The gently sloped landscape of the Corbières, the wine region east from Carcassonne to the coast, is marked by vineyards as far as the eye can see. But it’s also the home of a buffalo herd. Buffaloes? Yes, buffaloes! And they are there for a reason, namely to produce mozzarella. When the Italian Antonini family started their restaurant La Bourdasso in Pradelles-en-Val, they only wanted to work with the best products. And therefore, they decided to start a farm- Antonini & Co- to make their own mozzarella. And now the best mozzarella in France comes from the Aude department!
La Bourdasso
After falling in love with the South of France, Cinzia, Fabio Antonini, and their four children decided to exchange Rome for Pradelles-en-Val. Here, at the entrance of the Val de Dagne, only 20 minutes from Carcassonne, they started their restaurant, La Bourdasso. For over ten years, the family’s passion for gastronomy has been highly appreciated by locals and passers-by. It took another two years to jump into another adventure because of their desire to have high-quality products on hand. One of the sons, Eduardo, decided to start his own farm: Antonini & Co. It now houses a kind of ranch as he bought it from Americans who had created western-style stables. He transforms the quality milk that comes directly from his buffalo herd to create Bourdasso mozzarella. Fresh from the land onto your plate!
Frolicking and wallowing
The farm Antonini & Co can be visited, and they organise open house days. There was one in September, and I was very eager to visit this place. The drive up to the farm with its stunning surroundings was already a gift and then we reached a sign directing us to the farm at the bottom of a hill. The first animals the family and I encountered were some cute little piglets frolicking in our way with dancing floppy ears. Walking past some bigger pigs wallowing in the mud, we also met a bunch of curious Angora goats, kept for their wool and chickens. A bit further is the actual farm, with a little shop where you can buy farm products such as meat, ice cream, and even the family’s wine. And mozzarella, of course, fresh or scamorza- a firmer and salter version of the Bourdasso mozzarella.
Filatura
During an open house day, you can see Eduardo in action making mozzarella. Although it looked simple, the process is quite complicated. First of all, you have to have good-quality buffalo milk. As the fermentation of mozzarella goes rather quickly, Eduardo likes to work with a natural ferment. He made his curd- ‘cagliata’ in Italian- by extracting the whey from the milk, keeping in mind the right PH levels. Then, this curd is crumbled into a big container. And once Eduardo has added boiling water, the ‘filatura’ could begin. The water transformed the crumbled curd into a stringy paste, and Eduardo used a big spoon to mix it together well. He then formed the paste into the recognisable ball-shaped mozzarella. Of course, I had to buy some fresh mozzarella to try at home. And I can now confirm that the best French mozzarella comes from Antonini & Co!
