Ventricina MolisanaSpicy cured pork salami
A coarse-cut pork salami seasoned heavily with sweet and hot chilli pepper and fennel, cured in a natural casing, the tang of the Alto Molise.
Pairs with
Molise cuisine
Italy's smallest mainland region cooks between mountain and Adriatic: the fiery ventricina salami and aged caciocavallo of Agnone, hand-dragged cavatelli, spicy roast pampanella pork, and the fish brodetto of Termoli. Its signature wine is the rare native red Tintilia, joined by Montepulciano-based Biferno and fresh Trebbiano and Falanghina whites.
Antipasto
Caciocavallo di AgnoneAged stretched-curd cheese
A gourd-shaped stretched-curd cow's-milk cheese from Agnone, aged until firm and piquant, eaten sliced or grilled.
Pairs with
Primo
Cavatelli con la VentricinaCavatelli with spicy salami sauce
Hand-dragged durum cavatelli in a tomato sauce enriched with crumbled ventricina, the region's everyday Sunday pasta.
Pairs with
Fusilli al Ragù di CastratoFusilli with mutton ragù
Hand-rolled fusilli in a long-cooked ragù of castrato (mature mutton) with tomato and herbs, a dish of the transhumance sheep roads.
Pairs with
Secondo
Brodetto alla TermoleseTermoli Adriatic fish soup
A soup of mixed Adriatic fish and shellfish stewed with tomato, garlic, green pepper and vinegar, ladled over toasted bread, the pride of Termoli.
Pairs with
PampanellaSpicy roasted pork
Pork slow-roasted with garlic, vinegar and lots of sweet and hot paprika until glazed and tangy, the festival dish of San Martino in Pensilis.
Pairs with
Agnello Cacio e UovaLamb with cheese and egg
Pieces of lamb braised and finished with a binding of beaten egg and grated pecorino, the Easter dish of the inland villages.
Pairs with
Dolce
Calcioni MolisaniFried chestnut-and-chickpea pastries
Fried pastry parcels filled with a paste of chestnut or chickpea, cocoa, honey and cinnamon, a Molisan Christmas sweet.
Pairs with
Typical products
DOP, IGP and traditional specialities of Molise.
Olio Extravergine di Oliva Molise DOPDOP
Molise olive oil · Extra-virgin olive oil
The region's only exclusively-Molisan protected product, a fruity green oil pressed from Gentile di Larino and Aurina olives.
Signora di Conca CasaleSlow Food Presidium
La Signora salami · Salami
One of Italy's rarest salumi, a large hand-tied pork salami of Conca Casale seasoned with wild fennel, coriander and orange peel.
Stracciata di AgnonePAT
Agnone stracciata · Cheese
A soft stretched-curd cow's-milk cheese of Agnone worked into a flat, folded ribbon, milky and mild.
Tartufo del MolisePAT
Molise truffle · Truffle
The prized black and white truffles of the Alto Molise woods, which yield a large share of Italy's harvest.
Lenticchia di CapracottaPAT
Capracotta lentil · Lentils
Tiny, thin-skinned mountain lentils grown high above Capracotta, quick-cooking and delicate.