Reason N.2 Learn to speak italian: Italian Food
A recent survey by the world’s largest travel review site, TripAdvisor, has brought us the ultimate top 10 food and wine cities in Europe, as voted by its travel-savvy contributors and guess what? Italy appears 5 times in the list!
1. Florence, Italy
The first of an impressive five Italian cities to make it into the top 10, the Tuscan city of Florence needs little introduction. An Aladdin’s cave of basilicas, frescoes and piazzas, known the world over for its fine art and architecture, it seems that anyone coming to soak up Florence’s wonders will be treated to a fine feast at the end of a hard day’s sightseeing. Hardly surprising when you consider the abundance of local produce – including pecorino cheese, olive oil and wild game – and world-class wines produced in the surrounding Tuscan hills, Chianti and Montepulciano to name a few.
3. Rome, Italy
La citta’ eterna. The eternal city. Rome is steeped in history and is a great place to learn Italian. And when it comes to eating you won’t be disappointed either. With culinary traditions harking back to the past, you can expect to eat basic yet hearty food while staying in the capital: fresh vegetables (artichoke being the most popular), inexpensive cuts of meat (particularly the innards), salted cod (filetti di baccala), deep-fried courgette flowers (fiori di zucca) and pecorino cheese are common menu items, while ricotta cake may grace your plate for dessert. Just as well you can walk around easily to work some of it off… 🙂
4. Sorrento, Italy
Located on the Italian southern coast in Italy’s beautiful Campania region, Sorrento is a place for fish and seafood lovers. The catch of the day cooked to perfection, it really doesn’t matter what you order as you can be sure it will exceed your expectations. Even if you order a simple pasta or pizza dish, it will be lovingly cooked with locally-produced olive oil, sun-ripened tomatoes and silky buffalo mozzarella. After dinner what can you drink to wash it all down? Ah si! Un limoncello per favore! What else are they going to do with all those lemons? Plus it would be rude not to…
6. Siena, Italy
Siena holds a special place in my heart as it’s where I had my honeymoon and it’s just BELLISSIMA! Siena is an excellent option if you want to enjoy Tuscany on a smaller scale. It is by no means less generous on the food front however. Sienese cuisine is characterised by cereals, pulses, herbs, game and pork, making meats such as wild boar, hare and roast pork popular menu inclusions here. Vegetarians might enjoy specialities such as ribollita (Tuscan vegetable and bread soup, prepared over three days see my previous blog post with the recipe!!), pici (thick, chewy handmade pasta resembling spaghetti but 100 tastier) and pasta e ceci or pasta with chickpeas, while there are no barriers to indulging in Siena’s classic sweets of panforte (a cake traditionally eaten at Christmas) and ricciarelli, crunchy oval-shaped almond biscuits YUMMY!
7. Bologna, Italy
Bologna doesn’t have the art galleries of Florence, the canals of Venice, or the ancient landmarks of Rome, but it does have miles of stunning arcades and striking medieval architecture, one of the oldest universities in the world. “La gorda, la rossa”, as it is affectionately known, is testament to Bologna’s credentials as a centre of learning, eating and architecture. La gorda, or ‘the fat one’, refers to its notoriously delicious food which has made it, for many, Italy’s gastronomic capital. In short, it’s impossible to eat badly here. Tagliatelle al ragù (the real thing!), lasagna, tortellini, are all popular local dishes.
The typical meal consists of:
- Aperitivo – Appetizer before a large meal
- Antipasto – There are hot and cold starters
- Primo – The first course (pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or soup)
- Secondo – The main dish (fish or meat)
- Contorno – Side dish (salad or cooked vegetables)
- Formaggio e frutta – “cheese and fruits” can be the first dessert
- Dolce – Desert
- Caffè – Coffee
- Digestivo – Digestives (liquors such as grappa, amaro, limoncello, nocino)
So what are you waiting for? If you live in Manchester and have one or two hours free to dedicate to a new hobby, why not learn to speak Italian with Learn Italian Manchester? Get in touch to find out about existing Italian for beginners classes in Chorlton and Didsbury and other locations: hello at learnitalianmanchester.co.uk