“Should you go to Italy, you have to attempt the _______,” gushes your just-got-back-from-Italy good friend. As if it have been ever that easy. In Italy, there are 20 totally different areas, lots of of regional dialects, and not less than 350 sorts of pasta. And that’s simply the pasta shapes, not the pasta sauce. The tradition of the nation, and particularly its delicacies, is something however monolithic.
That’s why proclaiming a single “must-try” dish in Italy is not simply inconceivable, it’s misguided. I’d by no means suggest you order pesto in Puglia any greater than I’d suggest you order handmade orecchiette in Liguria. Not since you gained’t discover first rate variations, however as a result of they’re not regional specialties, and generations of residents there haven’t grown up cooking, consuming, and perfecting these dishes. Pizza in Venice? Most likely a move. However spaghetti con vongole? A giant sure.
Regional dishes in Italy developed largely based mostly on what produce, livestock, or sport was prevalent within the space. That’s why basil, which thrives in Liguria’s coastal microclimate, is the star of Genovese pesto. The durum wheat cultivated in southern Italy is the bottom for Puglia’s orecchiette pasta, sometimes paired with one other product of Puglian soil: turnip greens. And that’s why you’re higher off ordering fish or seafood in Venice, moderately than a mushroom and sausage pizza.
In my area of Umbria, pasta with wild boar or seasonal dishes with black truffles are specialties, however an hour south in Rome, you must hunt down the very best pasta carbonara or carciofi alla giudìa, the deep-fried artichokes which are an indicator of Rome’s Jewish group.
The easiest way to seek out the “must-try” dish of every area is to perform a little homework previous to your journey, and seek for the specialty of every area and metropolis you’re planning to go to. You possibly can seek for “finest locations to attempt X in X” lists, however chances are high these listicles are recycled from one another. Native tourism web sites and even your lodge web site could provide recommendations on what to eat and the place to eat it. You too can ask your taxi driver, tour information, or concierge, and they’re going to doubtless be joyful to opine about the very best meals to eat of their metropolis or space.
Should you’re visiting a number of locations in Italy, deliver your urge for food, sense of journey, and style for brand new meals and flavors. Simply keep in mind: it’s not all pizza, pasta and gelato—although admittedly, we do these fairly effectively.