Regional Italy: a tasting platter
The Italians have a saying ‘mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare’, which translates to ‘live to eat and not eat to live’,
Cheese
Where do you start? There are so many cheeses produced in Italy, some regionally specific, some widespread, all delicious. As a rough guide, keep your hungry eye out for: burrata, mozzarella, Parmigiano-reggiano, asiago, gorgonzola, marscapone, pecorino, ricotta, scamorza, and taleggio.
Eat it: Anywhere and everywhere
Ragu di Cinghiale
If you were a Tuscan farmer – or more specifically, a Tuscan farmer’s wife – you would undoubtedly have an age-old family recipe for ragu de cinghiale, or wild boar stew. This is rustic, bold country food, a rich mix of boar meat slow-cooked with tomato, aromatics, and spices, often served with pappardelle pasta.
Eat it: Bel Soggiorno, San Gimignano (ristorantebelsoggiorno.it)
Pasta con le sarde
While spaghetti alle vongole – pasta with steamed clams – is popular across Italy, the country’s finest seafood dish might just be pasta con le sarde, a Sicilian specialty of fresh-caught sardines mixed with fennel, anchovies, raisins, pine nuts, and toasted breadcrumbs, and stirred through spaghetti. Eat this at a table overlooking the Mediterranean and it will all make sense.
Eat it: Al Mazari, Syracuse (almazari.com)
Tortellini en brodo
Another specialty of Bologna that sounds fairly simple – tortellini parcels floating in a delicate broth – and yet as with so much Italian cuisine, is far greater than the sum of its parts. Tortellini en brodo is traditionally a winter dish, though you can usually find restaurants serving it year-round.
Eat it: Al Pappagallo, Bologna (alpappagallo.it)
Pastry
Though there are hundreds of pastry varieties served across Italy, here are a few favourites: sfogliatelle, a lobster-tail-shaped pastry from Naples filled with sweet cream or ricotta; cornetti, the ubiquitous croissants also filled with flavoured cream; Bigne di San Guiseppe, lightly fried pastries once again filled with cream; and cannoli, tubes of deepfried pastry that are… ahem, filled with sweet ricotta and cream.
Eat it: At any bar
Gelato
Gelato is justifiably world famous, though there are plenty of shops in Italy selling pretty average attempts at it. For the real deal, look out for gelato that isn’t brightly coloured (pistachios are not neon green, for example), and that won’t stand up in tall towers (preservatives). And stick with traditional flavours.
Eat it: Giolitti, Rome – Traveller