Silvano's restaurant

.

This evening we went to "Il picciolo di rame" at the castle in the hamlet of Vestignano (where 20 people live) and I have to say that this is my favourite restaurant, bar none. The experience is sublime. The restaurant is in the old olive press of the castle, in an area where the partisans fought the fascists in the second world war and where paintings of this still adorn the hamlet walls (as pictured here). Silvano is a fantastic host and as he explained to us he thinks of his customers as friends. The restaurant seats 24 maximum and every course (most resurrected from medieval recipes) comes with a story (in Italian). There are 12 courses and the cost is €30 including all wine (made by Silvano's father) and bottled water. So this is what we had to eat.
1. Toasted bread with local olive oil. The oil is less bitter than usual as there was snow when the olive trees were in flower this year.
2. Onion soup made with onion, vegetable stock and flour topped with croutons.
3. Rice and tomato soup with chillis. Until the medieval times, rice was grown in Le Marche.
4. Polenta made with a flour of ground wild peas cooked in onion and pecorino cheese.
5. Lentils cooked in 15 herbs and no salt as it was such an expensive ingredient in the Middle Ages.
6. Ravioli of ricotta in a cheese sauce with fresh truffle.
7. Spaghetti with a ricotta, lemon rind and thyme sauce served with pig's cheek.
8. Vincisgrassi - Le Marche lasagne. A very rich dish that was named by an Austrian General who fought Napoleon nearby in Tolentino.
9. Wild Boar with green beans.
10. Chicken baked in paper with red pepper and mushroom.
11. Local soft salami and bread
12. Custard cream pudding with a chocolate topping.
Coffee and vino cotto.
And then you really need to go home and lie down for a day or two. This is one, if not the hidden gem of Le Marche and I urge anyone vaguely considering a trip here to come for this reason alone. You must book ahead but I can do that for you. I am now several pounds (that's kilos for anyone young reading this) heavier but going to sleep fat and happy.