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Molise, southern Italy Techniques

5 techniques from Molise, southern Italy cuisine

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Molise, southern Italy

Agnello alla Molisana con Uova e Limone in Brodo

Molise, southern Italy

Molise's Easter lamb preparation — a close cousin to Abruzzo's brodettato but simpler and cooked in a richer lamb broth rather than white wine alone. Young lamb shoulder is slowly simmered (not braised) in a broth made from the bones and offcuts for two hours until very tender, then removed and set aside. The strained broth is reduced. A liaison of egg yolks, beaten with lemon juice, flat-leaf parsley, black pepper and grated Pecorino Molisano, is tempered with several ladlefuls of the hot lamb broth before being returned to the pot off heat. The lamb pieces are returned and gently warmed in the thickened, creamy-yellow broth. Served in deep bowls with country bread.

Molise — Meat & Poultry →

Capretto al Cartoccio con Patate e Rosmarino Molisano

Molise, southern Italy

Suckling kid (capretto) — slaughtered at 3–4 weeks, before weaning — portioned into joints, marinated briefly in olive oil, white wine, crushed garlic, rosemary and black pepper, then assembled in individual packets of heavy aluminium foil or parchment with sliced waxy potatoes (also seasoned and oiled) and additional rosemary. Each packet is sealed tightly and placed directly on a wood-fire ember bed or in an extremely hot oven (220°C) for 35–40 minutes. The steam generated inside the cartoccio poaches the kid and potatoes in their own juices, the rosemary infuses throughout, and the sealed environment prevents the delicate milk-fed meat from drying. Opened at the table, the steam releases the aromatic concentration of the dish.

Molise — Meat & Poultry →

Sagne e Fagioli con Pomodoro Fresco alla Molisana

Molise, southern Italy

One of Molise's most enduring preparations: sagne — broad, flat hand-cut pasta similar to maltagliati but cut more deliberately into irregular quadrilateral shapes — cooked together with dried borlotti beans in a fragrant tomato base. Borlotti beans soaked overnight are half-cooked in plain water, then the cooking liquid is reserved. A soffritto of onion, celery, carrot and lard is built, ripe fresh tomatoes (or passata in winter) are added and reduced to a dense sauce, then the half-cooked beans and their liquid are added. The sagne are made fresh from semolina and water, cut roughly and dropped directly into the simmering bean-tomato broth for the final 12 minutes. Finished with raw olive oil, torn basil and peperoncino.

Molise — Pasta & Primi →

Tacconi con Fave e Pancetta alla Molisana

Molise, southern Italy

Tacconi are broad, irregular hand-torn pasta squares — made from a coarse mix of semolina and farro or barley flour — that are roughly torn rather than cut, giving them uneven edges that grip sauce. The sauce is a simple combination of fresh fave (shelled broad beans) or rehydrated dried fave, pancetta tesa (flat cured pork belly) cut into lardons and rendered until crisp, onion softened in the pancetta fat, and a ladleful of pasta cooking water to bind. The cooked tacconi are tossed vigorously in this sauce with torn flat-leaf parsley and grated Pecorino. A dish of spring or late winter depending on whether fresh or dried fave are used.

Molise — Pasta & Primi →

Zuppa di Ortiche con Ricotta Salata e Pasta Spezzata Molisana

Molise, southern Italy

Stinging nettles harvested in spring — gloved hands only — form the base of this Molise mountain soup. Blanched briefly in salted water to neutralise the sting, the nettles are squeezed dry and roughly chopped. A base soffritto of onion and lardo is built, nettles added and tossed in the hot fat for two minutes, then covered with water and brought to a simmer for 20 minutes. Broken short pasta (pasta spezzata — spaghetti or tagliatelle broken by hand into irregular pieces) is cooked directly in the nettle broth. Ricotta salata (salted dried ricotta) is grated over each bowl at the table; a thread of raw olive oil finishes it. The nettles dissolve partially into the broth, colouring it deep green and tasting remarkably of mineral, spinach-adjacent richness.

Molise — Soups & Stews →