Piombino in May - Punta Falcone

 The weekly market in Piombino is on a Wednesday morning. This Wednesday is damp, cloudy and promising rain, so a few stalls don't turn up. Nevertheless there's enough to keep us busy. We buy local organic honey - heather and sunflower flavours, both unusual, made in Suvereto in the hills behind Piombino, pecorino cheese, plenty of artichokes and my favourite dress, bought in the UK five or six years ago and which turns up, exactly the same, on a 3€ stall. Surprisingly, no fish, so we go to the Coop for some.

The weather is not improving but it's not actually raining either so after lunch we go for a walk near Sivoli. Punta Falcone is a two minute walk from the Sivoli car park but we are immediately immersed in Mediterranean flowers and vegetation and spectacular views of the coast, sea and islands, even on such a gloomy day. It's an easy stroll, made longer by the fact it's impossible not to stop and admire the panorama. There's also an Osservatorio Astronomico, open Friday evenings during the summer.

We drive back via Salivoli and as we are turning right along the seafront I notice a Macelleria sign. We park a little way along to walk that part of the seafront but in the meantime Andrea has seen that Google gives the Macelleria five stars out of five. We are in search of local lamb so we decide to walk back in that direction for a look.

We spend over an hour there. Domenico Bellini should call his butcher's a "Macelleria storica" because he inherited his passion for quality meat from his parents and grandparents. There's no lamb but we follow his advice and buy some pork meat called Cinta Senese. The pigs are reared free outside in the woods in Tuscany on a diet mainly of acorns. Domenico prepares a kilo of "capocollo" with his own special, and secret, mixture of spices. I'm sceptical at first, although listening to him talking about meat, food and health is convincing. In any case, it's nice, nowadays, to find someone prepared to chat ...

Back at the apartment I follow his instructions to the letter. In the oven, static not ventilated, at 180°C for 50 minutes, then slice thickish and finish up in a nonstick pan. 

It's spectacular. Pure alchemy, like all my favourite dishes. No longer pork, no longer capocollo of Cinta Senese with a mix of mysterious spices but indefinable sensory pleasure. Bravo Domenico! I must try his other recipes (which fortunately involve vegetables, not his excellent meat, which I shan't be able to find back home.)

Small surprises which make even a rainy week in Piombino special.