Italy: what I ate this trip
Just slapping this up here for posterity. You’ve already heard about the kilos of mozzarella balls I scarfed down in the south, but surprisingly there was also room in my belly for other food, too, as we made our way up and down the peninsula. Here’s a little taste:
Pumpkin gnocchi with roquefort sauce and artichoke hearts at the unfortunately named Bufalo Cantina’s in Bressanone (Brixen), Alto Adige.
Pastatelli with tomato and porcini mushrooms at Ristorante La Loggetta overlooking the main square in Cortona, Tuscany.
Not pictured: amazing gelato from Gli Svizzeri in Arezzo, Tuscany. Excellent chocolate!
Grilled porcini mushroom caps (they taste better than they look) at Trattoria La Grotta in Cortona, Tuscany.
Tagliolini with fresh truffles, ravioli with truffle sauce, and a side of spinach at Trattoria la Grotta in Cortona, Tuscany.
Some of the food we cooked ourselves: a simple pasta with tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, mozzarella and parmigiano (can you tell the apartment was missing a cheese grater?).
And an even simpler meal: tomatoes with fresh smoked buffalo mozzarella.
A plate of mixed veggies (escarole, roasted red peppers, potatoes with mushrooms, and another green) at a simple but fabulous hole in the wall in Vallo, Campagna, called La Tavernetta del Principe (Piazza V. Emanuele). They also had homemade ravioli and other yummy stuff.
Dessert in Vallo: chocolate ricotta balls rolled in coconut.
A couple veggies, including carciofi alla romana (Roman artichokes) in Bagni di Tivoli.
Pasta cacio e pepe with artichoke hearts. Cacio e pepe is typical of the Rome area, containing pecorino cheese and black pepper. In Tivoli.
At the Pizzeria Stecca (Via G. Bruno, 42) in Padua. This is what a pizza verdure (vegetable pizza) is supposed to look like. Hear that, Zurich?
And in conclusion, I give you gelato from Grom, a high-end chain which has been popping up in all the major Italian cities (and NYC!) over the past few years. Some of the best pistachio gelato I’ve ever had. In Padua.
