Browse Techniques

The fish stew of Fano on the Adriatic coast of the Marche — a saffron-enriched fish broth with multiple species of small Adriatic fish (triglie, seppie, canocchie, scorpano) cooked briefly in a tomato and onion base, finished with saffron. Unlike the Pesaro brodetto (which uses vinegar), the Fano version uses saffron and no vinegar, giving it a more delicate character.

A simple mountain soup from the Apennine hillside villages of the Marche — wild chicory (cicoria selvatica) and dandelion greens gathered in spring, blanched and simmered in a pork broth with garlic and peperoncino, then finished with a generous spoonful of fresh ricotta dropped into each bowl. The ricotta softens in the hot soup but doesn't fully dissolve, creating a creamy marble effect.

A thick mountain polenta from the Apennine hills of the Marche — coarse-ground local corn polenta slow-stirred for 45 minutes in a copper pot, dressed with a rich porcini mushroom and fresh pork sausage sauce. The mushrooms are sourced from the Sibillini hills (fresh in autumn, dried and reconstituted otherwise) and the sausage is the local fennel-scented variety. Served on a wooden board for communal eating.

Hand-rolled strozzapreti (literally 'priest-strangler') from the Marche, dressed with crumbled fresh pork sausage cooked in white wine and finished with aged Pecorino di Fossa — a cheese buried in pits for ripening that gives an intense, funky mineral quality. The dish is finished with a light pasta water emulsion and a generous black pepper grind.

Freshly made tagliatelle with a slow-braised wild boar ragù from the Marche Apennine hills — the boar marinated in Rosso Piceno red wine with juniper, bay and rosemary, then braised until falling apart, shredded back into the deeply reduced wine sauce. Finished with a generous grating of Pecorino di Fossa for its mineral funk.

Fresh egg tagliatelle dressed with a slow-braised mutton (or adult sheep) ragù — a preparation from the Marche Apennine sheep-farming tradition that uses older, more flavourful animals for a deeply gamey, complex sauce. The sheep is marinated in local Verdicchio wine overnight, then braised with rosemary, sage and a strip of lardo until falling apart. Finished with Pecorino di Fossa.