A slice of Umbria in Clare

An Italian couple have brought a little piece of their homeland to one of the state’s favourite wine regions, writes Simon Wilkinson

Umbria owner Edoardo Strappa at his Clare restaurant. Picture: Tom Huntley

Winter is wild boar season in Italy and the forests of Tuscany and Umbria are filled with hunters wearing a hilarious combination of camouflage fatigues, for stealth, and fluorescent vests, so they aren’t mistakenly targeted by one of their mates.

They bounce along the rutted tracks in little Fiats, a gun rack in the back window and, if they are successful, a huge, hairy lump of pig strapped to the roof racks or across the bonnet.

Boar meat is a delicacy in this part of the world, so when Edoardo Strappa opened Umbria restaurant in Clare, he was desperate to come up with a substitute for the “cinghiale” pasta he made in his homeland.

The solution he found, after some trial and error, was the most Aussie of beasts, kangaroo. Edoardo bubbles the roo slowly in a stew sweetened with port, until the meat relaxes. This is shredded to fill ravioli parcels that are dressed with finely sliced zucchini, mushroom and a splash of cream.

As unlikely as this signature combination might sound, the hint of gaminess, tempered by a tender pasta case and the mellowing of the sauce, is loaded with rustic charm. Which pretty much sums up the Umbria experience.

Umbria’s duck leg confit with port and mint. Picture: Tom Huntley

Edoardo and wife Luana have created a copy of the family-run ristorante that are dotted through the Italian countryside. They have found the perfect setting in the historic mill building in Clare’s main drag that is also home to the larger Seed.

Taking over what was a Chinese eatery, they have stripped away ceilings and plaster to reveal the structure’s bare bones: rugged bluestone walls, worn beams and a sharply pitched galv roof. On to this they have laid random personal effects, from a book shelf, to a selection of old photos to a bike that is suspended overhead.

At the time of our visit, Luana has just given birth to the couple’s second child, Lorenzo. Her parents have come from Italy to greet the new arrival and they are all celebrating at a table nearby. The warm embraces, the laughter and the language add an extra layer to what is already a travel-without-a-ticket experience.

With Luana taking a break, service is in the hands of a yin-and-yang brigade: the first waitress slightly brusque and difficult to understand; the other willowy, English and sharp as a tack.

They introduce a menu that centres on Edoardo’s pastas, all made from scratch, a skill that helped him develop a loyal following at his previous restaurant, Pinocchio, in Unley Rd. Other than that there is a small collection of simple entrees, a trio of mains and a spoken offer of pizzas that don’t yet feature on the official list.

The standout of the starters is the involtini melanzana. They might look a little like a Chiko Roll but the packages of prosciutto, mushrooms and mozzarella, wrapped in a cylinder of crumbed eggplant, have crispness and ooze in all the right places.

A wedge of toasted and garlic-rubbed sourdough is piled with chopped tomato that would have been better a few months earlier. Carpaccio is made with slices of cured rather than untreated raw beef but otherwise has the standard accompaniments of rocket and parmesan.

1Umbria restaurant in Clare. Picture: Tom Huntley

Then come the two pastas we are sharing, both oddly served in the one bowl with a barrier of baby spinach down the middle keeping them separate, like a levee of leaves. On one side is the roo-violi, on the other a hearty ragu of crumbled Italian sausage, mushrooms and tomato, mixed with gnocchetti – small, bouncy wholemeal-flour based lozenges and not to be confused with the pillowy potato gnocchi.

From the meats, “anatra all’arancia” is essentially duck a l’orange, the flavours of the slowly roasted bird and the citrus ringing true, the sauce a lighter concoction, true to this side of the border rather than the French kitchen.

Two desserts arrive less than a minute after they are ordered. Neither are remarkable, though a not-too-sweet tiramisu is preferable to a stiff citrus panna cotta.

Better, perhaps, to select another local or imported sangiovese from Edoardo’s cellar which juxtaposes a small taste of favoured Italian vino, with one of the more comprehensive compilations of Clare producers that you will find anywhere.

No wonder the locals are happy. Umbria is an affordable, warm-hearted little gem free of pretence. And you don’t need to worry about being startled by gunshots from the forest on the way home.

UMBRIA RUSTIC ITALIAN RESTAURANT

308b Main North Rd, Clare
0414 157 974, umbriarestaurant.com.au

OWNERS Edoardo and Luana Strappa

CHEF Edoardo Strappa

FOOD Italian

ENTREE $5.50-$15.50
MAINS $18.90-$29.90
DESSERT $9-$11.50

DRINKS Choose between Clare locals or Italian imports, with nothing in-between.

OPEN LUNCH and DINNER Tue-Sat

SCORE 13.5/20