Ristorante UNE

Today we finally got out and did something a little new and different. We really have been keeping close to home and staying very careful. We decided to try a new restaurant which we read about in a “ten best restaurants” list. Seldom is one of the restaurants on these ”best” lists in Umbria. Umbria is not exactly on the beaten track!

The town is up a mountain valley north of Foligno, about 50 minutes from our house. it is called Capodacqua. The town’s outskirts are less than beautiful with a gigantic camp of cabins. Maybe its a recreational area in summer? I will have to research. Once into the town, it is quite pretty.

The restaurant is called UNE, which means water in the Gubbio dialect. It has two set menus, one five courses and one seven courses, for €45 or €60 respectively. We chose the smaller menu. The chef is Giulio Gigli, he is from Umbria and had returned after years cooking all around the world. His aim is to use the ancient, and forgotten foods of Umbria as much as possible in his menus. The building is a refurbished old mill. Pretty inside and out. With lots of spacing between the tables. Of course we had to show our green passes to get in.

Here are the menus.

And now for the food. First we had a gift from the chef. Amazing pecorino blue cheese super light and whipped on top of mushrooms and tomatoes. There was a spoon of lentil puree but it somehow didn’t get in the picture 🙂.

Next was sort of a pancake stuffed with melty cheese and topped with gelatin. really good.

Next was local trout with crispy skin and fried fennel. We were encouraged to fare la scarpetta, literally make the little shoe. But it means to use the wonderful bread to sop up the sauce.

Next was the pasta course. The pasta was made from flour made from ”Roveja”, a small pea, and wheat flour. It made for a very unusual flavor. There were also cooked Roveja peas and it was in a beautiful sauce of Canarra onions (local sweet onions), something called Primo Sale which they said was cheese made from the first, creamy milk and cavolo nero (black Tuscan kale).

Then there was a pork dish. like pulled pork, falling apart, with broccoli and bits of lime and ginger with satay sauce.

Luther chose a really lovely red wine from near mount Etna on Sicily. It looks light but it was very flavorful.

The kitchen at work. Open kitchen.

Finally dessert. Hard to describe. A cookie, yogurt, apple sauce, black sesame paste. Very good.

It was a wonderful lunch. Just what I needed. Great and friendly service. And the price, for what we got, was incredible. It can’t last. All together it was €134 . I asked how often the menu changed and she said every month to six weeks. We will go back!

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