Browse Techniques

Spoleto's handmade square-cut pasta served with freshly grated black Norcia truffle and butter — one of Umbria's most celebrated preparations. Strangozzi (also called stringozzi) are a thick, square-cut fresh pasta made from flour and water without egg — the eglessness gives them a firmer, more neutral base that doesn't compete with the truffle. The truffle sauce is radically simple: butter, a little garlic-infused olive oil, and grated fresh black truffle — no cream, no reduction. The truffle's perfume must be the sole focus.

Lake Trasimeno's ancient fish stew — the inland Umbrian equivalent of coastal brodetto. A combination of the lake's freshwater fish (perch, pike, tench, carp, eel) layered in a terracotta pot with tomatoes, garlic, white wine, fresh sage, and olive oil. Each fish variety is added in sequence by its required cooking time. The defining characteristic: the stew is never stirred — the layers cook undisturbed and retain their identity. Finished with a drizzle of Umbrian DOP olive oil and toasted bread rubbed with garlic.