was the same until some years ago in large and small houses. I thus became a witness and not only a teller!

All of this I had already experienced in my childhood in the small village I was born in and the experience at Fattoria del Colle helped me to rediscover and to share with people some of my most vivid memories:

My grandmother who every Sunday morning made hand made pasta and ran behind me screaming because I pressed the pici against the table ruining her job.
The vegetable garden so dear to my father and so rich in fresh vegetables and fruit all year long.
The long walks in the countryside looking for chamomile or mauve and other medicinal plants.
The hand made jams! How delicious and what fun to prepare them at home!

Whatever they are, our roots are so important that each one of us should be aware of their value and utility, without loosing the curiosity to discover the new and the modern, of course!
Alessia Bianchi

From the Trequanda housewives recipes to the “Pinci” lessons a brief history of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s restaurant at Fattoria del Colle

Osteria di Donatella's restaurant_fireplace

When Donatella’s father, Fausto Cinelli, gave her Fattoria del Colle, where today one finds the dining room adorned with floral decor inspired by the fin-de-siècle period long ago was a dark area, used for playing table tennis, the kitchen was empty and where the veranda is today was a grassy area which reached as far as the old vineyards. Creating the Osteria was for Donatella one of the first steps to transform the Fattoria del Colle into a refined place, which would be able to speak of an area in an unforgettable way. The brick archways were once again opened up in the hall and the walls were decorated with art nouveau designs copied form a villa in the Chianti Classico area that once belonged to Donatella’s grandparents.

The restaurant was equipped with a kitchen and most of all Donatella took note of the local recipes interviewing the housewives. In the summer evenings, in the villages nearby – Trequanda, Petroio, Castelmuzio, Chiusure – the villagers sit out of doors to chat with their neighbours. That was the time chosen by Donatella present herself with her laptop and asked for recipes. In the end she noted about 40 that were then published in a booklet called Ricettario di Monte Oliveto e Trequanda nelle Crete Senesi.

These recipes formed the first menu of the Osteria at Fattoria del Colle. Through the years other recipes arrived from Sinalunga and from the local hunters…. With some additions from the chef Antonio Corsano and the patisseur Patrizia Cenni so as to create a very typical selection of dishes from the area: zuppa di Trequanda, pappa col pomodoro, ciancifricola, acqua cotta dei logaioli, Pinci al sugo di nana, pappardelle con zafferano e pancetta di cinta senese ……. Many old recipes which are very suggestive.

Fattoria-del-Colle-restaurant veranda

A few years after the launching of the restaurant the veranda was built, here it is possible to eat while being immersed in the green, with the panorama of Trequanda in front of you. The lawn in front has been transformed into a terrace and in the summer it is possible to eat out of doors jus as if it were the courtyard where the farmers ate long ago!

The cookery school, born within the restaurant directed by Helle Poulsen Italo-Danish gastronomist – who has written with her husband Alfredo Tesio14 books regarding tourism and food in Italy, now has a base in one of the farmhouses at Fattoria del Colle. In the meantime the parks have increased in number: the “ boschetto dei Giochi antichi” where often the Osteria puts up buffets , then the “ parco del vecchio frantoio” where upon request, one can organize true folk

Fattoria-del-Colle-Osteria signboard

parties…..there are many other things to tell you about, but it is only fair for everybody to come here and discover for themselves the beauty of our tradition.

We are waiting for you!

Advise for gluttons by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Regenerate with massages, heat, relax and Jacuzzi in front of a magnificent panorama, this is what is on offer for guests coming to Fattoria del Colle on holiday

Jacuzzi con vista sulla Val d'Orcia

In the wellness centre at Fattoria del Colle the massage room is ready. It is an intimate and comfortable place where the same character of the whole structure is re-proposed with its old stone walls, tile frames with floral designs, windows over a beautiful breathtaking panorama … there is even an old cloche hanger to get away from the “new feeling “ of the place. . It is connected to the wellness centre through an opaque glass door and allows one to view the wellness itinerary made of water, heat, relaxation, panoramas and if desired a toast with great red wines in the Jacuzzi.

The wellness centre at Fattoria del Colle is in the court yard behind the 16th century. It looks over the wonderful panorama of the Crete Senesiand of

Particolare Sala relax centro benessere

the Val d’Orcia where no building interferes with the immense landscape, which is harmonious and unchanged through the centuries.
A maximum of six people can enter at a time, but it is also possible to use the structure exclusively. The itinerary includes sauna, Turkish bath, sensorial shower and footbath, relaxation room and Jacuzzi. This is in fact the most exceptional factor thank to the beauty of the panorama and the possibility of being cradled by the water and lights, sipping Brunello and other wines by Donatella Cinelli Colombini in goblets made of plastic especially for being used in water.
All around the stone walls and the hand made tile which recall the “Odalisques” and the “Bagnanti”  by Jean August Ingres contribute to create that well being and romantic and voluptuous atmosphere necessary to transform a farm holiday in Tuscany into a moment of physical and psychological regeneration.

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini