Savoring the South of Italy
The cuisine in southern Italy differs greatly from the food found in northern Italy. But even among the regions of southern Italy itself, you’ll find dozens of variations on one dish. The northern regions of Italy love dishes loaded with butter, cheese, and meat – think rich meat sauces and lots of cheese. Southern Italian cooking is simpler, leaning on bright citrus fruits, rich olive oil, and opulent fish fresh from its surrounding oceans. I’ve been able to explore three southern Italian regions – Puglia, Campania, Naples, and even got a taste of Sicily.
My excursion to Sicily was made even more memorable because I experienced it with my friend, Rhonda. She is a beautiful woman with long black hair and a look of Italian nobility. The minute we landed in Sicily, all eyes were on Rhonda. Her presence was especially distracting to the male citizens. Even with my blonde hair and blue eyes, I was nearly invisible when Rhonda was beside me.
As our trip continued, the stir she caused became comical at times. One evening we were walking to dinner and Rhonda was wearing a tight leopard print dress and high heels. In America, this would have been perfectly acceptable dining-out attire; but Sicilians are very casual, and it was rare to see a woman dressed up on an average day. As we strutted down the street, two motorcycles came around the bend, and they both crashed into a curb when they caught a glimpse of Rhonda. It was like a scene in a movie, and we laughed about it all night.
But Sicily was filled with more than cinematic hijinx. I learned to make cannoli, with crispy outer shells formed from dough made with local Marsala wine, filled with sweet sheep milk ricotta and pistachios from Mt. Etna. My favorite snack in Sicily is arancini, which means “little orange”, paying homage to the abundant amount of oranges on the island. Risotto is formed into balls, filled with cheese and sometimes meat sauce, lightly breaded and fried until golden. Indeed, they look like little oranges. I have made hundreds of these over the years because they are the perfect starter to a dinner party.
Compania is also a stunning southern region of Italy and is where I became a true pizza snob. The city of Naples is known for their pizza, topped with bubbly local cheese are served hot from wood-fired ovens. The minute I walked off the train from Rome, I charted a course to the nearest pizzeria. The pizza chefs let me go in the kitchen and watch them flip the dough in the air before laying it on the cold marble countertop. I even talked them into letting me pull the fresh mozzarella cheese from a metal bucket and tear it onto my pizza. They were hesitant to let me place my pizza into the hot wood-fire oven, so they did the honors. Moments later, they pulled the pizza from the fire and slid it onto a large plate. I’ve likely had dozens of slices since then, but I will never forget that pizza as long as I live.
Just south of Naples is the Amalfi Coast, where millions of tourists travel to soak up the sun on the incredible coastline, and to visit the picturesque towns perched on the cliffs hovering over the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is impossible to visit the Amalfi Coast without eating fresh fish, especially pasta tossed with clams, or whole fish grilled with lemons and fresh herbs. Lemons are grown in abundance in the area, and the Italians make good use of them in their limoncello, the sweet lemon liqueur that is served at the end of every meal. The Campania region also boasts delicious wines and cheese that pair perfectly with the stunning sunsets. Over the years, the town of Positano has become more crowded, but the views and the food make it worth going back.
Puglia is the southern-most region of Italy or the ‘heel’ of Italy’s iconic ‘boot’ shape. I traveled there at the end of the olive harvest in October, and I had never seen so many olive trees in my life. Taking a lazy stroll through one of the tiny towns, you’ll often see families hand-forming orecchiette pasta while sitting outside their homes on cool mornings. Fresh milk from local farms is made into the finest cheese, including one of my favorites, burrata. Burrata is a soft cheese with a mozzarella-like flavor. It is best eaten within 24 hours to be most appreciated, but I’ve never known it to last beyond an hour when I’m around.
The food in Puglia was vastly different from the cuisine in the other regions of Italy. The flavors were simple, light, and meals were prepared with little fuss. Olive oil was a mainstay in nearly every dish, and fish and seafood dominated menus. Octopus is ubiquitous at restaurants, and while taking a morning walk along a pier, I saw dozens of men sitting on the levy pulling up nets filled with baby octopus that would soon be humbly prepared for meals that day.
For a country that isn’t even the size of California, I have only scratched the surface of Italy’s traditional cuisines. It is always fascinating to me how a region’s people and culture can be so heavily influenced by cuisine, and with its olives in Puglia, the fresh seafood along the Amalfi Coast, and the citrus in Sicily, nowhere is that more evident than in Italy.
