The Osteria del Borgo is located in the historic center of Larino, in Molise, and the owners summarize their cooking idea with the following phrase: ‘special things always come from simple ingredients, then it’s the fantasy that makes them magic’.
Chef Domenico Starnieri and Assunta d’Ermes, Sommelier and Director, focus on local products and historical recipes to create menus that respect the seasonality and the typicality of their territory. The small room of the Osteria, with red brick arches and white walls with stone openings, offers the best scenery for a kitchen that works the raw materials of the territory with creativity. The pasta is homemade and the vegetables come from the family garden.
The plates of their menus recall almost forgotten recipes, coming from the reality of the territory and the ‘poor’ tradition of land and sheep, reworked in an innovative way. Starting with the ‘Affuniatelli’ (seasonal vegetables served with a lasagna made with bread and egg quail) or with the pancotto with vegetables and peperoni cruschi; then continuing with the ‘tramp soup’ (traditionally residual legumes and cereals in emptied jute bags) of ‘acquasale’ (steamed bread with water and salt with tomato, cucumber, celery, chives and oregano) and the ‘cacio and ova’ balls. Osteria also proposes the Chitarrina with the ragu of Ventricina, Cicatelli at the pistachio of Bronte and the Cavatelli with beans and pecorino cheese. After, the indisputable protagonist is the grill (mixed meat, lamb or the typicals torcinelli), but also the pork liver, lamb roast (wrapped in raw ham, stuffed with almonds and laurel), or the calf braised in Molise Tintilia (an autochthonous red wine). Once you get to the sweets, Assunta will surprise you with Bavarese with white chocolate and pears cooked in the Molise Tintilia, millefoglie with chantilly cream and berries and with the drunk cake, with chocolate and wine.
The wines are mainly local, but also from Campania, Apulia, Sicily and Abruzzo, always well combined with the cuisine.
The Osteria del Borgo also provides the Chef-at-Home service and organizes Cooking Courses. The Domestic Kitchen Service is a further opportunity to enjoy the quality cuisine of Domenico and Assunta. The live cooking school, open to everybody, allows participants to follow all the various stages of the preparation of the first dishes, meats, desserts etc. At the end of the lesson, the dishes will be enjoyed by the participants themselves. Periodically the Osteria del Borgo organizes wine and local oil tastings, events, sensory evenings and ‘cene con delitto’.
Osteria del Borgo