Ristorante Medina

Yesterday, we offered to take Pia and Dino out for a ride and they chose to visit Orsara di Puglia, Dino's birth town, and then eat lunch at Ristorante Medina, Piazza del Municipio, 0881 964044. It's owned and run by Luigi and Maria Inglese and they offered to open this lunch time, just for us. The trip which takes you through Troia and its dramtic romanesque cathedral, takes about an hour.

Where to start? Jan and I have very fond memories of Orsara and in particular a wonderful musical August evening we spent in the self same piazza a few years back. That's another story, but I have to tell you about the lunch.

I counted 11 different antipasti. The plates just kept coming. Plates containing delicious, home cured, light and sweet prosciutto, three other cold meats, stuffed mushrooms, an omelette of ricotta and pancetta, an involtini of aubergine, an aubergine cream, pizza di campagna and potatoes sauteed with tomatoes and peppers. I'm already full but we next eat three different types of exceptionally light pasta dishes. All the pasta is home made by Maria. Ravioli stuffed with mozzarella and pancetta, orrecchiette with a tomato sauce and finally cavatelli with a wild boar sausage and white bean sauce.

Plates of simply but beautifully cooked lamb cutlets with fresh local herbs followed at which point bodies started to fall by the wayside. Not me brothers, I'd psyched myself up for this one and I knew there was more to come.

I know that I keep going on about ricotta but this one had to be tasted to be believed. It was so light and fluffy, you'd have thought that it had been pumped full of air. It was fresh that morning, made in the village, as was the mozzarella that accompanied it. Throw in a cachiacavallo, pecorino and a dish containing honey and a sweet chilli sauce, and that made up our cheese course.

Just, just in case you haven't quite had enough, the pudding plate contained fresh fruit, a lemon tart, a ricotta tart and a home made Amaretto biscuit.

And the wine? The first bottle was their own and the next a 2003 Ursaria made from the toccacane grape. Excellent. After the gentlest, sweetest amaro, Luigi opened a prized possession. Grappa isn't to everyone's taste but you have to try Nannoni, Grappa di Brunello, you won't be disappointed.

Excluding the drinks that little lot came in at 35 euros a head. I would love to organise trips to this restaurant. Great, affordable, southern Italian food.