Two weeks in Italy...

Being a lover of all things spicy I never thought I would fall in love with Italian food. The simple dishes, largely consisting of a few ingredients have always seemed a pleasant option, but have never excited my taste buds or caught my hungry eye the way my go-to Asian favourites always have done! But alas I've fallen hard for Italy's national dishes and I blame the plethora of quite simply crap Italian chain restaurants in the UK for my former dismissal of the cuisine. With a Pizza Express or ASK on every corner, with their uninspiring food and overpriced menus I'd been left with a sour taste for Italian food. 

Over the past two weeks I travelled around northern Italy, visiting some fantastic cities such as Milan and Venice and was lucky enough to experience some of the most beautiful views in the world around Lake Garda and Lake Como. Previously visiting Rome I was anticipating the renowned Italian gelato and authentic pizzas, however, other than that, the food I experienced in a very commercial Rome did not excite my inner foodie for the oncoming trip! Luckily I was very pleasantly surprised...

The first week we stayed in a really sweet apartment in Lazise, a small but touristy town on Lake Garda. Although many of the restaurants accommodated the influx of European tourists I was surprised to find most places still provided interesting and authentic Italian menus. One of my favourite meals here was gnocchi with shrimp and courgette, served in a creamy sauce; although quite simple in taste the textures of the cheesy potato pasta were to die for! I also enjoyed some amazing salads on Garda (as with a whole 2 weeks in Italy I needed to rein in some of the gorging), the tuna salads were always delicious with the beautiful flavours of fresh tuna and lashings of balsamic vinegar, making a healthy option as enjoyable as any! One night of naughtiness was totally worth it when I tried the mixed battered fish. With crisp batter coating succulent prawns, juicy squid and white fish I was in serious seafood heaven, a definite must try if you ever find this on an Italian menu. 

As well as enjoying new food in Garda I discovered the Italian delight that is Aperol. At any time of day I would spot both locals and tourists relaxing with this fluorescent drink, sipping from tall wine glasses. After spotting the 100^th glass of what I can only describe as a glass of neon liquid resembling Irn-Bru with a slice of orange, I had to ask the bar tender what this strange drink was. I was informed that this popular Italian beverage was an Aperol Spritz; a refreshing cocktail consisting of Aperol (an orange flavoured spirit), sparkling white wine and soda. At first taste I wasn’t too sure about the slightly bitter taste, however as the sips continued I started to really enjoy the strong orange flavours with the slight sharpness of the wine.

Our second week was spent very differently. Instead of relaxing on pebble beaches and enjoying the local history, we were thrown into the sporting world of ultimate Frisbee for the Junior World Championships where my sister was competing for Great Britain. Although I thought I had experienced real Italian cooking in Lazise, staying in a very quiet village just off Lake Como called Bosisio Parini, my eyes were truly opened to amazingly authentic Italian cuisine. The little village was really charming and I loved being immersed in Italian life, however finding out on the first day that there was only one restaurant in the local area I couldn’t help feeling a little downhearted. However on the first night, not wanting to drive after a long trip from Lake Garda, we thought we would give the sole eatery, Zambros, a try.  Walking into what looked like a shabby bar I couldn’t help thinking, ‘Oh god, this is going to be crap’,  however after speaking to the waiters, who spoke little English but were very helpful, to my delight we were taken through the back to a small and cosy dining room. 

The petite eatery’s menu wasn’t huge, but was full to the brim of exciting sounding dishes and do you know what? There wasn’t a lasagne or spaghetti Bolognese in sight. If real Italian restaurants don’t have to have purely copycat menus, why can’t Italian restaurants in Britain get the message? After much deliberation I went for the seafood spaghetti topped with a pizza dough crust. In all honesty I had no idea what to expect, and was gob-smacked when a massive dome like structure appeared at our table. I peeled back the doughy crust to find a beautiful pasta dish, with a rich and spicy tomato sauce and abundance of fresh seafood. The pizza dough made for great dunking in the delicious thick sauce and the fresh pasta melted in the mouth, this was truly one of the best meals I had ever tasted, and I believe one of the reasons for this was because I’d never experienced anything like it! We visited Zambros and their lovely staff twice more whilst staying in Bosisio Parini, where I sampled the pork schnitzel (not the most indigenous choice), a massive seafood pizza and a tuna and cheese salad, with each meal being tasty as the last.

Around Lake Como we found some more wonderful local restaurants where I continued to be amazed by the delicious food and fantastic flavours. I was introduced to a new favourite of courgette fritters, which strangely reminded me of fish fingers, however tasted great, and I also tried a duck ragu which was absolutely bursting with intriguing flavours of rose water, rosemary and cinnamon. It’s not just these complicated dishes that the Italians execute well, as I previously said many elements of the cuisine focus on simplicity, and one night this was demonstrated to me at a family run restaurant where the ordering constituted of pure guess work (none of the staff spoke any English). I ended up with (what I think was) a veil chop with buttered spinach and lemon. Just four simple ingredients produced a truly beautiful dish.

Just two weeks in Italy have inspired me to experiment with the Italian cuisine more frequently in the kitchen; I’m really keen to make my own gnocchi and Aperol Spritz! I really urge you to venture from the run of the mill Italian chain restaurants we find in each city centre, put in a little effort and I’m sure there’s plenty of great, authentic Italian’s hidden away in the nooks and crannies of Britain. And if you do find one, share them with your fellow Brits, we all deserve a great meal sometime and the Italians do a damn good job of it!