Where to Eat in Italy Contemporary Casual

The Aurora at Borgo dei Cipressi: 2 young people and a farmhouse, the new gourmet destination in Todi

by:
Leonardo Samarelli
|
copertina borgo dei cipressi

The restaurant is located inside the Borgo dei Cipressi farmhouse owned by Federica Pasetto and Davide Barone: the two young people in the Central Italy region who want to offer a cuisine of proximity and excellent products.

The farmhouse

An intimate and cozy living room is the container of l'Aurora, the restaurant born in 2023 inside the Borgo dei Cipressi farmhouse. “My grandmother Aurora had always dreamed of owning a farmhouse where she could spend her vacations, so my grandfather gave her this 14-hectare property, which first he and then we decided to call L'Aurora, in her honor. Just think that she personally planted the plants and cypresses!” says Federica Pasetto, who took over the family stable together with her partner Davide Barone.

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The couple, Roman by origin, decided after the pandemic to start again in the Todi countryside to embark on their own idea of catering and hospitality. Federica is in charge of the dining room and the dessert line and has recreated a vintage and retro (in the positive sense of the word) atmosphere in the sign's rooms, thanks to antique porcelain plates, silver cutlery, English risers and embroidered centerpieces, all from the family's regal service.

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The fireplace, in the center of the room, completes an enchanting scenario in which the windows allow you to immerse yourself in the vastness of the greenery that surrounds the estate, enriched by about 200 olive trees - plus another 150 newly planted -, an orchard, a vegetable garden and finally the breeding of farmyard animals. An ecosystem that allows the young couple to self-produce most of the ingredients used by Davide in the kitchen, while what does not come from Borgo dei Cipressi is sourced from small producers in the area.

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federica pasetto
 

The restaurant

“It's true, we are a farmhouse, but we want to offer something different, with exclusively homemade products including fresh pasta, which has always been a passion of mine," says the chef. In fact, there are no dry pastas on the menu, but rather first courses such as "Tortelli di zucca e erborinato di capra" or "Fettuccine di farro alla genovese di cinghiale"; the barbecue is the other protagonist of l'Aurora as well as game and venison. “We have recently started working with fire that allows us to do different cooking ,” says Davide, ” while meats such as wild boar, hare, goose and rabbit are animals that I would like to cook more and more often, also because they are ideal if we want to promote discourses such as sustainability.

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The dishes

The chef, among his experiences, can boast of a stint in the kitchens of Heinz Beck's Pergola, an adventure that allowed him to approach raw materials differently. A concrete example is the Cannara Onion from the garden that Davide puts into cooking as soon as the embers of the evening service are turned off. In the morning he whips the inside of the vegetable and brings it to the table with herb-flavored croutons; a dish with attention to every detail that stands as a candidate to be one of the restaurant's signatures. Among the appetizers, the revisited Umbrian crouton, with liver mousse, strawberry grapes and pickled lemon is a must try. The wild boar pulled pork focaccia with truffle mayonnaise is also excellent.

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Under the heading of first courses, the Roman chef regales almost forgotten flavors with his Bottone in bianco stuffed with goose sauce: Here, too, I wanted to propose my own version of a local classic, which is usually made with tagliatelle in a dry version.”

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The savory journey, narrated by Federica Pasetto, as well as the alcoholic pairing that rewards many of the Umbrian wine realities, ends with a pleasant Piglet cooked at low temperature and finished on the grill, accompanied by a mushroom and marsala glaze and Cannara onions, which close the course with a harmonious sweet note.

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Dessert is Federica's playground and for the occasion she brings to the table Chocolate, persimmons and chestnuts. “This recipe consists of a chestnut shortbread, an ingredient we also find in the chocolate mousse, while I propose the fruit in a liquid version." Beautiful to look at, delicious to eat.

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Contact

L'Aurora

Strada San Damiano quinzano, 17A - 06059 Todi (PG)

Phone 339 4545287

www.borgodeicipressi.it

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