Umbria Food and Recipes
Umbria is one of the smallest regions of Italy and the real green heart at its centre. The countryside and towns are still unspoiled and peaceful looking like they did hundreds of years ago. The Umbrian cuisine is based on family traditions with fresh and natural flavors derived from locally grown produce and farmed animals.
There are of course the typical Italian pasta dishes utilizing strascinati and umbrici, both long thick spaghetti, and ciriole ternana. These are all prepared and served with a dressing of olive oil, garlic and some chilli pepper.
In Umbria, pasta is often flavored with a grating of local black truffles found around Norcia. But most local restaurants now serve the black truffles sliced on a plain risotto richly dressed with butter and Parmesan, a dish borrowed from Lombardy recipes.
The prized black Norcia truffle is gathered from around the trunks of oak, holm oak and walnut trees in the hills and mountains around Norcia and Spoleto. Covered by a black skin with small wart-like bumps, the truffle has a purple-black flesh with distinctive white veins and a delicate scent. Unlike white truffles, which can only be eaten raw, black truffles can be heated (but never boiled) and added to sauces, pasta and pies without losing their delicious flavour.
Lentils of Castelluccio are small and green, they contain a large amount of protein and mineral salts, and are so tender that they require no soaking.These are used in meat stews with sausage, rabbit and other meats.
As in the rest of Italy, bread is an important part of the diet and comes in all varieties. Examples are pan nociato, a specialty made with pecorino cheese, walnuts and pine nuts, and the local torta al testo con i ciccioli, a typical focaccia bread baked on a stone disk and stuffed with the little pieces of pork obtained when melting the fat to make lard
There is also the famous Perugia chocolate which comes from the capital of the region.
The Priest’s Veal Chops
Serves 4
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
4 veal cutlets, approx 180 g each
Sauce:
Approx 150g fresh mixed herbs
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
50g mild mustard
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
This recipe is on the menus in Orvieto, Umbria during May when the wild herbs are available in the fields.
For the sauce, put the herbs in a mortar and pound with the pestle, whilst slowly dribbling in the extra virgin olive oil, reducing the herbs to a paste. Add the lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the veal cutlets and fry for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side until cooked.
Spread the cold herb sauce on top of the cutlets and serve immediately.
