Easter Tribute to Saverio

Sarah and her nonno Saverio in the valle di carbonara where he kept his sheep

My father in law, Saverio Arena, lived til he was 92. He was like a father to me the years that we lived in the apartment above the one he shared with his wife Maria Luiga who he lovingly called Gigi. I know, you’re thinking, you lived above your in laws?!%?! But it was a great arrangement since they did their thing while we did ours. Most every day Saverio knocked gently on our door offering something to eat. One day it would be fresh ricotta he’d been given by a farmer in exchange for the use of his land. The next day a plate of figs or prickly pears freshly picked and still warm from the sun. First he was a shepherd and later a butcher, and he knew how to cook. He made agnello, lamb, with potatoes in the oven every Easter. So this year, because we are traveling and won’t be home for Easter dinner I made it the night before we left and will post it for you to read before Easter Sunday. It didn’t quite taste like Saverio’s meal because the lamb he used was fed on the sweet herbs and grasses that grow in Gargano as they wandered the mountain sides near Monte S. Angelo, but we enjoyed it all the same because it reminded us of him.

Agnello e patate al forno. Buona Pasqua a tutti quanti.

 

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