Contemporary pizza at Ossteria in Romagna

Ciro Jonathan Carbone, born in Romagna in 1988, started to work right after finishing high school, working as an accountant for a theatre company. This is where he met Sergio Diotti, actor and husband of Emanuela Turroni, a restaurant woman who was running, together with her daughter and son in law, Osteria dei Frati in Roncofreddo. The three became friends, and started organising convivial evenings during which Ciro tried his hand with home-made pizza, which everyone appreciated. Hence when in 2016 they had the opportunity of taking over an osteria with a good electric oven for baking pizza in Savignano sul Rubicone – they named it Ossteria, a hint to the typical exclamation made by people in Romagna – Sergio and Emanuela convinced Ciro to create a menu with his pizza. At first, once a week.

Thanks to Ciro’s passion and commitment – supported and encouraged also by the friendship with Giovanni Santarpia – success arrived soon and today at Ossteria (Via Cesare Battisti 23/d, Savignano sul Rubicone, Forlì-Cesena. Tel. +39 0541 944939) you can find pizza every night, from Wednesday to Sunday, together with tagliatelle with ragù and meatballs, as well as more complex dishes such as Ricotta gnocchi with cream of ricotta, cherry tomatoes and basil pesto.

Carbone’s pizzas are based on a dough with “Giorilli” poolish (made with Petra 1 flour and brewer’s yeast) and a mix of Petra 3, Petra 9 and Petra 5020 flour (the latter is PiùRicca, made with type 0 flour with oats, rye and semolina), which has a long maturation and leavening in the fridge and at room temperature. The balls or dough are then rolled and presented in two ways: as “classic” pizzas, seasoned and cooked at the end of the oven, finishing them with some raw ingredients added at the end, if necessary.

And then there’s the pizze Speciali – or Contemporanee – which are rolled out less, and cooked more slowly, close to the entrance of the oven, so as to have a thicker but very light dough. They’re served already sliced, seasoned with more complex toppings to finish a white or red base.

Ciro makes great use of local and seasonal products. So, for instance, during the summer you can find pizza made with fior di latte and stir-fried peppers, pancetta from Mora Romagnola and Sicilian caciocavallo, or one with provola plus aubergines a funghetto, confit cherry tomatoes, cream of parmigiano and a light pesto of almonds and basil. But there are also pizzas you can find all year round, by explicit demand of the clients: for instance, pizza Contemporanea with fior di latte, cream of squacquerone di Romagna PDO form Mambelli, prosciutto crudo made with Mora Romagnola pigs and rocket: «It’s the typical filling used for piadina, but turned into a pizza», says Ciro who has joined the Alleanza dei cuochi e pizzaioli di Slow Food with Ossteria.