Orsetto d’Abruzzo opens, a trattoria serving Abruzzese cuisine in Milan

The bear is the symbol par excellence of Abruzzo, always present in the majestic National Park between this region, Lazio and Molise. It is also the reference chosen by the new trattoria The Little Bear of Abruzzoinaugurated on Tuesday 25 June 2024 in Milan in Via Valtellina 10. Located in the Scalo Farini district (undergoing a profound transformation in the coming years), this Abruzzo cuisine restaurant was born from the will of the owner Domenico Ciotto to make the pastoral recipes of the hinterland known. A young chef from Sulmona, after opening a restaurant in Bologna, he decided to do it again in the Lombard capital. We asked him to tell us about the typical recipes from Abruzzo that can be found at Orsetto d’Abruzzo.

From Sulmona to raise awareness of Abruzzo cuisine

Domenico Ciotto began his career after hotel school at Niko Romito’s Ninì Restaurant, in Montesilvano in the province of Pescara, and then moved to a farmhouse in Porretta Terme. In 2012 he moved to Bologna, where he started working in a shop selling typical Abruzzo products, the original Orsetto d’Abruzzo. “I decided to buy it even though at the time I was 21 years old and had no managerial experience. For this reason I took a master’s degree in restaurant management at Alma with the legendary professor Manual Gems”. Since Ciotto arrived, the Little Bear of Via Pietralata 42/a has taken off thanks to his authentic and strictly local cuisine.

“Last year a friend of mine presented me with the opportunity to open in Milan, inside the Zara municipal market. Orsetto d’Abruzzo thus splits in two, even though I wanted a place of my own where I could be independent“, continues. So after 6 months the opportunity materializes in the Farini district, with a place reminiscent of an Abruzzo trattoria with a convivial and informal atmosphere.

The local products of Orsetto d’Abruzzo

“My goal is to help people discover and appreciate a land that not everyone knows about.”, Ciotto tells us. Here you can try a typical Abruzzo cuisinewith strong agro-pastoral influences, given that the dishes are those of the hinterland and not of the coast. The care and gastronomic richness are also found in the choice of producers: “The pasta comes from the Mugnaia di Elice company, which produces formats such as pecorara or the mugnaia itself, the Avezzano potatoes which are a variety grown on the Fucino plateau, the cheeses from the Azienda Agricola Valle Scannese, founded by the legendary Gregorio Rotolo, a well-known producer in the area who is now deceased”. Il vino it’s obviously local: “Wineries such as Pasetti, Cataldi Madonna, Zaccagnini, and all the Abruzzo liqueurs such as the gentian and the ratafia of Scuppoz”. The meat also comes from Cic Carni in Pescara, while the oil comes from the Dell’Orso farm in Cugnoli.

Abruzzo cuisine and the Orsetto d’Abruzzo menu

In the kitchen Domenico Ciotto does not deviate from the tradition. Among the dishes offered are the Timballo abruzzese, a lasagna with hard-boiled eggs, scamorza, tomato and sheep, pork and beef ragù (12€); the homemade Gnocchi “alla Scannese” prepared with Avezzano potatoes (11€), the Tagliatelle with sheep ragù, inspired by the specialty of a historic restaurant in Sulmona (13€), and the Pecorara with tomato (12€). The arrosticini are a must (10 pieces €11), even if the chef is firm in saying “Abruzzo is much more”. For this reason, the menu also includes pallotte cacio e ova, which are meatballs of bread and pecorino cheese cooked in sauce (€9), ribs and must (€15) and the classic grilled lamb (€14). You must try the pizz’ e foglie, a corn pizza cooked on the grill, sliced ​​and topped with chicory (€10) and the peperoni e ov’, a traditional peasant dish with scrambled eggs and roasted peppers (€8).

And finally, the typical Abruzzo dessertsi: “There is pizza doge, a kind of zuppa inglese made in Abruzzo with layers of sponge cake, yellow cream and chocolate cream. Or lattaccio, very similar to crème caramel, and semifreddo ai confetti Pelino di Sulmona. But there is no shortage of bocconotti and, during holidays like Christmas, parrozzi and pan dell’orso”. And do you pay for the cover charge?There is no cover charge in Abruzzo and here you are in Abruzzo”.