Eating in Italy: Cinque Terre

Culinarily speaking, the Cinque Terre is known for a few things: anchovies and seafood in general, lemons and foods and drinks based on it, focaccia, and pesto. I sampled a little of each. Here's what was on the menu:

There is a focaccia shop right along the main shoreline promenade with a variety of flavorings, and toppings. I chose the focaccia with cheese. I'm not sure what kind of cheese it was, but it was soft and creamy and mild. Sooo good! You tell the person at the counter what you want, they ask if you would like it warmed up, you say yes, and a few minutes later you have a perfectly warmed piece of perfect snack. I was hooked from the first bite of this snack food.

 

 

In Riomaggiore, I got two things to "snack" on: focaccia with pear and Gorgonzola, and a mixed cone of fried seafood- calamari (whole and rings), a large prawn, a piece of cod, muscles, and anchovies. The anchovies are fresh and large and unsalted. They taste a lot like sardines, which is awesome.

 

 

 

 

My dinner the first night was spaghetti with sardines, olives, tomatoes, and capers. When the waitress brought it out, it was covered with a thin dough, which she lit on fire for a minute, then extinguished, peeled back, and served. It was quite the production, and quite delicious.

 

 

Oh, and vegetables are a separate course. This is just mixed veggies. No big deal.

 

Since my dining is totally breaking my budget, I decided after a day of walking around so many towns and up so many hills that a night in would be superb. I went back to get another piece of that cheese focaccia and some cookies I saw there, and then ran to the grocery store and bought a pear and some ham. Simple and perfect.

And for dessert, Ann got me a slice of a lemon tort cake with a lemon cream in it. It was really light and refreshing. How do the Italians get their cakes and breads to do that?

 

Posted with Blogsy