Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: June 12, 2011

This week it's all about the red and green. Not only the colors of Italy, but also the colors of summer fruits and vegetables, especially cherries, tomatoes and zucchini. All three make several appearances in the recipes I've chosen for this week's Top 10. I hope you love the collection of links from the recent festivals in Vico Equense as much as I do - pizza from the greatest pizzaioli in Italy, and upscale Italian food from some of Italy's biggest names in chefdom. Along with the section on the Vico Equense festivities, Eating Italy links include food under the Sicilian sun, the Frugal Travler falls in love with Naples and its food, more gelato and a newish restaurant in Rome, much about wine in Puglia and Alto Adige, and more. Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

My Choice for This Week's Top 10 Italian Food Recipes from Around the Web:

Negroni - Paula makes the classic Italian cocktail - Bellalimento

Torta Salata di Zucchine e Carote (Savory Zucchini and Carrot Cake) - Briciole

Zucchini and Garlic Scape Frittata - Italian Food Forever

Pasta con asparagi, pinoli e feta (Pasta with asparagus, pine nuts and feta cheese) - Viaggi e Sapori

Tordelli Versiliesi - A pasta recipe from Tuscany - Tuscanycious

Oven Roasted Tomato and Onion Pasta - Aroma Cucina

Shrimp Risotto - Chef Chuck's Cucina

Fegatini di Pollo e Polenta (Chicken Livers and Polenta) - The Saucy Chef

Cherry and Ricotta Ice Cream - Life in Abruzzo

Crostata di Frutta e Frangipane al Pistacchio - Volevo Fare lo Chef (in Italian)

Eating Italy:

Italian Cuisine Thrives Under the Sicilian Sun - NPR

Naples: Must-Sees and See What Happens - New York Times

Anatra Grassa: Newish Restaurant in Rome - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Slow Food on the Amalfi Coast - Bellavventura

Vestri for Chocolate and Gelato Lovers - Panini Girl

Best Gelato and Best-Kept Secret in Rome - A peak inside I Caruso - Revealed Rome

Tips for Tipping in Italy - Parla Food

Fare la Scarpetta (Licking the Plate Clean) - Under the Tuscan Gun

Panella: Almost of Century of Bread - A look inside almost century-old bakery, and so much more, in Rome - Tavole Romane (The link I provided is the one translated into English by Google)

Eggplant Lasagne with 3-tomato sauce in Puglia - Jeremy shares more of his food finds in Puglia - DoBianchi

Salumi Therapy anyone? A Mortadella facial? - A Spa Unlike Any Other: The Rise of Cured Meat Therapy - The Atlantic

Discovering the Lesser Known Wonders of Italian Wine - ANSA

Farinata - Anna shares a little information and history on this Ligurian staple - Italian Notebook

Ageing Wine to Music in Puglia and A Foretaste to Puglia - Jancis Robinson

From Piemonte to Puglia's "Radici del Sud" Tasting of Southern Italian Wines - Berry's Wine Blog

Garantito IGP: Gewurztraminer from Alto Adige - Not Just for Italians - Kyle Phillips Italian Wine Review

Beginning last Sunday in Vico Equense, on the Bay of Naples, there were two food festivals, Festa a Vico (June 5-7) and A' Pizza (June 8). The first brought out 150 of the hottest chefs in Italy, and the second had "the best pizzaioli in all the world." (I'll be on the lookout for both of these feste in 2012!) Many Italian journalists and bloggers attendend and recounted the festivities on their sites. Below are links to some of the recaps. All except Parla Food's are in Italian, but the mouthwatering photos in each post speak a universal language. (I would also suggest translating the text, if you don't read Italian, because there is great information, along with individual perspectives on the festivities, in each of the write ups.)

Festa a Vico, 150 Chefs Converge on the Bay of Naples - Parla Food

Il Racconto della Festa della Pizza - Paperogiallo (There are addresses at the bottom of the post for all the pizzerie of the pizzaioli who attended the event.)

Festa a Vico 2011 - 15 articles covering the festa - Scattidigusto

Festa a Vico Quest' Anno - Tzatziki a Colazione

Pizze a Confronto per la Gazzetta Gastronomica del duo Bonilli-Cortese - Scattidigusto

La Pizza in Riva al Mare - ArteTeca's Kitchen

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Degustando Pisa 2011 - June 1 to 30 - Pisa - Throughout the month participating restaurants in Pisa are participating in the event, offering special fixed-price degustando menus with traditional Pisan dishes

Melodia del Vino - June 28 to July 8 - Festival where Tuscan wines and classical music meet - Various locations in Tuscany (For a description of the Melodia del Vino festival in English - Tuscanycious)

Barolo Night 2011 - July 23 - The town La Morra, in the Piedmont region, celebrates the king of wines - Barolo - with a progressive dinner in four locations, showcasing La Morra cuisine with a wine pairing.

Sagra della Porchetta di Arricia - September 4 - The town Arricia, near Rome, most famous for the roasted suckling pig starts porchetta celebrations on the first Sunday in Septmeber

Slow Food Cheese - September 16 to 19 - Bra, the home of the Slow Food Headquarters - An cheese festival that originally highlighted only local cheeses, now is an international affair celebrating artisanl cheesemaking - the site is still under construction

CousCous Festival - September 20 - 25 - San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily

EuroChocolate - October 14 to 23 - Perugia - The biggest chocolate festival in Italy

Related Posts:

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Pizza al Taglio at Pizzarium in Rome

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

Salento Style Lunch at Cantine Menhir

Wine Tasting in Tuscany - Along the Chianti Trail

Roman Pasta Dishes and Ten Places to Eat Them in Rome

Comments

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Follow the colours of the Italian flag and things are usually quite tasty all year round.
But in early summer as the tomatoes come out it's even better
thanks for the list of food fairs.

Posted by: Joshua | June 12, 2011 at 03:03 PM

Thanks Kathy :) I like the photo with the small zucchini with their blossoms: they are perfect in a risotto. Viva le zucchine!

Posted by: Simona | June 12, 2011 at 05:06 PM

Thanks, as always, Kathy! You ROCK! :)

Posted by: Jeremy Parzen | June 13, 2011 at 05:57 AM

Wow - that pizza looks staggeringly good. :-)

Posted by: Krista | June 13, 2011 at 05:06 PM

Great! Just discovered your blog and love it. BTW: Since the comments to the Tuscany Chianti trail are closed: If you ever come near San Gimignano again, check out Poderei del Paradiso. Great wines (Paterno II), lovely people. And the Chianti Colli Sinesi area is less sophisticated and less pricey than the Chianti Classico area.

Posted by: Julia | June 14, 2011 at 08:29 AM