We work for the sake of the stomach.
Ah! Surely, we do and what better way to celebrate the love
for food and wine than to visit Europe’s food heaven: Eat-at-ly!!
The country whose signature dish has made its stamp in all
corners of the world. Yes, Pizza features as a default weekend staple in our
diet. Of course, they have been modified to suit variety of palettes. (Gathiya
Pizza and coconut pizza sure sound scary)
The aim was to be in land of Pizzas. For a purist it would
be to flight to Naples but we decided to venture to Rome first on this holiday. Italian cuisine takes pride in regional cooking much like Indian. Would a Marathi mulgi
accept a gujarati style puran-poli? No. Would macher-jhol pass-off as a
machi-kalwan for a Bengali? That would be a heinous crime. In the same manner,
a person from Northern Italy would vouch for a risotto infused with saffron whereas
a southerner will be delighted by fish.
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| Meatlious |
The Italians take immense pride in their food and prefer
food served from scratch and use the best seasonal produce. Now, my Indian
friends reading this would rather find it strange….obvious isn’t it? A key to
good food? Well, spend some time in London my dearies and you would understand
the moolah you pay for the food and quality you are served are not always
proportional.
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| In a market in Rome |
Now coming back to expeditions.
After a tiring morning at the Vatican, our stomachs were
growling at 3pm and the restaurants were closing their kitchens for lunch. We
tried our luck at Tony and Dino’s Hosteria. They were closed for the day but
the friendly owners took pity on us.
‘’Pasta?? Pasta?? Ok??’’, said the pot bellied chef. ‘’Anything
could do my friend’, we gave a casual nod. " An Osteria is focused on simple food
of the region, often having no written menu much like aapli khanaval. Perhaps,
that is what you need on a vacation. Not caring enough about the decision to
order food but being guaranteed a delightful plate in front of you!
I will get you my
specials, red or white, what will you prefer.’’ We just gave a sheepish thumbs
up.
Dino and Tony did deliver their promise, two sorts of simple
pasta cooked al-dente was the most joyous experiences of the day. (Next to the
Sistine Chapel, perhaps) As our hunger pangs cooled down, we were presented
with a plateful of desert. Tiramisu, tiny biscuits, panna cotta and Expresso
con panna….burrrrppp. All for £20.
Each day in Italy was an experience or rather we made sure
that we visited a good place. Life is too short for a bad spaghetti. Also,
Italians have their meals in courses. So after antipasti, comes first course of
pasta, followed by main course of meat or fish and to be ended with a desert
and a coffee.
Needless to say, most of them are accompanied by a glass of
wine. Walking the sunny by-lanes of Rome licking a creamy gelato was an
everyday feature and a cheese and ham panini bursting with flavours was just
right for lunch.
Imagine waiting by the river Arno watching the sun-kissed
waters at dusk only for Ristorante Pane e Vino to open its door at 7.30 p.m. (Oh, yes we are
shameless gluttons) We broke the unsalted Tuscan bread (they seemed to serve
bread in little brown paper bags here) as we were enchanted by the wooden
beamed ceiling high courtyard. By the time we finished our anti-pasti (Fried balls of cod 'with tomato soup, sweet garlic sauce =
me) and first course we were too full for the mains.
Of course, we did have the space for
the desserts.
Whereas
on the other night, we walked across the town for Il Teatro del Sale, another
recommended restaurant only to be disappointed that it was closed for an event.
We looked around and decided to queue up where the crowds seem to be waiting :
Cibereo Trattoria. The manager encouraged us to share our table with another
older couple who had flown down from New York.
Needless to say, as the wine flowed,
we had an engaging conversation with the couple about three things we love: food,
travel and India. (yes, the lady was of Indian origins)
We exchanged top tips and notes as
we relished the rustic chicken liver pate and sumptuous rabbit stuffed with
chicken and pork.
I could possibly go on and on about
every single meal I had during my stay in Italy. Be it the humble bread at an
old bakery at the Jewish quarter in Rome, the larger than life Florentine steak
or the joys of finest wines in the world….. well Italy, never failed us.
I don’t know if we eat to live or we
live to eat.
But as Italians say : La Dolce Vita ( The Life is sweet). Especially in Italy.
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| Vineyards of Chianti |
