Pam Pam! Yes, I’ll speak about the Italian food, boring right? Yes, if I’m going to speak only about something that we all know as traditional food: pasta and pizza.
And no, if I’ll try to give you some tips on what food you should never miss if you ever visit the South of Italy, which could be very different than what you’re used to in the North.
As far as I’ve noticed, there are a lot of differences on how they prepare the food, between North and South, so here is the specific food of South Italy, mamma mia, I’m already drooling:
Number 1 is Pizza! Haha, you didn’t expect it right? Well, this pizza is crazy tasty though: crazy good, crazy fresh, crazy cheap (on the local pizzeria) and crazy fast to be served on your table. I’ve ate so much Margherita like I never did in my life! Imagine this: a perfect cooked crust, pretty thin, with some tomato sauce on top. Can you imagine the smell of this hot pizza with the perfect melted mozzarella on top!? Are you drooling enough? Well…if not yet, check this out:
Number 2 is the local home made pasta. The Orecchiette pasta is the symbol of Puglia. As the name says, this pasta really looks like small ears, but they are super delicious. You can find it in any combination: with tomato-sauce based, with meatballs, with ricotta or pesto.
Speaking about pasta, here is where I’ve also discovered one of the most interesting recipes. The fun fact is that they are using some basic ingredients and the taste is more than amazing: boiled spaghetti with garlic and tomato-sauce, then actually burned in the wok and seasoned with a lot of pepper: it is called Asassina and it’s bananas!
I’ve also tried the spaghetti with pesto, but I don’t need to tell you they were great, right? You already know! I’ll show you instead:
Another interesting meal was Pasta e ceci, served with chickpeas. The taste was pretty weird for me as I couldn’t identify it with anything similar, but I believe they are worth trying.
If you’re not in the mood to sit in a restaurant, here are some recommendations for a fast/delicious meal or snack:
- Pizzo Leccese (a type of bread with onion, olives, tomatoes and pepperoni)- cost 2 €
- Pasticiotto- this is the best pastry in the world! It is all stuffed with cream and it’s amazing! It is usually served on breakfast, so yes, I ate a lot of these ! – cost between 1,5 € -3,5 €
- Frisa-the Italian bruschetta usually served with tomatoes and oregano
- Rustico- a puff pastry stuffed with tomato and mozzarella – 2 €
Number 3 is the Italian Gelato- this is the best ice cream ever. I mean, they have all the flavors you could think about, it is very creamy and smooth and you pay a fair price for it. For me, this is the perfect dessert
Number 4- is one of the weirdest snacks ever. We use to eat polenta very often in Romania, but I’ve never thought that I could do such a good snack from it.
In the center of Bari, there are some ladies preparing what they call it: zgagliozze. To make it short: these are polenta fritters and it’s served in a paper bag, all seasoned with salt. This snack goes perfectly with a Peroni, the husband of one of these ladies is actually selling it at the corner for just 2€.
The last, but not least are the Italian cannoli: the pastries, originally from Sicily, filled with a sweet creamy, usually containing ricotta. We’ve also tried tried the one with pistachio, they are both great.
After all these, don’t be surprised to come back with some extra pounds as I did!
Now tell me…what else did you eat in Italy and you were crazy about?
Thanks for reading:)
