Vegan Night Aviano Inn April 2016

I think that Aviano Inn Vegan night is one of my very favorite things about Italy. Well, there is travel and wine and friends and and and ... but this is maybe one of my favorite things about Aviano. Once a month, for 25 euros, they have prix fixe menu of fresh, mostly organic, mostly locally sourced, vegan menu. Service starts precisely at 8 PM and is served family style. Last month, I convinced Mama and Papa Gooch and BIFL to try it with me. This month we convinced the Navigator to join us along with Boss Lady and her littles and Sarge and his wife. The Midwife is in town from Alaska for a conference. Sure, the time difference is tough and she's tired, but she has to eat, right? So, I dragged her along. We arrived early and had an apperitivo that was a great start to the evening. We were seated just before 8 PM and took this blurry pic to commemorate our evening.

Before service started, we were brought some popcorn to snack on. We were told not to fill up. But, it was not like normal popcorn. It was kind of savory, but didn't seem to have anything on it. Some of us might have filled up more than others.

 The menu theme this month is Il Profumo dei Prati--Aroma of meadows. Perfect for spring. We started out with an aperitivo sopresa. The surprise was amazing sweet fresh strawberries. You can tell these were just picked. No transport across the country. Just like when I picked my grandfather's strawberries in his yard as a kid.












Course 1: Crostoni con cerma di asparagi e zenzero--Cream of aparagus crostini with ginger. I swear this greeen aparagus cream tastes like super creamy and rich butter. But, when the ginger was added, the flavors just exploded in my mouth. Bites with and without ginger were like two entirely different foods.

Course 2: Bouquet ai colori dell'orto crepes--Crepes with bouquet of colors of the orchard. Everything on all the plates tonight was edible. The herb tying the crepes, the flowers on later plated. These crepes were filled with multiple vegetables...sweet carrots, zucchini. Not just pretty, but super tasty. I wish I knew how to make vegan crepes.



Course 3: Patate al pesto di erbe--Potatoes with herb pesto. I already knew what to expect on how full I would be, so I started slowing down here. The potatoes were amazing. The herbs were so flavorful and I could pick out fresh dill. This was the start of my take-away plate for tomorrow's lunch.




Course 4: Tramezzini con frittata e fantasia verde--Frittata sandwiches with green fantasia. So, this was not actually the best item on the menu. The fritatta was good. The green fantasia dressing/mayo/or whatever it was is amazing. I think it's the same asparagus cream as the crostini that was amazing and rich like butter. The bread was a bit dry. I took a bite. I took off the top piece of bread and partially deconstructed my sandwich and placed it in my container for lunch. The flowers were edible, but I've never gotten into the edible flower thing.

Course 5: Insalata Primavera con legumi--Spring salad with beans. This was a surprisingly simple but really amazing salad. All kinds of greens including rocket and watercress. Lots of beans including garbanzo, black, kidney, and mung. Few carrots and green onions. It was tossed in simple olive oil with salt and pepper. The flavors of the vegetables were allowed to speak for themselves. There was enough here for me to keep loading my plate. No one else was taking home leftovers. Maybe that's not an Italian thing. But, my belly is getting quite full and I want to really enjoy every bite of this amazing goodness.

Course 6: Muffin alle ortiche--Nettles muffin. Who would have thought? This was not a sweet muffin, but a savory muffin. It was also absolutely beautiful. The flowers were edible. The creamy dressing on top seemed to be the same asparagus cream we have had a few times tonight. It amazes me, though, how tastes can change when combined with other flavors. When I tasted it alone, very buttery. With a bite of muffin, there was an herby flavor.

Course 7: Risotto in technicolor--I kind of like the name of this. Technicolored risotto. Risotto dishes in Italy are creamy and contain cream or milk in them which makes me sad because I could really enjoy a mushroom or asparagus risotto, but my guts might not like me afterwards. This was a really pleasant surprise because I got to enjoy a creamy asparagus and spinach risotto. It was everything I hoped it would be. Flavorful, creamy, herby. I wanted to keep eating, but I knew dessert was coming. And, it is gonna be awesome for lunch.

Course 8: Tiramisu alle fragole--Strawberry tiramisu. I think of tiramisu as coffee soaked lady fingers layered with mascarpone. This was a little different, so I wonder if tiramisu in Italy is layered dessert with some form of cream. There was a little layer of something cake-like in here. The cream was the amazing cream we had on the tart last month. And the strawberries were sweet and fresh and perfect. So glad I saved room.

What an amazing meal with amazing friends. I am making it a point to get to every vegan night while I'm in town. I would give my right arm for something like this back home.

My leftover tray. That's a lot of food. And it was amazing the next day as the first