Indulge in the deliciousness of Italy: From Gelato to Octopus Salad

Italy is highly associated with its amazing food dishes. Here are some foods that you won't want to miss trying on your trip!

When you think of Italy, what foods do you think of right away? Probably pasta and pizza right? Well as amazing as those are, and don't get me wrong, definitely eat as much of each as you can....Italy also has many other different kinds of foods you may not have thought of. First, I will start with the classics, like pizza and pasta (including squid ink pasta); then, we will explore the more distinctive foods such as octopus salad, cannolis, tiramisu, and others.

So, lets start with a basic staple that is a must if you are in Italy...pizza. Italian pizza is very different from the pizza we are used to in the United States. Italian pizza has many more toppings, and is usually cooked fresh, not frozen, before hand. The pizza's toppings can range in about anything that you can think of. The most popular topping is a multitude of cheeses. Along with the cheese, are things such as the many different meats (like pastrami), large tomatoes, basil, and seafood, to name only a few. The pizza is seriously one-of-a-kind, and each place you go has a little bit of a different and unique style to their pizza. The pizza also usually has a much thinner crust than a regular pizza in the United States. In the picture to your right, you can see a slice of one of the many kinds of pizzas we tried while on our trip.

Squid Ink Pasta

Another classic Italian staple is pasta. There are thousands of varieties of pasta in Italy, and each one has its own taste. Our group's favorite pasta we had was at a restaurant in Rome called Mama Angela's. The pasta was called Trofie alla Mama Angela. This pasta consisted of small curly trofie pasta noodles that were doused in a white sauce, had sausage pieces, gorgonzola cheese, and pecorino romano. This pasta was absolutely delicious! Another popular pasta is noodles with a red sauce mixed with many cheeses and meats. I cannot remember the exact name of this, but there are many variations throughout the country. And lets be honest...spaghetti is a given to try while in Italy.

A very unique pasta that someone in my group tried was called Squid Ink pasta. This included spaghetti-like noodles that were more hollow. The noodles were covered in a sauce that was mixed with the black ink from a squid. If you try a pasta like this, be sure to know that it does tint your teeth color for just a little bit while you eat it, but that only makes it all the more fun!

Another unique seafood dish I never thought I would try is octopus salad....sounds different right? On the pieces of the octopus you can even still see the tentacles! The octopus is mixed in with a variety of vegetables, including lettuce and celery to name a few, and had some sort of very clear dressing over it. Although it took me awhile to garner up the courage to try this dish, it wasn't bad and I am definitely glad I had the experience. The place that we tried both the squid ink pasta and octopus salad was in Trapani, Sicily. Almost everywhere you go near the coast, the seafood is caught early that morning and then cooked and served that same day! In one of the pictures, you can see an old world market in Palermo, where there is seafood for sale that was caught that day by the fisherman. Many locals come and buy there meat from these types of markets daily. I think that the fish hanging looks like a swordfish, but I don't know for sure, so don't quote me on that.

Piece of Octopus Salad

Octopus Salad

Fish caught that day at an old
world market in Palermo, Sicily,

The Kebab....might sound like the name of a dance or something huh? Well the Italian Kebab is a sandwich made usually with lamb meat; however, in some places you can get different kinds of meat like beef or chicken. The dish in itself kind of resembles eating a gyro, but in a sandwich form. This sandwich is filled with things such as lettuce, tomato, onion, other veggies, and topped with yogurt sauce. These sandwiches are popular in many places in Europe, and are very popular in Spain. The Kebab we had in Palermo was very delicious, and you can find variations of them in many places. They are pretty messy though, and you might end up wanting a fork to catch all of the extra food that falls out of the sandwich as you eat it. There seemed to be kebab stores all over, so make sure to stop into one and try this delicious sandwich during your trip!

Lamb kebab in Palermo, Sicily

NOW ONTO THE DESSERTS!!! YUM!!!

Many people have heard of tiramisu, and it is becoming an even more prominent dessert and flavor around the world. The name itself literally means "a pick me up." Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored dessert made of either spongecake or ladyfingers dipped/soaked in coffee (and sometimes liqueur). The dessert has layers of whipped eggs, mascarpone cheese, and sugar. It then is topped off with cocoa. Now if you are hesitant to try it because you don't like coffee, don't let that scare you off from eating this amazing dessert. I don't like coffee at all, not even the smell that much, but this dessert was one of my favorites! Make sure to add this to your list of foods to try.

Piece of tiramisu we had at
Mama Angela's restaurant.

The next dessert is called a cannoli. These originated in Sicily, and you can find them in many places there. We bought cannolis while in the medieval town of Erice, at a place called Antica Pasticceria. The cannolis are very sweet; I split one with another person and was full after eating it, due to the sweetness. The shell is made of fried pastry dough and then stuffed with the filling, which usually consists of a sweetened ricotta or mascarpone. They are very good, and an Italian specialty to try!

Cannoli in Erice, Sicily

Save the best for last right? You will surely encounter the last food that I want to talk about on your Italian adventure...GELATO!!! Gelato is seriously one of the best foods I have ever had. Gelato is the Italian form of ice cream, except that it is way better than any ice cream I have tasted. Plus, it is said to be much healthier than ice cream...what's not to love? There are hundreds of different gelato flavors, and you can taste test flavors at most of the shops. You can order gelato in either a cup or a dish, and in different sizes, much like in ice cream shops anywhere. The best gelato we had, in my opinion, was at Della Palma near the Pantheon in Rome. Gelato usually ran about 2-3 euros on average. I got gelato most days that I had the chance while in Italy, and highly recommend it! Make sure to try as many different flavors as you can! My favorite was the mint flavor mixed with one that kind of resembled a cookies and cream. You can see a picture of many flavors of gelato and baked goods in a store in the picture below.

"Gustare il modo per aggirare il mondo" (Taste your way around the world)

Please leave comments and let me know what you think, or about your experiences with food in Italy!