Futura Osteria di Abbadia Isola

Dishes mentioned

• Capponata con Stracciatella

  I start with a capponata — a Sicilian dish with stracciatella on top. It's a cold course, very rich in umami from the tomato, pine nuts, and creamy eggplant. The stracciatella boosts it even more. A very indulgent start.

• Pita con Guacamole e Scamerita di Cinta Senese

  Next, a pita bread with guacamole — avocado, onion, and other bits — and inside, scamerita di cinta senese, so fat on fat. The pita is heated, the topping is fresh. The meat is very savoury, tender, cooked for many hours, almost the same consistency as the avocado. Maybe slightly too chewy, but I love it as an appetizer. I could make this at home.

• Insalata di Couscous con Verdure

  A couscous salad with vegetables — zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, and lemon. For a course in a seven-course menu, it's quite generous. Very fresh. The lemon gives an extra boost of freshness, but the protagonist is the oil — it has a nice bitter, raspy finish in the throat, very pleasant with all the vegetables.

• Spaghetto alla Vedova con Gota

  The second primo: spaghetto alla vedova. 'Vedova' is a condiment from Southern Italy — tomato and cheese, called 'widow' because it lacks meat. Here there is meat: gota, which is becoming a Slow Food presidium in this area. Tomato, gota, a battuto of garlic and parsley, and fennel seeds. Spaghetto from Pastificio Martelli. You can really taste the parsley — it reminds me of spaghetti alle vongole or seafood spaghetti. Even though the ingredients seem heavy, it's very delicate and refreshing as a pasta. There's a nice little 'scrigno' of gota left. Of course, I do the scarpetta.

• Tartare di Manzo con Cruditè di Verdure

  Second course: beef tartare with a crudité of vegetables. The tartare has an excellent flavour, left almost pure. Very simple, the meat is very tender. All enriched by little sauces with a mayonnaise base and tomatoes. The vegetables are from the garden, picked this morning. A great little tartare. I'm not sure if the portion is the same as the three-course menu — the tartare is as big as Anita's — but the pita and spaghetti were smaller.

Dishes mentioned

• Capponata con Stracciatella

  I start with a capponata — a Sicilian dish with stracciatella on top. It's a cold course, very rich in umami from the tomato, pine nuts, and creamy eggplant. The stracciatella boosts it even more. A very indulgent start.

• Pita con Guacamole e Scamerita di Cinta Senese

  Next, a pita bread with guacamole — avocado, onion, and other bits — and inside, scamerita di cinta senese, so fat on fat. The pita is heated, the topping is fresh. The meat is very savoury, tender, cooked for many hours, almost the same consistency as the avocado. Maybe slightly too chewy, but I love it as an appetizer. I could make this at home.

• Insalata di Couscous con Verdure

  A couscous salad with vegetables — zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, and lemon. For a course in a seven-course menu, it's quite generous. Very fresh. The lemon gives an extra boost of freshness, but the protagonist is the oil — it has a nice bitter, raspy finish in the throat, very pleasant with all the vegetables.

• Spaghetto alla Vedova con Gota

  The second primo: spaghetto alla vedova. 'Vedova' is a condiment from Southern Italy — tomato and cheese, called 'widow' because it lacks meat. Here there is meat: gota, which is becoming a Slow Food presidium in this area. Tomato, gota, a battuto of garlic and parsley, and fennel seeds. Spaghetto from Pastificio Martelli. You can really taste the parsley — it reminds me of spaghetti alle vongole or seafood spaghetti. Even though the ingredients seem heavy, it's very delicate and refreshing as a pasta. There's a nice little 'scrigno' of gota left. Of course, I do the scarpetta.

• Tartar di Manzo con Crudité di Verdure

Dishes mentioned

• Capponata
• Pane pita con guacamole e scamerita di cinta senese
• Insalata di couscous
• Spaghetto alla vedova con gota
• Tartar di manzo con crudité di verdure