Wednesday 7 July Pizza in Urbino
After the stunningly beautiful frescoes of the Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista (1415), we headed out for a night of feasting, only to find of the three restaurants recommended, one had closed for vacation, one had been renamed (and closed for vacation), and the other was just plain closed. So we sauntered into the pizzeria Morgana. The joint was pretty dead—all right, we were the only ones there at 8:00—but the staff was nice, and we had two pizzas: a classic boscaiola (woodsy with mushrooms and sausage), ‘tother with cacciota (the local creamy cheese) and picante salami. The almost too picante salami called for a flagon of the house white. A little side salad with an ingenious spritzer for the balasamic vinegar, which Holt used creatively. We left at 9:30, still the only folks there, and it was only on crossing the square that we realized what everyone else in the world knew: it was the semifinals of the World Cup, you know, where Brazil and that other country, whatzitzname, play soccer to the death.
Earlier that afternoon: other white tasty wines in the square.
1. pecorino (not just a cheese): an old grape newly revived in Abruzzi and the Marche: very lovely, crisp, cool, and long flavors.
2. Vermentino di gallura, yet another new grape, this time from Sardinia. Nice taste of peach and tangerine.
Not to mention the fabulous crescia sfogliata at Il Ragno d’Oro at the top of the citadel. Crescia (pl. cresce) is an amazingly flaky and satisfying fried puffy flatbread (not a contradiction in terms). The secret is in the lard. And we pass the calories onto you, the home reader.
A nice article about Crescia and a recipe:
http://www.bigworldmagazine.com/the-bread-of-memory/
http://rubbahslippahsinitaly.blogspot.com/2007/05/crescia-sfogliata.html
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