La Dolce Vita
“One of the very nicest things about life
is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing
and devote our attention to eating.”
Luciano Pavarotti
And this is the final in this Italy travel trilogy; food. It is impossible to talk about Italy and not mention food. People seem to live to eat. Eating is a national pastime. Cooking is done with passion.
It all began with ice cream. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream, right? A childhood filled with mini milks and cornettos. What did I know? Then I tried gelato.
On a girls holiday in Tuscany over 20 years ago, I tried what was then, the best ice cream of my life. We had rented a small farmhouse for a month, in a tiny hilltop village. There was one alimentari (grocery store), one bar, one post office and a gelataria. We were hooked. We walked the 2 kilometers every day into the village in search of stracciatella. And that memory stayed with me.
Italy, you had me at gelato!
My obsession continued some years later in Rome. By this point I had discovered my favourite flavour, pistachio. By the end of the visit I left Italy with a 3 kilo gelato baby!
What’s your favourite flavour?
On this recent trip, we sought out something a little different, a restaurant that specialised in Abruzzese cuisine. Four desserts were listed on the menu. We attacked methodically, over two evenings.
The first two dishes were a Cherry mousse with peaches and Ameretto and something called Must with almond sweets.
The mousse, a heavy blend of cream and liquor, was super sweet but delicious. The sweets were a more delicate combination of cream and nuts, accompanied by a small jug of a sweet, dense syrup called must. I enquired. The Sommelier explained that Mostocotto is created during the harvest, by boiling the free run grape juice on a direct and moderate flame for many hours. Mostocotto is made from 100% Montepulciano grapes from Abruzzo. It was unlike any dessert I have ever tried and absolutely sensational.
The next evening we returned for more. The remaining regional specialties were Holiday cake and something called Emilio’s dessert, a soft, fluffy scone, served with a generous dollop of ricotta cheese. We tried the Genezian essence served on the side. It was strong and bitter, perhaps an acquired taste.
There wasn’t really room for the fourth and final sweet, but the challenge was on! We persisted!
The holiday cake was soft, booze soaked and extremely rich. We ate the lot! It was an indulgent end to an already decadent dinner.
It was great to have the opportunity to sample lesser known Italian desserts.
Have you tried some new food on your travels recently?
Maggie M/ Mother City Time