Gorgonzola Cheese Festival (September), Turron Festival (November), Napoli Pizza Village (September), Pesto Festival (October), Gelato Festival (May), Rimini Ice Cream and Sweets Fair (January), Festival fish Sagra del pesce (May), white truffle festival (November) - will allow everyone present to know what to try in Italy.
Food in Italy
Italians love to treat guests with seafood, soups, fruits, meats, vegetables, herbs, olive oil, pasta, all kinds of cheeses - ricotta, parmesan, gorgonzola, mascarpone. Among the drinks in Italy, you should try limoncello, sambuca, cappuccino, espresso, campari, grappa, amaretto.
In Italy, trattoria is widespread (these restaurants are famous for quality food at attractive prices), pizzerias (all lovers of real Italian pizza are dear here), birreria (these establishments are aimed at those who want to eat salads and sandwiches) and tavola calda (people come to this diner to take take away ready-made meals or eat them on the spot).
Top 10 Italian dishes
Tiramisu
Tiramisu
Tiramisu is presented in the form of a multi-layered dessert: it is made from biscuits (savoyardi), cheese (mascarpone), espresso coffee (impregnation), sugar and chicken eggs. Sprinkle cocoa on top of the tiramisu.
In Rome, you can try the classic tiramisu with wild berries, pistachios, strawberries or bananas in the Pompi pastry shop (via della Croce, 82; not far from the Spanish Steps) for 4.5 euros (those who decide to take tiramisu with them will put this dessert in nice box).
Lasagna
Lasagne is an Italian casserole, originally from Emilia-Romagna: filling (minced meat, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and other vegetables) is laid on thin layers of dough (ideally 6-7), poured with white béchamel sauce (butter + flour + milk + fat) and sprinkle with grated cheese.
The approximate cost of lasagna is 8 euros.
Risotto
Risotto
Risotto is made from fried rice (Padano, Arborio, Carnaroli, Maratelli and other varieties), into which fish, vegetable or meat broth is gradually introduced, and at the end of cooking - filler in the form of mushrooms, meat, seafood, fennel, trout, pumpkin, pods beans, vegetables. Often grated parmesan and olive oil, whipped with a whisk, are added to risotto. Important: in catering establishments, a spoon is served with risotto.
Pizza
Pizza is an open round flatbread on which tomatoes and cheese (often mozzarella) are spread in the classic recipe. Its variety is calzone - this pastry is baked, pre-folded in half. To prepare pizza, use a wood-burning, conveyor or hearth oven.
Popular types of pizza:
- Pizza Margherita (tomatoes + basil + mozzarella + olive oil);
- Pizza con le cozze (it contains olive oil, parsley, mussels, garlic);
- Pizza capricciosa (this pizza is inconceivable without mozzarella, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichokes, black and green olives);
- Pizza Hawaii (pineapple + ham);
- Pizza Diabola (main ingredients are Calabrian hot peppers and salami).
The average cost of a pizza in a pizzeria is 4.5-8 euros.
Minestrone
Minestrone comes in the form of a light soup with seasonal vegetables, sometimes filled with rice or pasta. In the classic recipe, chopped vegetables (carrots, fennel, celery, zucchini, pumpkin) are boiled. Some of them are mashed with a blender and put into soup. Minestrone is often made with pesto sauce. As for the broth, it is made with pancetta, ham, grape wine and spices.
You can try minestrone (on the menu you can see at least 10 versions of this soup; for example, in Milan restaurants you can order minestrone with sage and bacon) for about 4, 80 euros.
Ravioli
Ravioli
Ravioli - Italian dumplings / dumplings: unleavened dough is prepared for them, which is filled with meat, fish, poultry, spinach, pumpkin and other fillings, and then formed with a crescent, square or ellipse (the edges have a curly cut). Ravioli are boiled (prepare to make sauces as an addition) or fried in oil (in which case soup or broth will be added to them). While in Italy, try ravioli with parmesan, minced chicken, spinach and parsley.
Panna cotta
The homeland of Panna Cotta is Piedmont. This dessert is made with sugar, cream and vanilla. The ingredients are boiled for 15 minutes, gelatin is added to the resulting sweet mass and poured into molds. Panna-cotta is transferred to the plate after it has solidified. Complementing panna cotta - fruits, berries, caramel, coffee, raspberry or chocolate sauce.
Frittata
Frittata is an Italian omelet filled with meat, sausage, cheese, vegetables … The traditional recipe contains Parmesan and leeks, while the Neapolitan frittata contains pasta. For the first stage of frittata cooking, you will need a stove, and for the second, an oven, as well as a special double pan with two handles (beaten eggs are poured into it, and the filling is placed on top). Vacationers in Naples should visit the Di Matteo pizzeria, which, in addition to pizza, serves excellent roast and frittata.
Polenta
Polenta is an Italian porridge made with cornmeal and water (a large copper pot is used for cooking). The porridge is cooked to such a degree of thickening that, when cooled, it can be cut into portions. Polenta can be either a side dish or an independent dish (in this case, anchovies, meat, mushrooms and other products are added).
It is worth trying traditional polenta in the northern regions of Italy (for example, in Lombardy), polenta alla carbonara (ham + cheese + pork) - in the Marche region, polenta e salsiccia (sauce is added to polenta, which contains olive oil, garlic, homemade sausages, tomatoes) - in the center of Italy, polenta uncia (stir fry is added to polenta: it contains garlic, butter and sage) - on Lake Como.
Trippa
Trippa
Trippa is a tripe-based dish (beef tripe), to which pecorino cheese and wild mint are most often added. Thin pieces of tripe are seasoned with spices, fried with oil, pour wine into the dish and stew until the liquid evaporates. Before serving the trippa on the table, sprinkle grated Parmesan on top of it. Trippa is cooked in Bolognese, Florentine, Roman, and also with the addition of potatoes and beans.
