It’s hard to resist – Italian food is a real treat!
Let’s be honest, we are all coming to Italy to admire its beauty: in architecture, nature…but first of all to taste all delicious food this country is offering. Although, every region has its own proud representative in terms of food, one thing is in common everywhere – many, too many tasty options.
When people hear Italian food, most of them will think about pasta. Marco Polo, merchant and traveler from Venice brought pasta back from China. Apparently, there are more 350 different shapes of pasta – penne, spaghetti, ravioli, tortellini and so on… If you don’t have time to sit down and eat, take away pasta is always a good option – Bolognese, Milanese or filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, you can’t go wrong. Btw, did you know that Italians are using cheese in cooking almost in every meal? So mozzarella, blue cheese, parmesan or any other type will be something you can’t avoid.
One should never leave Italy without good pasta carbonara. Originally from Rome, but you can find it everywhere. And FYI this would be first plate or a starter for Italians. Believe me, if you want to have a dessert after, even if you order anything from –First plate- section it will be enough in terms of portion size.
While wandering the beautiful Italian coast, try some of the seafood cones and choose in between calamari, shrimps…the choice is yours.
Ready for some pizza for lunch?! You will be surprised how fast you will be served. According to legend Roman soldiers tried Jewish flat bread and when returning home developed similar food. Another story says that pizza was made because of poverty, all leftovers where put on thin bread and then baked.
For all the fans of bread/dough, you are in the right country. Must try here is focaccia – thin bread originally from Liguria region. This thick bread can be eaten plain, but most likely it will be sprinkled with salt and brushed with olive oil. There are variations when you can find focaccia with cheese, olive and tomates as well.
And what’s better than gelato (Italian for ice cream)? Rumor has it that difference in between gelato and ice cream is obvious: gelato is more creamy and milk based, while ice cream is colder and more watery based. If you are looking for more desserts, go with Pana cotta – (“cooked cream”) – sweetened cream accompanied with gelatin and aromatized with rum, coffee, vanilla or tiramisu as it contains coffee, no wonder that the name can be translated as „lift me up“.
Coffee is amazing in Italy, so while you are here enjoy the most popular „Lavazza“, or if you are looking for more food brands, don’t leave Italy before discovering if „Nutella“ is better here than elsewhere in the world.
Follow Lana on Instagram to see more of her recommendations of what to see, do and eat across Europe!
Fancy trying some of these yourself? Join us on our upcoming trips to Italy!
– Departure Graf: Highlights of Northern Italy & Cinque Terre, October 7-11th 2021
– Departure K-Town: French & Italian Rivieras (Columbus Weekend), October 7-11th 2021
– Departure Graf: Thanksgiving in Italy, November 24-28th 2021
