Stretching across the provinces of Pescara, Teramo, Chieti and L'Aquila, Italy's Abruzzo region is rich in colour and contrast with its mountains, plains and medieval towns guarded by the Adriatic coastline and the Apennine range. Thanks to its natural isolation, Abruzzo's distinct culinary culture, underscored by simple foreplay of local ingredients and cooking techniques, has remained untampered for centuries. Drawing inspiration from its inland pastoral traditions and coastal influences, Kolkata's fine diner Sorano launched the first of its Regional Selects menu, Abruzzo.
We paid a leisurely afternoon visit to the bustling diner to check out how Chef Arun Karara has played around the flavours of Abruzzo, giving them a local twist.
Scamora stuffed Pallotte from the antipasti section was a clever veg rendition of the popular cheese and egg balls (made with local pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs, egg and freshly chopped parsley). The fried balls-- made with marinated smoked mozzarella stuffed in cheese and breadcrumb morsels -- were served with a spicy puttanesca sauce and we loved every bit of them.
Arrosticini di Gamberi was another speciality that we relished. A popular street food, Arrosticini are essentially skewers made with lamb or mutton drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of seasonal herbs. We loved how Chef Karara replaced the meat with fresh prawns marinated with thyme and pommery mustard. Served with toasted sourdough bread, smoked tomatoes and chimichurri, they made for perfect starters.
The soup section had only one veg option. Sagne e Fagiole, a thick thyme and basil infused tomato broth consisting of classic Abruzzese pasta and Cannellini beans, was comforting. But we would have loved to also savour Brodetto di Pesce, a popular and appetising fish stew with complex flavours from the Adriatic coastline.
The pasta section had a happy melange of unique preparations. Anelllini Alla Pecorara held our attention for its ring-shaped pasta drenched in tomato sauce along with bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant, all finished with pecorino cheese.
The Spinach Surgitt with Lamb Bolognese too stood out for its robust flavours. Made with 'little mice' shaped potato and spinach gnocchi, it was served with slow-cooked lamb meat sauce drizzled with stracciatella cheese.
We didn't find Ciabatta con Polenta (a veg stew served with polenta and grated gorgonzola cheese) from the mains very enticing. The Pollo Abruzzese was interesting with chicken breast cooked sous vide and served on a bed of creamy saffron risotto.
For desserts, we had Lattacciollo e Torrone, which comprises pistachio nougat coated with orange caramel, and creamy orange and vanilla baked custard. We expected a few more traditional options from Abruzzo, such as, Cagionetti, Torcinelli, Pescara's famed Parrozzo, or the three-tiered rotund cake called Pizza Dolce Abruzzese.