>> You never know where you're going to find me.

Today I'm in Polesine, Italy, at Antica Corte Pallavicina.

I'm going to introduce you to chef and artisan Massimo Spigaroli and his family's estate, which is a farm-to-table restaurant, a museum, and also a hotel.

People come here from all over the world to witness a tradition that's been handed down for generations.

I was overwhelmed by his passion.

And then, back in my home kitchen, in honor of everything Italian, I thought it would be fun to create a modern Italian dinner board featuring porchetta meatballs with balsamic tomato dipping sauce and a black rice and arugula salad perfect for entertaining.

This is an experience I can't wait to share with you, so join me.

I love to travel the globe in search of new food and wine discoveries.

For me, it's about more than returning home with a handful of new recipes.

It's about taking the spirit of Austria... of Italy... of Greece... and of the Danube River... and injecting some of their magic into our everyday lives.

Food has a unique ability to transport us.

plates and places on our culinary journey together.

>> "Joanne Weir's Plates & Places" is brought to you by... >> With AmaWaterways, guests can climb... pedal... and journey beyond the beaten path while cruising on storied rivers across Europe.

You can find out more at amawaterways.com.

>> Our winemaking is the result of teamwork and patience.

Working together, we dedicate our best efforts with every vine, grape, and bottle.

Washington Vintners.

>> Since 1899, my family has shared our passion for everything that goes into our Mutti 100% Italian tomatoes.

Only tomatoes, only Mutti.

>> For baking, cooking, and snacks, California Figs from Valley Fig Growers.

♪ >> Welcome to Antica Corte Pallavicina Restaurant and Relais, a living treasure just outside Parma, Italy.

Located along the Po River, and steeped in history, this ancient estate is a must-see, must-do, and must-eat destination.

Chef Massimo's great-grandfather worked this plot of land with his family as tenant sharecroppers for maestro Giuseppe Verdi.

Massimo and his brother Luciano, who grew up hearing stories about the estate, were able to buy and restore the neglected villa and land in the 1990s.

It has become a renowned culinary destination and beacon of sustainability.

>> [ Speaking Italian ] >> I love your passion.

>> [ Chuckles ] >> You have incredible passion.

When you talk, you're [Gasps].

It's wonderful.

While Massimo attends to restaurant business, come with me as we enter his cathedral of culatelli.

It almost feels like a religious experience as I wander amidst thousands of culatelli hanging in fragrant clusters.

His passion for this time-honored culinary art attracts worldwide attention.

This is a slow curing process requiring cellaring for 14 to 48 months.

And many of these culatelli are spoken for by royalty and chefs from Italy and around the world, even dearly missed, beloved culinary icons.

♪ >> [ Speaking Italian ] >> Wow.

When I'm here, first of all, the smell is -- it's incredible.

But I feel like I have to whisper because I feel like I'm in church, like it's something that's very sacred.

[ Voice breaking ] Um, this kind of makes me a little emotional, because you have such passion for what you do.

It's wonderful.

>> [ Chuckles ] >> I don't -- Thank you.

>> Grazie.

>> Thank you.

I will never forget my visit here.

>> [ Chuckles ] >> Never.

Thank you so much.

I can't tell you.

One of the things that I loved about Massimo is I thought he was one of the most generous men that I've ever met in my life.

He didn't know me.

But I also thought he was so gracious.

He just invited us all into his what he thought -- what he made it feel like was home.

And he made us lunch, he made us dinner.

It was just a really special, special day.

♪ I'm going to make a black rice salad.

They call it Venere Nero.

And it's really wonderful black rice that comes from the northern part of Italy.

I'm going to put a little salt in first -- probably a teaspoon -- and then add the rice.

Give that a stir.

And then, once it comes to a boil, turn it down and let that simmer very slowly, covered, for about 25 to 30 minutes.

In the meantime, what I want to do is I want to make a little bit of pesto.

Instead of using basil, though, I'm going to use arugula.

I'm putting some into this little food processor... ...along with some Pecorino cheese.

So, it's a sheep milk cheese that comes from Italy.

And then also some garlic.

And a little bit of salt.

I like to process this first, and then I'll add some oil to it.

Scrape down the sides, and now I'm adding a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.

And I've sliced some of the cherry tomatoes in half.

So, let me just finish up.

Some beautiful colored cherry tomatoes.

So, we've got some yellow, orange, this beautiful dark red, even some green ones.

Check this out.

It's just beautiful.

I know it looks like a grape, but it isn't.

It's a grape tomato, but they're green.

I love all these colors.

If you just have red or you just have yellow, that's fine, too.

And the last thing is some pine nuts.

I always toast them on the top of the stove, because it's so easy to forget them in the oven.

And I'm sure you've done it.

I've done it.

So, what I do is just a dry pan, toast them just till they take on some color.

So, the rice is cooked and chilled.

And I put it in the bowl, so it's ready to go, and we can assemble the salad.

I'm adding the tomatoes.

I think that's probably a good amount.

Also, I'll add the pesto -- the arugula pesto.

And the pine nuts will give a nice crunch.

Oh!

Can't forget.

The rest of the arugula.

Remember, I only used half.

So, I'm going to throw that in.

Toss that with it.

Wait.

I better taste.

Mmm.

It's nice.

Needs a little pinch of salt, though.

Beautiful, and I just love the colors.

♪ After touring this landmark property, we're off to the kitchen.

Not only does this Michelin-star restaurant feature melt-in-your-mouth culatello, the bountiful garden supplies 95% of the vegetables that accompany his dishes.

They are literally picked hours before they arrive on your plate.

As Chef Massimo explained, the menu changes with the season.

Winter is bitter flavors; spring is bright, fresh, and green; and, lucky enough to be here in the summer, we have everything.

♪ ♪ So, what are we cooking?

>> [ Speaking Italian ] >> Pork is my favorite meat in the world, so I'm so excited.

>> Ah, an old -- Yeah.

Antique variety?

>> Yeah.

>> Wow.

So, rosemary, pink peppercorns from the garden.

Everything from the garden.

>> Tutto.

>> Tutto.

[ Fat sizzles ] Mmm.

You can really smell the rosemary.

>> [ Speaking Italian ] >> Okay.

>> [ Speaking Italian ] >> Okay.

Tomato... >> Peperone... >> Peperone -- so, peppers.

>> ...zucchine.

>> Zucchini.

>> ...Parmesan cheese.

>> And Parmesan cheese.

Inside those beautiful zucchini flowers.

>> [ Speaking Italian ] >> Oil from the pork.

He's taking the oil that's come away from the pork, and he's basting that zucchini flower and the zucchini.

And now he puts it under the salamander.

I hope that's my lunch.

Looks good.

That is beautiful!

Can you see all the dark on that?

What's happened with that salt and sugar, it's caramelized on the outside.

It's pretty extraordinary.

I think what you see here is really the respect for the ingredients and also the simplicity of the techniques that he's using.

It's so true of Italian cuisine.

How beautiful is that.

>> [ Laughs ] [ Gasps ] For me!

Ah.

Mmm.

That is -- Mmm!

Mmm!

Mmm.

Si.

That's fantastic.

That's a beautiful piece of meat.

>> [ Chuckles ] >> Beautiful.

Oh, wow.

Aha.

He's going to cook a few pieces of the pork until they're crispy on the outside.

>> Benne?

>> Si.

Beautiful.

Wow.

That is beautiful.

That's incredible.

What a special dish.

And now we get that -- those delicious little nuggets of that pork fat that are going to be so delicious.

Mmm.

Wow.

And a little bit of sauce.

Chef Massimo and his family have worked for decades to restore a historical ode to sustainability.

I really love being here with Massimo.

A little secret -- there's so much here to experience that I didn't want to leave.

Bràvo.

>> [ Speaking Italian ] >> Bràvo.

♪ I know, porchetta is not usually a meatball.

Usually, it's a roast of pork that's a roll and has wonderful spices and -- and garlic inside.

So, it's got fennel pollen and rosemary and garlic, and it's -- black pepper.

And it's really delicious.

You roll it up.

Well, I decided, "Why not make meatballs, use the same ingredients with some ground pork?"

So that's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to start, first of all, by taking fresh bread crumbs.

And I'm adding to that a little bit of milk and also eggs.

So, I'm just adding some liquid.

Just whisk those together.

And then you're going to add this mixture to your bread.

I'll add just about probably two-thirds, and I can always add more.

But as soon as these bread crumbs are moistened, and all of them are moistened, then I can continue on.

You know, when you're making something like this, use a nice coarse-textured bread.

That will give you really delicious meatballs.

It's just really much nicer.

I have some ground pork.

And I'm adding those moistened bread crumbs to this.

I love porchetta, and whenever I'm in Italy, it's something that I always, always go for.

I'm also adding some garlic... and some rosemary.

Just some minced rosemary -- probably about 1/2, 3/4 teaspoon.

And then I'll also add some parsley.

And finally, I have some fennel pollen.

That is one of the distinctive spices that you taste in porchetta.

I want to also add fennel seed.

I just grind that coarsely.

Between that and the fennel pollen, it's going to be great.

I'm also adding some salt -- about 2 teaspoons of salt -- kosher salt.

There's lots of black pepper in porchetta.

I put the pepper grinder on the work surface and just grind right on the work surface.

Ooh, that's good.

There's lots.

It's a teaspoon, at least.

And we'll add these onions now.

I've sautéed some onions for the porchetta meatballs.

The onions probably took about 5 to 7 minutes.

And I'm adding a little bit of Pecorino cheese.

So, that's finely grated.

And then you can mix it all together, and you're going to use your hands.

It's the fun part.

Smells so good.

I take a little bit and make a small patty like this, and fry that, just so I can check and see how the flavor is.

[ Fat sizzling ] This is a great little trick because you don't want to make all these meatballs and then go to taste one when they're done, and say, "Oh, they don't have enough salt."

So you definitely want to test them and make sure that the mixture has enough seasoning.

Just going to break off a little corner and taste.

Mmm.

Those are good.

Can really taste the cheese, too.

It's really nice.

And that fennel pollen really comes through.

Mmm!

Those will be good.

Now we're going to form them.

You can use an ice cream scoop.

This works really well.

It's quick.

I'm going to make kind of a large walnut size.

I'm going to set them right here until I'm ready to cook them.

♪ ♪ I will be doing this in a few batches.

[ Oil sizzling ] I'll add the meatballs into the pan, just in a single layer.

[ Oil sizzling ] You can turn them when they start to turn golden like this, and cook them on the second side for about 3 minutes.

So, I would say, the first side, 3 minutes; second side, 3 minutes; and then just keep turning them for about another 10 to 15 minutes until they feel firm to the touch.

These meatballs look so good, and they smell even better.

What I have in the center is this roasted tomato sauce with aged balsamic.

Absolutely wonderful.

And I think dipping these meatballs right in that tomato sauce is going to be so good.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ What I love about this is, of course, I've made two of the dishes.

We've got the meatballs with that wonderful sauce of roasted tomatoes and balsamic.

And then we've also got the black rice salad that's got the pesto -- the arugula pesto.

But the other things that I've put on the board are things that you don't really have to work on.

You just have to go out and purchase.

So, I've just got some olives -- a mix of olives.

I also have -- right here, I have some salami, which I thought would be nice; some tomatoes just sprinkled with some flake salt and drizzled with a little bit of olive oil.

Here, I've just chunked some Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Parmesan cheese.

And then we have some peperoncini, and we also have some breadsticks.

And that's it.

Bottle of wine, and you've got it.

♪ Wow.

This looks incredible.

I mean, it's so fun because we were here for the whole day, and now we get to enjoy this incredible meal.

Buon appetito.

>> Buon appetito.

>> [ Chuckles ] To Massimo.

Cheers.

>> Massimo.

>> Massimo.

>> Massimo.

♪ >> Alright, let's try this.

♪ Mmm.

>> Mmm.

>> It's delicious.

So good.

Mmm.

That pork is so amazing.

Mmm.

How do you like it?

>> So fantastic.

I was waiting to try this zucchini flower all day.

>> Mmm!

I know.

>> Picked it from his garden.

I know, the garden.

And he has such passion.

Mmm.

>> And you can taste it in every bite.

>> Mm-hmm.

You can.

Wow.

The zucchini is so fresh and delicious.

I'm dying to try that tomato.

♪ Mmm.

What do you think?

>> Tastes fantastic.

♪ >> Massimo's generosity was such a gift to me, and it's people like Massimo who make the food world a much better place.

♪ >> You can visit my website to find and print selected recipes, get information about each episode, learn more about the show, see behind-the-scenes photos, provide e-mail feedback, and more.

It's all at joanneweir.com/plates-places.

>> "Joanne Weir's Plates & Places" is brought to you by... >> With AmaWaterways, guests can climb... pedal... and journey beyond the beaten path while cruising on storied rivers across Europe.

You can find out more at amawaterways.com.

>> Our winemaking is the result of teamwork and patience.

Working together, we dedicate our best efforts with every vine, grape, and bottle.

Washington Vintners.

>> Since 1899, my family has shared our passion for everything that goes into our Mutti 100% Italian tomatoes.

Only tomatoes, only Mutti.

>> For baking, cooking, and snacks, California Figs from Valley Fig Growers.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪