gimme a shot of the local hooch

The regional food of Italy is filled with love

How often when you’re eating do you stop to notice how local your ingredients are? The Italian love for food is integral to their culture. They integrate meal preparation and shopping as part of their daily life with frequent trips to the market. They love socializing with each other over food. But most importantly, they are proud of their regional cuisine and the traditions of their families. As I’ve traveled around Italy, I’ve gotten to know just how specific food products can be from one hour’s drive to the next.

Emblematic of this phenomenon is a short Wes Anderson film I love, sponsored by Prada, called, “Castello Cavalcanti”. It starts off during a typical evening in small-town Italy in the town piazza: nonni playing cards, ladies knitting and smoking cigarettes, kids and their parents awaiting a racecar event to pass through town. Just as the cars pass through, the car in the rear crashes in the middle of the piazza, and Jason Schwartzman comes tumbling out of the car. The locals help him and encourage him to keep going, but he insists the car is totaled, and stalks off, asking a bystander to “gimme a shot of the local hooch”.

The “local hooch” - the drink of the town - is so emblematic of the larger food culture in Italy. Each village utilizes the resources of the land to deliver the highest quality products to your table. The temperate climate of Piedmont, Tuscany, and Umbria offer delectable truffles. The sunny, humid days in Campania deliver juicy tomatoes. The sun and breeze from the Adriatic harvest Montepulciano grapes in Abruzzo. From a stranger’s eye, we think Italy = Pasta. Visitors often miss the hyper-local aspects, like the unique pasta shapes, flavors of each sauce, and meats that correspond to the regional terroir.

For example, local Neapolitan specialties are based around la cucina povera, which focuses on low-cost seafood like mussels, shrimp, octopus and clams. The noodles are usually paccheri, spaghetti, or whatever homemade pasta the chef has cooked up.

In Emilia Romagna, the pasta looks completely different. They specialize in delicate pastas like tortellini in brodo, hearty and flavorful bangers like tagliatelle al ragu, the original chef boyardee gramigna con salsiccia, and are most famous for their architectural lasagna. Each town has several unique types of bread like piadina, tirelle, and crescente.

In Puglia, they are also known for their seafood, given it’s just across the way from Napoli on the Adriatic side of the boot. The orecchiette pasta shape is the most well-known, it named after its look alike - an ear! You can find orecchiette tossed in cime di rapa sauce, made with the green bitter vegetable rapini. They also use beans in their pasta, like the chickpea pasta below.

In Calabria, near Tropea, they have one of the only spicy chili peppers used in Italy, as well as red onion, and the ndjua sausage. This means they have some of the only spicy pasta in Italy. In Rome, they specialize in cacio e pepe, and I lick my plate with this cheesy goodness. In Istria, near Trieste, we had pasta with chicken. Never before had I seen pasta with chicken in Italy!

With every dish, I learn a little bit more about the regions, weather, and agriculture of Italy. I also learn more about the love of Italians. They know their food is great. It’s unfussy, it’s delicious, it’s caring. Italian people want to offer you a seat at their table as a way to show their love for you. At the end of Castello Cavalcanti, Jason Schwartzman asks, “What do I owe you?” The owner of the bar replies “Niente”, and the rest of the locals chime in and repeat “Niente”. The short film captures the generosity of the Italian spirit, starting with one shot of the local hooch.

What about you? Are you an Italian food lover? What are you eating today? Maybe some secret family recipes?

• Last year, I wrote about the feminine urge to eat a bowl of spaghetti, an ode to local Neapolitan dishes.

• I was featured on the Thatch Travel Blog last week. Read about my favorite outdoor destinations in Italy here.

• I am actively trying to avoid gift guides this year, as I’m focusing on quality time with loved ones! But if you need some gifts from Italian family businesses, here is an awesome homemade leather glove shop in Napoli and a famous pajama store in Rome.

• My favorite read so far this holiday season: the backstory of the cottage of my dreams from the movie “The Holiday”. I dream about Christmas in that cottage every year…

• Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the US. 🦃 Grateful for you!