Osteria Papavero

Early in the morning in a tiny downtown Madison kitchen, the Osteria Papavero crew is prepping and cooking the day’s ingredients: piles of fresh basil, mushrooms of varying shapes and sizes, and wild boar. The basil and mushroom stems will be used, as will the boar bones. It is a simple, quiet revolution in Chef and Owner Francesco Mangano’s restaurant—making sure to use all parts of vegetables as well as pieces and cuts of meat that others might scoff at, that they might even send to the compost or trash.

Mangano is one of a growing number of chefs worldwide who are actively working to avoid food waste. The result is food that is both flavorful and unassuming, more likely to spur the eater to bring a friend to also experience it than to marvel at the presentation.

“We try to use every scrap in the kitchen in a mindful way,” Mangano says. “It’s a very important issue for the future of the planet.” At Osteria Papavero, this means using the stems of bok choy and other greens for soups and saving “scrap” meat off animal bones to make pasta filling and stock. Extending the shelf life of food through freezing and vacuum-packing works for both households and commercial kitchens alike.

Mangano, born in 1972 in Bologna, Italy, is inspired by his childhood. At age seven, Mangano learned to make pasta. Most family events and even regular days revolved around meals, with everyone cooking together and eating all at the same table at the same time. Dinner was never on-the-go or eaten in shifts but, instead, was a big, long, conversation-filled gathering. Today, Mangano creates the kinds of rustic Italian dishes his grandmother would make at her own osteria that she ran in Bologna when Mangano was a child. His restaurant name is also inspired by his heritage: Osteria is an Italian word for tavern, and Papavero means poppy.

“I grew up in a family excited by food,” Mangano says. “Food was what you got up to do every day.” He wistfully remembers dinners by the sea, often featuring wild game his uncles had hunted and then grilled on the wood oven in the yard, as well as cheeses, cured meats, vegetables, pot-pie-like savory flans, pies and cakes.

Although Mangano has lived in Wisconsin for 17 years, and his own children are growing up in the Madison area, the Italian influence is still strong. Mangano recently returned from a trip to his country, where he spent time in Tuscany at his family home that overlooks the ocean. While there, he attended the Expo Milano 2015, a global food summit that was expected to draw 20 million people from 140 countries.

Mangano’s work to not waste food is a project that has particularly endeared him to local farmers. This was a big topic at Expo Milano and one that, in general, is gaining interest in the United States. As some people go hungry, others are unnecessarily throwing food away, both in commercial and home kitchens. Dan Barber’s recent book, The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food, delves deeply into this subject and is recommended by Mangano. At the Expo, world-famous chefs banded together to create meals from food that would have otherwise not been used, meals which were then served to the homeless. Now, back in Madison, Mangano is even more focused on creative uses for leftovers.

As a customer of local farms, Mangano is known for seeking flavor rather than worrying about appearance. Farmers know he’s not the one who needs the perfect slabs of steak or the traditional cuts.

“They are the real deal Italian cooks,” says Dick Cates, owner of Cates Family Farm in Spring Green, about Mangano and his team. Cates Family Farm raises grass-fed Jersey and Angus cattle without growth hormones or antibiotics. Osteria Papavero is now Cates’ only regular account for the more unusual organ meats, including heart, tongue, cheek, oxtail and liver.

“I collect them for him,” Cates says, and he’s grateful that those parts of the animal are being appreciated. “We have to use our food and not waste it. I’m thankful that [Osteria Papavero] can be creative with it.”

Cooking seasonally is a passion, and Mangano’s favorite is fall, with its plethora of squash, wild hare, and especially mushrooms (Mangano forages for mushrooms in area parks). A typical dinner menu may list only six entrees, though there will be seasonal specials. Mangano shops at the downtown farmers market and has long relationships with other farmers to buy meats, cheeses and vegetables that fit the moment’s menu.

He laughs at the idea of secret methods or ingredients in recipes and prefers to have around three main ingredients in a dish. He likes the more unusual vegetables grown by local Hmong farmers that just wouldn’t be available in other parts of the country—or the world. A mainstay on the Osteria Papavero menu is the Grigliata, or mixed grill, which changes often but always features three meats such as duck, beef, pork, lamb or rabbit.

Kay Jensen, owner of JenEhr Family Farm in Sun Prairie, first met Mangano when she hired him to be one of their “Farm Chefs.” Jensen found that having a professional chef in twice a week to cook for their staff and family was an invaluable perk to their business. The farmers get ideas for cooking the chickens and vegetables and enjoy getting to know the food in a different way. Mangano would make homemade gnocchi or almond cakes, which he called “simple peasant food in Italy,” all of which were delicious, she said.

“As a farmer, I’m particular about what I eat,” says Jensen. “He cooks real food for real people, and there are layers of flavor.”

Now Mangano is a key customer and friend. JenEhr Family Farm and Osteria Papavero hosted a Dinner on the Farm event together in the summer of 2015, and Jensen and Mangano have talked about Barber’s book and how food can be better used in our society.

Before coming to Madison, Mangano worked at Felidia in New York, where he learned from Italian chef Lidia Bastianich. He then worked on a master’s degree in Siena, Italy, that focused on food tastes of local specialties, such as olive oil, honey and chocolate, and he became part of the Slow Food movement in Northern Italy.

What’s next for Osteria Papavero, which opened in 2006, includes a new offer of health insurance to its 15 employees, ensuring they are able to make a living at the restaurant. Mangano would also like to host more private dinners and special events, but at the moment, he does not aspire to opening more locations.

The restaurant business has not been easy. “The only people who own a restaurant without any fears are Hollywood actors,” he says. It is not, Mangano says, a good idea to go into it for the money. The only thing that might be harder, he adds, is farming.

The trips to Italy are rejuvenating in many ways—for time away, for new ideas, for connecting the history of his cooking to the future of how he creates meals and runs his kitchen. “If you don’t take time to breathe, you can’t go on,” Mangano says.

Be sure to try this simple and comforting Zuppa di Funghi (Wild Mushroom Stew) by Chef Francesco Mangano. This Italian stew is thick, flavorful and perfect for a cool, fall evening.