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Umbria cuisine

Landlocked and green, Umbria cooks with black truffle from Norcia, Castelluccio lentils, wood-fired flatbread and the pork of its master norcini. Its reds are led by the tannic Sagrantino of Montefalco and the Sangiovese of Torgiano, with Grechetto and Trebbiano Spoletino for whites and the golden Orvieto to the south.

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Antipasto

Torta al TestoUmbrian griddle flatbread

A flat, unleavened (or lightly leavened) bread cooked on a hot 'testo' stone and split to fill with sausage and greens, prosciutto or cheese.

flatbreadsausage or hamgreens
Wines to drink with it

Primo

Strangozzi al Tartufo NeroHand-rolled pasta with black truffle

Rough, eggless strangozzi (stringozzi) dressed in oil, garlic and a snow of grated Norcia black truffle.

strangozzi pastablack truffleolive oil
Wines to drink with it
  • Montefalco DOC A supple Montefalco Rosso (Sangiovese with a little Sagrantino) meets the earthy truffle.
  • Grechetto For a white, Grechetto's body carries the truffle's aroma without covering it.
UmbricelliHand-rolled thick pasta

Thick, hand-rolled eggless pasta (also called ciriole), dressed with a simple tomato or meat sauce or with garlic and breadcrumbs.

umbricelli pastatomato or meat sauce
Wines to drink with it
  • Montefalco DOC The Montefalco Rosso is the region's versatile everyday red for a sauced pasta.
  • Sangiovese Sangiovese's acidity keeps the sauce fresh.
Lenticchie di Castelluccio con SalsicciaCastelluccio lentils with sausage

The tiny, thin-skinned lentils of the Castelluccio plain stewed with soffritto and served with grilled sausage - a Norcia mountain staple.

Castelluccio lentilssausagesoffritto
Wines to drink with it
  • Montefalco DOC A medium Montefalco red suits the earthy lentils and pork sausage.
  • Trebbiano Spoletino The distinctive high-acid Spoletino white cuts the fatty sausage.

Secondo

Porchetta di NorciaHerb-roasted whole pig

A boned pig stuffed with its offal, wild fennel, garlic and pepper and slow-roasted by the norcini, sliced with crisp crackling.

porkwild fennelgarlic
Wines to drink with it
  • Grechetto Grechetto's acidity cuts the fatty roast pork and crackling.
  • Montefalco DOC A young Montefalco Rosso is the classic red for porchetta.
Palombacce alla GhiottaWood pigeon in a rich sauce

Wild wood pigeon roasted and finished in a dark 'ghiotta' sauce of its offal, red wine, olives, capers and juniper.

wood pigeonred wineolivesjuniper
Wines to drink with it
Agnello ScottaditoGrilled lamb cutlets

Small lamb rib cutlets grilled fast and eaten hot with the fingers ('scottadito' - finger-burning), scented with rosemary.

lamb cutletsrosemaryolive oil
Wines to drink with it

Dolce

RocciataApple, nut and raisin roll

A thin pastry rolled around apples, walnuts, raisins, figs and spices and coiled - an Umbrian cousin of strudel from the Foligno-Assisi area.

pastryappleswalnutsraisins
Wines to drink with it