ITALY is the answer

For one year now I have been writing around 1,000 words EVERY week on anything and everything about Italy, sometimes without the faintest idea of what my next topic will be!

GRAZIE MILLE to all of you who read the Ciao Italy Newsletter and a special thank you to those of you who give me feedback. Thank you also to my one and only amazing son, Sam, who ensures that the newsletter arrives without fail in your inbox every Tuesday. An easy way to access any one of 53 past newsletters is to google ciaoitaly.tours. They are all there.

There is no such thing as Italian food!

It is surprising to learn that a true Italian cuisine hardly exists. Each region, province and city has its own proud gastronomic traditions and local specialties. Popular opinion is that Italian cuisine is not just among the best in the world, but quite simply the best. A big statement? Not really.

First, there is the quality of the staples of Italian food. A really good extra-virgin olive oil; buffalo mozzarella from Naples; a leg of Parma ham; a mature parmesan to grate over your pasta, all unbelievable and a rock solid base on which to build.

Second, there is the glorious simplicity and unpretentiousness of Italian food. Bruschetta with garlic and tomato; porchetta in a panino from the market stall; spaghetti with home-made pesto invented in Liguria. It’s all so delicious. With a reluctance to surrender to fast food and the convenience of pre-cooked meals, you can even eat seriously well in airports, train stations and the autogrill on the autostrada.

But BEST OF ALL, Italian food is so good because Italians are passionate about food and that is how they cook - with love and passion. Eating seasonal food is a way of life that borders on a sacred rite.

The must-try foods in five popular regions

Italian cuisine is often thought of as little more than pizza and pasta. If you are aware of the local specialties of each region and eat where the locals eat, you will never have a bad meal in Italy. Here is a guide to the best local dishes in just five of the regions that we visit on a Ciao Italy tour.

Basilicata

This wild and beautiful region is home to one of the oldest cities in the world, Matera, and has long been known as a poor and very rural part of Italy. If you have read my newsletter on Matera, you know that the city has undergone a remarkable rebirth from being the national disgrace of Italy in the 1950s to the national pride of Italy as winner of the European Capital of Culture in 2019.

Food is simple, honest and ancient, much of it based on Italy’s oldest grains, legumes and vegetables. Matera is famous for its crusty bread that used to be baked in communal ovens since the beginning of time. With a lumpy, conical shape, this primitive looking loaf, with its hard, dark brown crust and pale yellow crumb, is made from the locally milled semolina grain and a natural yeast derived from grapes and figs fermented in local spring water. Once stale, it is a key ingredient in acquasale, a simple soup similar to Tuscany’s acquacotta.

Campania

Everything tastes better in Campania, where food, identity and pride are inseparable. Some put it down to the volcanic soil, others to the region’s sun and soulfulness. Whatever the reason, eating in Campania is a mouthwatering experience.

With Naples as its capital, there is no better pizza than a Neapolitan pizza, although Romans would disagree. Pizza Margherita will always be my favourite, topped with tomato sauce, fresh basil and cheese. Don’t miss Insalata Caprese, a classic and simple salad of the very best mozzarella di bufala with tomatoes and fresh basil, invented on the island of Capri. Polipetti Affogati is a traditional dish of baby octopus braised in a garlic and chilli infused tomato sauce and Spaghetti alla Vongole is one of the region’s most popular dishes - spaghetti with clams cooked in white wine. A favourite pastry is Sfogliatella, known as lobster tails - crispy layered pastry with a sweet semolina and ricotta filling.

Liguria

The Italian Riviera is famous for fat anchovies, fragrant lemons, some of the country’s best olives and vibrant green pesto sauce, considered a national treasure. Farming is carried out on ingeniously terraced cliff faces, while impossibly situated fishing villages serve up seafood delights.

I have to expand on the pesto because it is surely the best in the world. Genoa’s famous sauce is made with pounded basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan (or pecorino) and garlic. What makes it superior is the deep green, DOP protected basil that is sweet and full of flavour.

And then there’s the Taggiasca olives which are tiny, succulent olives that are both eaten and pressed to form one of the best virgin olive oils in Italy. The olives have a low acid content, so the oil tastes sweet with a hint of fresh almonds and hazelnut.

Lombardy

Italy’s richest region, Lombardy, covers four distinctive culinary zones: the Po Valley has rice paddies and rivers; the glacial lakes teem with freshwater fish; cows and goats graze Alpine foothills producing milk and cheese; and the mountains are covered with chestnuts.

Milan’s most famous dish is Risotto alla Milanese, enriched with bone marrow and butter and enhanced with saffron and parmesan. Cotoletta alla Milanese is a flattened veal cutlet, drenched in egg and breadcrumbs, then fried in butter. Lavarello con Salsa Verde is a typical dish from Lake Como - a whitefish marinated in a parsley and garlic sauce.

Tuscany

Tuscan cuisine was conjured up over an open wood fire in the farmer’s kitchen. It remains faithful to its humble roots in a region that is blessed with an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Outstanding produce is the cornerstone of Tuscan cooking. Pulses, grains and beans sit at the heart of most daily meals, accompanied by wild fennel, sweet red onions, artichokes, broad beans, chicory and red and green tomatoes.

The icon is Florence’s Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a chargrilled T-bone steak rubbed with olive oil, seared on the grill, seasoned and served quite rare. Never ask for your steak well-done. Begrudgingly, the chef may accept medium rare. The meat comes from the Chianina cows, one of the world’s oldest cattle breeds, which originate in the Val di Chiana in eastern Tuscany.

Another characteristic Tuscan dish is Pappardelle al Sugo di Cinghiale - a rich, slow-cooked tomato sauce with wild boar meat served over pappardelle pasta ribbons, best with a glass of Chianti Classico or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

In previous newsletters I have talked about popular foods in Rome, capital of Lazio; touched on the melting pot of cuisine in Sicily and written about the culinary capital of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna. There is a lot to cover in the twenty regions of Italy, but for now that is enough to have you dreaming about your next Italian meal in food obsessed Italy!

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb