What to Eat in Italy: Typical Italian Food and Specialties | Page 5 of 6
Costedda: The Sardinian Focaccia Made Without Water
In Villasimius on the southeast coast of Sardinia they bake a focaccia whose dough never sees a drop of water - the juice of a kilo of crushed tomatoes takes its place. The second traditional version goes with stewed onion. Sa costedda is sold by weight, cut from large sheets, and outside this corner of the island you won't find it. For me, the contest between the tomato and the onion version had a clear winner.
Gueffus: Sardinian Almond Balls in Colorful Wrappers
Gueffus are Sardinian almond balls: ground almonds, sugar and lemon zest are simply cooked in a pot, rolled, coated in sugar, and each ball is twisted up in a colorful fringed wrapper like a sweet. They're made all over Sardinia under several names, and they belong at weddings, christenings and Christmas - and the legend about the battlements on the wrapper was invented by a novelist.
Mirto di Sardegna: The Sardinian Myrtle Berry Liqueur
Mirto di Sardegna is a Sardinian liqueur made from the berries of the common myrtle: the berries are picked in winter in the macchia, the dense Mediterranean scrub that covers half the island, steeped in alcohol for several weeks and sweetened with syrup; the result is around 30% ABV and is drunk ice-cold after a meal. Corsica and a few corners of mainland Italy know myrtle liqueur too, but only the Sardinian one carries the protected name - and it was made at home long before anyone started bottling it.
Sardinian Wine: Vermentino, Cannonau and Other Bottles from the Island
Sardinia has exactly one wine with DOCG status, its most widely planted grape is identical to French grenache, and its vernaccia ages under a layer of yeast like sherry. I'll explain how Vermentino di Gallura differs from Vermentino di Sardegna, why archaeology and Aragon still argue over where cannonau came from, and I compare six bottles from a supermarket near Villasimius.
Delizia al Limone: The Lemon Dessert of Sorrento and Amalfi
Delizia al limone is a lemon dessert from the Italian region of Campania: two sponge domes sandwiched with lemon cream, soaked in limoncello syrup and coated in a thick lemon glaze. It was created in 1978 by the Sorrento pastry chef Carmine Marzuillo, and it nearly ended up being called a lemon sigh. Today the whole coast from Sorrento through Amalfi to Naples claims it.
Genny street food: Frittatina and Fried Naples in Sorrento
Genny street food is a small bistro serving fried Neapolitan specialties on Sorrento's Via degli Aranci - frittatine, arancini, crocché and montanare, all done Naples-style. The frittatina, a flat fried disc of pasta and béchamel, has barely made it beyond Campania, and in Sorrento nobody pretends it is anything but an import. Reviews put Gennaro and Rosa's place among the best rated in town.
Antica Gelateria Sorrentina: A Family Gelateria in Sorrento
On via Fuoro in Sorrento, an older gentleman and a sign claiming 1860 lure you into a small gelateria. Nobody can prove the date, but the documented version is the nicer one: the Gargiulo family once sold milk here, and from milk it was a short step to gelato. Today the third generation makes it, and the flagship flavor is crema amalfitana, a milky cream with lemon.
Pizzeria da Michele: Sorrento's Namesake of the Famous Naples Pizzeria
Da Michele - a name that in the pizza world means Naples and a chain of more than seventy branches from London to Tokyo. The Sorrento one isn't among them: it's the small pizzeria and rosticceria of Michele Sorrentino, a few steps from Piazza Tasso, where locals come for a box to go. Unlike the Naples family, he needs nothing more than his own first name - and no court case to keep it.
Bar Nonna Emilia: Aperitivo in Sorrento's Fishing Quarter
Bar Nonna Emilia sits right on the waterfront of Marina Grande, the fishing quarter of Sorrento, which as late as the 1950s you could only reach on foot down a stairway. A limoncello spritz or a Bellini here comes with a view of the sea and the fishermen at their nets - and with the riddle of two Emilias who between them have been feeding this one street for nearly eighty years.
Limoncello: The Lemon Liqueur from Sorrento and Amalfi
On the label limoncello looks like a centuries-old heirloom, but its documented history only starts in 1988, when someone on Capri registered the first trademark. What kind of liqueur it is, why the IGP mark belongs to the lemon and not to the bottle, how the Sorrento and Amalfi versions differ, and how a bottle carried home from the square below the cathedral in Amalfi tastes.