Vive Italia!
I have always enjoyed Italian-American cuisine, everything from pizza to lasagna to shrimp scampi. New York abounds with Italian restaurants where one can satisfy a yen for the flavors of Italy, or so I thought. I recently spent a few weeks at the home of some new friends in Southern Italy which completely turned my ideas about Italian cuisine upside down.
While based just south of Pompeii, I spent much of my holiday exploring the region around the Gulf of Napoli. I visited the towns of Naples, Scafati, Torre del Greco, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Maori, Minori and Casserta. I very rarely dined in restaurants, as I was fortunate to be invited to the homes of local residents for meals. Each meal was delectable journey into the nature of the region and its people. Deceptively simple dishes made with incredibly fresh ingredients resulted in complex flavors which enchanted. Very little resembled the cuisine which I knew as “Italian”. Items such as eggplant marmalade, homemade salami, frutti di mare and many others, whose names were lost in translation, have inspired me to take a deeper look at authentic Italian cuisine.
A special thanks to the warm and generous family who shared their home. They invited a stranger from New York into their home and lives, and made her feel like family. While I can never fully repay their kindness, I hope that they will visit New York soon and give me the opportunity to try.
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Having home cooked meals when travelling really cannot be beaten. I was so lucky to be staying in the family homes of a few friends when I was briefly in Italy, and their mothers’ cooking was just incredible. So glad you got to experience this too
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Southern Italy is a whole different world. Very fascinating and with an amazing cuisine. I’m glad you got to discover it. Not many foreigners do!
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You’re right! The best parts of the trip had little to do with the typical tourist activities or locations.
Sounds like a great trip
I find the best meals tend to be the most simple. When I was in Spain I had horrible food, one night we ate at a small local place and the food was so simple but some of the best food I ever ate. Made me realize that simple can be better!
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep things simple. There is a temptation to think that more is better. – Eating where the locals eat is also a great idea.