Capri and Ischia lie 17 nautical miles away from each other, just an hour's sail, yet they have nothing in common. Capri is glamorous and Ischia is wild. Capri is called the blue island, Ischia the green. Capri's specialty is fish, Ischia's is rabbit — agriculture, not fishing, has always been the island's driving force. All Ischians have a vegetable garden, a couple of rows of vines, and fruit trees. No one owns a boat and childhood memories aren't comprised of squid and blue fish, but rather pasta and beans, migliaccio (a sweet black pudding), and farm animals.
Ischian Chefs
Pasquale Palamaro, chef of the one-star Michelin-rated restaurant Indaco at the Regina Isabella hotel, recalls his mother preparing pollo alla fumarole, chicken that's cooked under sand heated by hot springs, during his childhood in the 1970s. Ischia is home to the two-star Michelin-rated Nino di Costanzo as well as many young homegrown chefs, such as Emmanuel di Liddo, whose creative riffs on the island's traditional cuisine warrant a visit alone. At Trattoria Al Focolare, located inland, you can try the island's signature dish: coniglio di fosse, or hole rabbit.
The hole rabbit
Though beaches and hotels stud Ischia's sparkling coastline, the island's heart is Mount Epomeo. This 2,589-foot slope reaps citrus fruits, chestnuts, tomatoes, broad beans, artichokes, black broccoli, tender onions, and the Zampognaro bean, an endangered legume protected by the Slow Food Presidium.
Grapes grow on terraces constructed of dry-stone walls overlooking the sea, and the cultivators have preserved indigenous grapes such as Biancolella, Forastera, Larilla, S. Lunario, Per Palummo, Guarnaccia, and Cannamelu.
In Ischia, the Slow-Food-Presidium-protected hole rabbits breed the old-fashioned way: in deep ditches dug to obtain new land for vineyard cultivation. The rabbits live in the open air, not in the wild but raised by families. The three recognized breeders comprise Il Terreno Verde (Green Ground), an association based at Trattoria Il Focolare. The restaurant's flagship dish, the hole rabbit, follows the traditional Ischian recipe.
The heart of Ischia: Al Focolare
Woods surround you, save for a view of the sea framed between two hills, while a cool breeze undercuts the sweltering summer heat. With its checkered tablecloths and house wine, this family-run restaurant would seem a popular trattoria at first glance. One like any other, except that photos of VIPs, politicians, sportsmen, and actors cover the walls. They all visit to not only sample genuine Ischian cuisine but to meet owner and proprietor Riccardo d'Ambra and his “crew” of eight children, as well as his wife Loretta, and their grandchildren. Their motto, "Defending traditional and rustic cuisine," testifies to the family’s constant commitment to keep the memory of this island alive, and how there's more to Ischia than what appears on the surface today. They eat eggplant parmigiana, mezzanelli (a long pasta), prepared with wild herbs and eggs, spaghetti with rabbit sauce, and coniglio fossa all'ischitana nel coccio, the signature rabbit dish.
Recipe for Coniglio all’ischitana– hole rabbit Ischian style
Everyone has their own recipe, and the Slow Food Foundation recognizes Al Focolare's. The entire rabbit is lightly browned with a whole head of garlic in a sartana, a traditional copper pan. It's then transferred to the tiano, an earthenware pot that evenly distributes the heat and maintains humidity, to which white wine and cherry tomatoes are added. The sauce is seasoned with basil and parsley during cooking. The entrails, which have been cleaned and soaked in water, lemon, and wine, are wrapped in parsley and basil and added after the browning — the final sauce is served with pasta. Large families cook the less noble parts (head, tail, and sternum) separately with more tomatoes for a more abundant sauce.