Five thousand square meters of land rented from the Natura Sana farm cultivated according to the principles of organic farming, where you can collect fresh seasonal products that will creatively compose your daily proposal. This is the secret of Stefano D'Onghia, the reserved patron of the Botteghe Antiche restaurant (the name says it all) in one of the most beautiful squares in the historic center of Putignano, a town in the Murge with a glorious past, today famous throughout the world for its famous carnival with very ancient roots that would make it go back to the propitiatory Pagan rites aimed at the cult of Dionysius God of the ecstasy of the breeze and the Liberation of the senses which were officiated when the country was under the domination of Magna Graecia.
For Stefano D'Onghia sustainability, contrast to food waste, energy saving are a categorical imperative in line with the culture of his land which has learned to value what nature offers. The watchword of Botteghe Antiche is in fact food awareness which enhances the close network of territorial collaborations, aimed at enhancing the products of a territory strongly devoted to agri-food production but also the value of the human chain that is behind every product of quality.
From his Botteghe Antiche the chef, trained at the ALMA International Cooking School, directed by Gualtiero Marchesi and with some important internships starting with Marchesi and following with Antonella Ricci, Teresa Buongiorno and Gennaro Esposito, looks to the past, safeguarding memory and history , to evolve and reinvent itself in a menu that is a refined kaleidoscope of flavors and aromas of its Murge studied in respect of the seasonality of raw materials and with great attention to the sustainable supply chain.
“Respect for the seasonality of raw materials and attention to the sustainable supply chain are the values we have always focused on and with direct production in organic gardens today we want to give even more support to these principles. – says the Chef – We collect what the garden is ready to offer us and we base our proposal on these fruits of the earth. Today more than ever we set ourselves the goal of reducing food waste, while preserving the culinary tradition to nourish the body and soul with simple and sustainable dishes that look to the past. The one made is a green choice that also embraces the territory, through numerous collaborations with small local producers who follow our same philosophy, thus also fueling the local economy and increasingly reducing the distances between the raw materials and the dishes we serve. And it is a choice - he continues - that we face to the end, for example by aiming for energy savings or with the moderate use of meat, in favor of products from our land, or again by minimizing waste, as when we decide to use for our dishes every part of the animal, even transforming the "poor" ones into tasty courses rich in history. By paying attention to all this and thanks to conscious choices, we are also heading towards a reduction in costs, with the possibility of proposing more accessible menus, but which always pay attention to quality".
The recipe proposed by D'Onghia to Mondo Food readers for this week, Raw and cooked in the garden, is the most eloquent testimony of a philosophy of simplicity that obtains excellent results and this can only happen when an innkeeper who loves his land meets fresh and genuine ingredients and describes a colorful, fragrant and authentic story of love, which takes you back to a time when every bite was an experience full of tradition and shared pleasure. And, of course, it's not even worth emphasizing how health and taste go hand in hand in this dish.
The recipe Raw and cooked in the garden
Base of organic yellow courgettes, marinated with sugar, salt and vinegar.
Fresh green beans, peeled and blanched for a few minutes, to keep them tenacious, in water and mint.
Diced raw tomato.
Arrange the courgettes and green beans on a plate and sprinkle with a julienne of farmhouse cacioricotta, season with extra virgin olive oil, salt and basil.
Garnish with a few basil leaves.
Osteria Botteghe Antiche
Piazza Plebiscite 8
Putignano (Bari) – Italy
T. 080 491 1813
