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Fancy a night in Tuscany? Of course you do. But for those of us feeling the pinch, a trip to Italy is the stuff of dreams.
Or at least it would be, if it wasn't for Salumeria in Headingley.
Owned by the Dammone family, who run Salvo's, this pretty but unassuming little café-deli is just a few doors down from their restaurant.
Set up as a platform for the fabulous Italian produce they know and love, Salumeria quickly developed in a fully-fledged showcase for the best flavours the Dammone brothers could find. The treasure in this particular trove ranges from buffalo mozzarella from Salerno, their mother's homeland, to cave-aged prosciutto from the Val D'Aosta – to the fruits of the many relationships they've developed with Yorkshire suppliers in over 30 years of business.
But if picking up a few Italian deli products isn't quite the escape you were looking for, don't despair. Come the evening, Salumeria transforms from humble café, to the cosiest, most authentic-feeling Italian eatery you'll find this far north of Napoli, with great set menus on offer from Wednesday to Friday.
The highlight of the week is Saturday, however. Every few months, they choose a different region of Italy and put together a 10-course set-menu for £32.50 a head, using the best produce they can source from that area. Seemingly Gip and his brother John do this by travelling around their chosen spot, tasting everything in sight – which sounds a fair bit more enjoyable than you average working holiday.
So while we don't get to enjoy the Dammone tour of Tuscany first-hand, there are moments during our visit to Salumeria when we really do feel transported.
Given this region's humble culinary roots in 'la cucina povera', a couple of beers and a plate of salami seem an appropriately rustic start. The accompanying plate of 'mustard fruits' – beautifully subtle apples and figs poached in mustard – is the first clue that a great deal of care and attention has gone into even apparently simple dishes. The salamis themselves are marvellous: one mellow and nutty, the other rich and infused with fennel.
This is quickly followed by another sensational dish: 'crostini di fegatini, salvia fritto', little toasts topped with a deeply savoury unset paté of chicken livers, with capers, anchovy, and a delicate little sage fritter on top.
By this time we've moved to wine, a well-balanced sangiovese from the entirely Tuscan wine list, (Badiolo, £24) and they complement each other almost absurdly well. Two further courses continue to amaze, but have a welcome lightness. An aromatic dressing of grassy olive oil elevates a simple bread salad to greatness, and carpaccio of salmon, lightly marinated in lemon and herbs topped with Avruga caviar, is delicate and refreshing. Though each little course seems modest, we're feeling full and it's barely halfway. A rich course of Florentine style cod with pureed broccoli mopped up with schiachiata bread does little to slow the pace, but has to been finished. A wonderfully warming bowl of vegetable soup is next – made even heartier with spelt and beans.
Things turn autumnal next with pappardelle pasta topped with a rich ragu of venison and porcini mushroom, abounding with deep earthy flavours. At this point we start to panic slightly, and wonder what happens when you run out of stomach midway through a 10-course menu, but the roast loin of locally-reared piglet proves impossible to resist. Which is good, because it's perfectly cooked, with a gently flavoured orange sauce and some crisp rosemary potatoes.
Fit to burst, but gluttons for punishment, we're pleased to shift into the wind-down section of the menu, which begins with pecorino cheese dressed in truffled honey.
The cheese is just what we need, beautifully fresh and light, but the dish is still a big-hitter thanks to the amazing depth of flavour the truffles lend the honey – it doesn't just fill the mouth, it permeates every bit of our heads. The final course is 'torta del duca', the predecessor to the tiramisu. Created in Siena to impress a distinguished noble, the recipe travelled from there to Florence then Treviso, where in Gip's words, "the Venetians promptly claimed it as theirs". It's a good story. It's still pretty much identical to a tiramisu, though, but it's delicious, so we don't mind.
Our heads reeling from this grand tour of amazing flavours, we round things off with a glass of Castlegrave Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, a particularly fine example of Italy's renowned dessert wine. Matured in oak for three years, it's every bit as honeyed and intense as its golden hue suggests. For that true holiday feeling, we dip some cantucci biscuits in.
It might not quite match up to a holiday in Italy. We may not have made it out of LS6. But after this culinary escapade everything feels distinctly continental – even the students staggering along in fancy dress for the Otley Run look more elegant. Or maybe that's the Vin Santo talking.
Salumeria, 107 Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds, 0113 275 8877.
The Tuscany menu is available every Saturday 'til Saturday, September 5, 2009.
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