On the local tables we indeed find spaghetti alla chitarra also called creoli, lamb with cheese and eggs, or turcinelli roasted. Nevertheless, Molisani recipes express their own variants, which make the dishes special, such as, for example, seafood risottos, spaghetti with clams and white fish soups with sauces. Or fusilli with tomato with strong sprinkles of chili pepper.
The pride of the region are the cured meats, from smoked hams of Rionero Sannitico and Spinete to capocolli, to mulette of Macchiagodena to soppressate, which tradition wants cut into “clarinet beak” shapes. Also excellent are vegetables and legumes, such as the lentils of Capracotta, which are used in many dishes. Chickpeas, beans, and turnip tops enrich pasta dishes and are the base of fragrant, steaming soups; or they are also used for sweets, like the “crucione” of the Christmas holidays, whose soft chickpea dough is flavored with Milk, the typical Molise liqueur, also present in the yellow flour panettone. When it comes to wines, Trebbiano and Montepulciano dominate, although there are interesting presences of grape varieties such as Aglianico and Chardonnay.
Good eating addresses are Vecchia Trattoria da Tonino, in Campobasso; Trattoria da Nonna Rosa, in Campomarino; Pantagruel and Osteria del Paradiso, in Isernia; Spirito di Vino and Osteria dentro le Mura, in Termoli.
