Montenero di Bisaccia, Campobasso province, Molise. The sausage tradition of Molise reflects the region's transhumant sheep and pig-farming economy — sausages were the practical form of pork preservation for shepherds moving their flocks between the mountains and the coast.
Molise has its own ventricina (not to be confused with the Abruzzo Ventricina del Vastese) — a fresh or lightly cured pork sausage from the Montenero di Bisaccia area, seasoned aggressively with local peperoncino (Molise grows excellent chillies), fennel seeds, and black pepper. Unlike the aged Vastese version, the Molisano ventricina is often sold fresh and cooked — fried, grilled, or used to enrich pasta sauces. It represents the Molisano tradition of fresh sausage-making as the daily pork preparation rather than the long-aged salumi of the northern regions.
The Molisano fresh ventricina has the direct heat of peperoncino, the warm anise of fennel, and the clean, fatty richness of good pork. Fried until blistered, it is one of the most satisfying simple sausages — not complex, not refined, but perfectly calibrated to its purpose.
The sausage uses coarsely minced pork (shoulder and belly) with crushed dried peperoncino, fennel seeds, black pepper, salt, and a small amount of white wine. The coarse grind is essential — the chunks of meat should be visible, not a paste. Stuffed into natural casings and either used fresh (within 2-3 days) or lightly air-dried for 1-2 weeks. Fresh ventricina is fried in its own fat or in a little olive oil — it should be cooked through and the casing should blister. Used to dress pasta: slice the sausage into rounds, fry until golden, and toss with pasta and the rendered fat.
When using fresh ventricina for pasta: slice into rounds, fry in the pan until the fat renders and the rounds are golden on both sides, add garlic and a little white wine, then toss with the drained pasta and a splash of pasta water. The rendered pork fat becomes the sauce base — no additional oil needed. The dish takes 15 minutes and requires almost no technique beyond timing.
Over-mincing — the pork must be coarse; a fine mince produces a homogeneous sausage without the textural interest of the traditional preparation. Too little peperoncino — the heat of the chilli is one of the defining flavours; a timid amount produces a flat sausage. Using the wrong fennel — fennel seeds, not fresh fennel or dried fronds, are the traditional aromatic.
Slow Food Editore, Molise in Cucina; Corby Kummer, The Pleasures of Slow Food