The real reason we're moving to Italy

If the truth be told, we’re really moving to Italy for the food. After all, if eating ranked in the top two of each family member’s life priorities, why wouldn’t we?

If you’ve taken your taste buds beyond the Domino’s Pizza at the strip mall and Sbarro in the food court, you’ll know that there’s an entire world of Italian food out there. And it goes way beyond our 10-year-old American’s focus on pizza, pasta, and gelato (although there is plenty of each of these in Italy, covering the full spectrum of quality – in fact, we tasted the worst pizza ever in a small town in the Sibillini mountains).

But there’s plenty of good stuff too. And like other regions of Italy, Marche has its own specialties, many of them localized to single towns or even villages. Historically, these communities were largely self-sufficient, with their meat and produce coming from the land around them. As a result, they took care of the land, not only because it was their livelihood, it was also their survival.

The essence of this tradition has survived in two primary ways – small and organic. “Small is beautiful” and “Small is good” typify Marche agriculture, as does the natural approach to it. Their respect for the land is mirrored in their use of every part of everything – nothing is wasted. Even the farmers seem to be organic – meet a few of them, and you’ll be excused for thinking that they are products of the earth themselves.

Like its landscape and lifestyle, there are two distinct worlds when it comes to the cuisine to be found in Marche’s osterie and trattorie and ristoranti (at least broadly speaking) – the coast and inland. On the Adriatic, you’ll find lots of seafood (surprise, surprise!), while inland, the marchigiani taste for meat will soon become apparent. The style is simple and wholesome, with the ultimate goal being to create something that would elicit a compliment from nonna.

OK. With all that said, it’s time to introduce you to a few of those specialties to get those gastronomic juices going:

Ascolana Tenera olive – “known as picena by ancient Latins, this olive is unique: good, crunchy, easy to digest and regarded as being by far the best green table olive in the world” (a wholly unbiased review by the Marche Region Agricultural Department)

olive all’ascolana – large green Marche olives, stuffed with ground meat and herbs, and fried with a breadcrumb covering; one of those I-can’t-get-enough-of-it dishes

brodetto – an Adriatic specialty, a fish stew made with 13 species of fish – no more, no less; each town has it’s own special recipe, each vying for the ultimately unattainable title of best brodetto on the coast

vincisgrassi – a rich baked lasagna without the usual tomatoes

passatelli – strands of pasta made from breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and egg cooked in broth

Maccheroncini di Campofilone – a home-style pasta all’uovo produced in the Ascoli village of – you guessed it – Campofilone

prosciutto crudo, particularly prosciutto di Carpegna – raw, cured ham; coscia, sale, tempo e nient’altro: thigh, salt, time, and nothing else

ciauscolo – a cured pork salami, minced several times to produce a paté-like texture

formaggio di fossa – for cheese-lovers, a must; strong-flavored cheese walled up in tufa rock caves for months, with a taste that leaves your mouth aching for more; originated from early times when the locals hid their product in pits carved out of tufa stone to protect it from plunder by soldiers

casciotta d’Urbino – a delicate sweet cheese made from blending local sheep and cow’s milk; once a favorite of Michelangelo

miele di millefiori and miele di castagna – diverse, intense honeys produced in the region of the Sibillini mountains; serve warm with formaggio di fossa for a delectable and distinctly Marche snack

tartufi – the king of woodland produce, the truffle, grown in select areas, and a highly prized product of the northern reaches; both varieties – white and black – are grown here; Rossini used to have the black ones shipped to him in France

OK, don’t know about you, but I’m off to see what’s in the fridge….