An Italian told me that while others eat to live, Italians live to eat, and he said that with his mouth full. Italians will enthusiastically share their restaurant recommendations and family recipes, and even as fast food creeps into their culture, Italians staunchly guard their traditional food products, as witnessed by the founding of the Slow Food movement. A favorite Italian proverb is “A tavola non si invecchia” – at the table one does not age – so relaxed meals are the key to a long life. Our culinary and walking tours in Italy feature authentic regional foods that highlight the amazing variety of dishes in Italy that are profoundly local.
Posted In: Italian Food Traditions & Recipes
I like to start of my day with a big cup of caffè latte and a breakfast pastry that is not overly sweet. I began experimenting with leavened doughs to come up with the perfect Italian breakfast bun, and after several attempts, all of which I ate, I finally settled on this recipe. Though it […]
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Walking in Puglia is a delight for all the senses, and once we’d left the trail and headed the lunch, many varieties of pugliese-style focaccia graced the table. This recipe is our version of focaccia from our Puglia Walk, ready to stave off withdrawal now that our walking tour in Italy is complete.
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Simple yet flavorful cuisine is a highlight of our Walking & Cooking in Umbria tour, where you work up an appetite on the trail and learn to cook traditional dishes with farmhouse cooks. The wines are rich and pleasurable, making the simplest dish a taste of pure joy. Ingredients 1 red onion, halved and thinly […]
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Western Sicily is where a lucky fisherman may still catch a fresh tuna during May and June, when restaurants feature lots of interesting tuna preparations. If the tuna aren’t biting, this tasty dish can be made with ingredients found in any Italian pantry. Ingredients 1 clove garlic, cut into thin slivers 1 small peperoncino (dried hot red […]
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Taralli are crunchy ring-shaped crackers that are traditional in Puglia, and we learn to make them on our Pleasures of Puglia tour. Here’s the recipe for making taralli at home.
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This breadstick recipe from Piedmont produces crunchy grissini with an interesting history that includes a ghostly legend. We sample them every chance we get on our walking tour in Piedmont.
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Foraging for wild asparagus is just an excuse to enjoy the beautiful countryside while walking in Sicily. Then there’s lunch, which may or may not be asparagus risotto.
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One of the rewards of walking in Liguria and the Cinque Terre is certainly the crispy focaccia genovese – genoa-style focaccia – which is good at all 3 meals plus makes a delicious snack. Here’s our recipe.
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About our Asparagus Risotto Recipe: Hearty alpine cuisine is a great reward after hiking uphill to admire the Wildflowers in the Dolomites, where you’ll find a great variety of risotto dishes that will keep your taste buds happy through both of our Dolomites tours. We alos use wild asparagus that we forage in Sicily to […]
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Winter is the season for arance rosse, the blood oranges of Sicily, with the tarocco orange being the most highly prized. Find out why.
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In Sicily, residents open their homes to visitors to view tables laden with a stunning variety of traditional sweets and intricate festival breads during the Tavolata di San Giuseppe.
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A visit to torrone heaven in the small town of Giarratana, Sicily. At the Torronificio Trapani, I watched how to make almond torrone, a traditional Christmas nougat that is popular all over Italy.
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