Food Lover's Odyssey

Mamma Agata's Herb Fritters {Coccoli} and the Winner is....

 

Thank you to all who participated in the Mamma Agata cookbook giveaway. Out of all the great comments about your favorite Italian dishes, I randomly chose #29, Janie's comment (her favorite dish is homemade ricotta ravioli with a simple tomato sauce to remind her of lunch with her grandparents). Janie will be receiving an autographed copy of Mamma Agata's Simple and Genuine Cookbook. And today, for everyone that would like a glimpse at the recipes in the cookbook, I'm sharing one of them, Mamma Agata's Coccoli.

These herb fritters were just one of the amazing antipasti that I tasted during my day cooking on the Amalfi Coast, a simple yet oh-so delicious fried treat. Versions of fritters are a classic starter to Italian meals, especially pizza, and as usual, their names change depending on the region. I've heard them called in pastella in Rome, pasta crescuita in Naples, and pittule in Puglia. Who doesn't love fried batter, golden, crunchy and salty outside with the softest pillow-like savory dough inside?

Mamma Agata takes them to another level adding fresh herbs, parmigiano and pancetta to the batter.  The herbs give them a pop of freshness, the parmigiano adds extra cheesiness and the pancetta is a subtle addition of the sweet pork fat flavor. They are perfect little starters to any special meal, even your holiday Christmas dinner, for example. The batter (pastella) can also be used as a dipping batter. Dip a mix of seasonal vegetables or shrimp in the batter; fry them and you will look like a god or goddess in the kitchen with this assortment of antipasti.

 

Mamma Agata adding the pancetta, parmigiano and herbs to the coccoli batter

The recipe and exactly how to make the batter and fry it is beautifully illustrated in Mamma Agata's cookbook. In the book you'll find all her secrets to making the coccoli flavorful and how she gets the pillow-like pefection inside while keeping things crunchy outside. She has also dedicated a full page in her book to share her frying secrets. Below is the recipe and then highlights from her frying instructions.

 

 

Frying the coccoli during my day cooking with Mamma Agata

If you'd like to order the book, you can order it directly from Mamma Agata's website.  Chiara and Mamma Agata share some fabulous family recipes and classics of Neapolitan cuisine. With those recipes, along with the stories and photos in the book, they will transport you to the family's Ravello terrace and views of the Amalfi coastline. It would make a beautiful gift for yourself or that special Italian food lover in your life.

 

Mamma Agata's Simple and Genuine Cookbook

 

The terrace at Mamma Agata's Cooking School 

 

 

Coccoli di Mamma Agata (Herb Fritters)
(from Mamma Agata’s Simple & Genuine Cookbook, recipe published here with her permission)

Mamma Agata’s Pastella:
2 cups (250 g) “00” flour, or white pastry flour
1 teaspoon (25 g) sugar
3/4 cup (100g) Parmigiano cheese, grated
1 egg
1 cup (200 ml) lukewarm water
1 3/4 tablespoons (25 g) yeast (dry or fresh cake yeast)
2 pinches sea salt
2 teaspoon vinegar

For the Coccoli:
1/2 cup (100g) Parmigiano Regiano cheese, grated
1/2 onion, grated
1 3/4 oz (50 g) pancetta or salami, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped sage

1 quart (1 liter) peanut or grape seed oil for frying (or another oil with a high smoke point)

 

To make the pastella: In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and cheese. Add the egg to the bowl and mix together thoroughly. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast into the water. Once the yeast is dissolved into the water, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Combine together with your hands until the mixture is the consistency of a thin pancake batter. (NOTE: If the batter is too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water; if the batter is too thin, add a little more flour to thicken it.) There will be lumps in the batter, do not try to whisk them out; or you will overwork the dough and get tough fritters. Cover the bowl and set it aside in a warm, draft-free location for one hour.

After one hour, the batter will have risen. Add the vinegar and salt to the batter and stir. (The batter will deflate when stirred; this is normal.)

To make the Coccoli: In a bowl, mix togehter the cheese, onion, pancetta, and herbs.  Add this mixture to the pastella batter and mix together just until the ingredients are combined. (Do not overwork the dough.)

Follow Mamma Agata’s frying instructions: In a frying pan, heat the oil to 375°F (190°C). Using a tablespoon, gather a tablespoon of batter and place it in the oil, letting the batter slide off of the spoon into the oil. Continue this process until you have around 10 coccoli in the pan (Do not overcrowd the pan or it will reduce the ideal temperature of the oil and the coccoli will absorb too much of the oil and be greasy.) Fry the coccoli on each side for 1-2 minutes, until both sides are golden brown. Remove them from the oil and place on paper towels. These are best served hot. Continue frying the remaining batter in batches in the same manner until you fried all the batter. These are best served hot. Buon appettito!

 

 

"I Segreti della Frittura" (Secrets of the Fry)

 

Mamma Agata's secrets and tips for making Coccoli and for frying:

For the pastella batter and coccoli:

The batter will be lumpy - Don't try to dissolve the lumps or you will overwork the dough and get tough fritters.

The water for the yeast must be lukewarm to the touch. If it's too cold or too hot, it will kill the yeast. The batter will not rise and you will not have pillow-like fritters.
Whenever you make batter or dough with yeast, you must add sugar to activate the yeast.
Mamma Agata uses type "00" flour for all of her recipes. She suggests substituting it with white pastry flour if you can't find "00" flour.
Adding vinegar to the batter helps to inhibit the oil from penetrating during the frying process and preventing the coccoli from being greasy.

Mamma Agata's frying tips:

The best frying pans are ugly! She uses a pan that's about 3 to 4 inches deep and 10 inches across. And, she uses this pan and only this pan for frying, letting it get seasoned with each fry, and also uglier with each fry. Her ugly pan lasts at least 3 to 4 years.

Mamma Agata is generous with the quantity of oil and recommends at least 1 liter or quart for her type of pan. She keeps a space of about 1 inch from the oil leve and the top of the pan and never overcrowds the pan when frying. This can cause the oil temperature to drop and the fritters to take too long to cook and to absorb too much oil.

The temperature of the oil is very important. It should be 375 F or 190 C.

Quality of the oil is also important. Seed oils are best for frying because they have a high smoke point and have a neutral flavor that will not change the flavor of what you are frying. Mamma Agata uses peanut oil. She never uses olive oil for frying.

She always uses "clean" oil and never reuses oil from a previous day's or meal's frying.

 

 

Related Posts You Might Also Like:

Cook with Me and Italian Mammas in Puglia in 2013

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Nutella Filled Venetian Frittelle

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Neapolitan Pasta Sauces at Citta del Gusto

Neapolitan-Style Mussels (Cozze alla Marinara)

 A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

 

 

 

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Cooking with Mamma Agata on the Amalfi Coast and a Cookbook Giveaway

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Christmas Around Italy - Christmas Traditions in Naples

 

Christmas Around Italy travels to one of my favorite Italian cities, Napoli!  Huge welcome to Bonnie of Napoli Unplugged.  Bonnie, an American expat, has been living in and loving Naples for many years.   Her love for the city is what inspired her site, Napoli Unplugged.  It's the place to go if you want to know "what's on" in Naples.  Also, via the site, Bonnie blogs about various escapades and strolls she takes in and around Naples.  She also maintains a photo blog where she shares a daily photo from Naples.  Even though she does all this, I'm so happy she found time to stop here and share a few Neapolitan Christmas traditions with us. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Christmas. In the immortal words of Andy Williams "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Filled with the joy of the season I am transported to my youth, as visions of snow-covered houses, blazing fires and horse-drawn sleighs dance in my head. Classic Currier and Ives Christmas scenes that are interminably rooted in my DNA.

Of course Christmas in the Mediterranean, Christmas in Napoli is slightly different. It's unlikely we'd ever see a white Christmas (although there was snow on Vesuvius today) and Jack Frost is not likely to be nipping at my nose. And what of the commercial Christmas bling my inner child so desperately craves? Well that has only recently started to creep onto the scene.

 

But Christmas in Naples is every bit as magical as the Currier and Ives pictures I have in my mind. And perhaps more so, because time-honored traditions remain the star, while everything else is just trimming on the tree. The tree, which by the way only plays a supporting role to the world-renowned Presepe Napoletano, the Neapolitan Christmas Nativity.

A centuries old tradition, by early December Neapolitan Presepe collections are on display all over the city. There are so many in fact, that I've made an annual treasure hunt out of trying to find them all. They are in every Neapolitan home, most of the city's churches, on display in all variety of public buildings, and there are permanent displays like those at San Martino and Santa Chiara.

 

Presipio Napoletano

And of course, along Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples premier Christmas Market, where you'll find everything to create your own Nativity Scene. Open year round, during the holiday season tourists flock in from all over the world just for the chance to wander this magical Christmas alley.

 

 

Not far from San Gregorio Armeno, is Porta Nolana, Naples second most important Christmas Market. But don't head there expecting to find mulled wine, Christmas ornaments or nut crackers. This isn't a Christmas market in the traditional sense. Home to the freshest seafood in town, it is THE place to stock up on everything you need to make the traditional Cena della Vigilia di Natale, the Neapolitan Christmas Eve dinner.

 

 

The live clams, le vongole veraci for the Vermicelli or Spaghetti alle Vongole that is served as the primo piatto.

 

The salt cod, il baccalà, served fried, in vapore or baked as the secondo.

 

And the obligatory Christmas Eel, il capitone. Definitely an acquired taste, it is typically fried and seems to find its way onto the Christmas Eve table whether it is eaten or not.

 

 

 

You can also find fresh cauliflower, le papaccelle, hot peppers conserved in vinegar and olives for the Insalata di Rinforzo.

 

But if it's Neapolitan Christmas sweets you are in search of, you will either have to make them yourself or do like most Neapolitans do these days, pick them up at a Pasticceria. What to buy? Honey soaked Struffoli, chocolate dipped Mustaccioli, nutty and crispy Roccocò, and the S-shaped Susamielli.

 

There are other Neapolitan Christmas traditions to be sure. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Minestra Maritata for the Christmas Day lunch. Gli Zampognari, bag pipers who magically arrive in December to entertain the residents of the city for a bit of food or change. Tombola, a game played during the holidays that is similar to bingo, except it uses the numbers from 1 through 90, and each has a meaning based on La Smorfia Napoletana.

 

 

And of course the one universal tradition of the season, sharing the holiday with friends and family.

From our home in Napoli to yours wherever you may be, Merry Christmas to all and to all a Very Happy New Year!

 

*All photos in this post are courtesy of Napoli Unplugged

 

 

Related Posts:

Christmas Around Italy: 10 Addresses for Christmas Sweets in Rome

Christmas Around Italy: Tradtional Christmas Dinner in Venice

Christmas in France: Aix-en-Provence Christmas Market

Christmas Holiday Dessert Recipes

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Journey Through the Pastries of Napoli

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Classical Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Classic Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

 

On my recent trip to Naples, I certainly ate my way through the city on a lot of pizza and pastries and even more Neapolitan cuisine.  Somehow I also found the time to take a cooking class on Neapolitan sauces.  Bonnie from Napoli Unplugged and I took the class at Citta del Gusto. It covered three classic Neapolitan sauces, but the star of the evening was definitely La Genovese.  It's a rich, slow-cooked Sunday sauce that you should not even think about cooking less than 8 hours. 

The class was conducted in rapid Italian, with a Neapolitan accent, and much of the time I felt like I was bumbling my way through.  Thankfully with the help of Bonnie, the five very kind and patient chef's assistants, and many of my fellow classmates (all locals), I learned the Neapolitan way of making the sauces, their history, and a few new Italian food words.

 

Our Chef giving up-close instruction

Citta del Gusto is located on the outer edge of Naples, at the foot of the Posillipo hill.  The facility is part of Gambero Rosso; they have another cooking facility in Rome.   Along with a state of the art demonstration & hands-on kitchen (the only thing that was missing was an overhead mirror above the chef's work station), the Naples location offers professional courses, wine courses and has a wine bar, pizzeria, osteria, and hosts tastings and events throughout the year.  There were ten of us in the class, all in groups of two.  Each station had two burners, an oven, workspace and sink.  White wine and water was available throughout duration of the class.

For the first two sauces, the chef deomonstrated how each sauce was made, talked a little about its history and walked us through how we were to make it ourselves, which we did right afterward. For the Genovese Sauce that takes at least 8 hours to prepare, the chefs had already started it and it was simmering on the stove, long before the class started.  Whenever an up-close look at something was important, he invited us up to his station.  Whenever we needed a little extra help, one of the assistants was happy to help and answer questions. 

 

 

 Two of our chef's assistants

 

THE SAUCES -

 

Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino:  Garlic, olive oil & chile peppers, this dish is so easy, it's said even every Italian man knows how to make it.  Its origins are actually traced to Abruzzo, near Rome, but it is a staple of Southern Italian home cooking, and the base for many Neapolitan sauces, like the Pizzaiola. 

Basically you infuse garlic flavor into the sauce, or olive oil, by throwing whole cloves of garlic, skin still on, into olive oil & heat it slowly until the garlic turns golden. Then you let the garlic sit in the oil, all day if you'd like, as it cools.  Add broken dried chile peppers, the amount of which equal to your heat liking/tolerance, and then toss in the pasta.  If you would like to leave the garlic in the dish, remove the germ in the center and gently slice it.  (NOTE:  Breaking up the garlic by smashing it with the flat of your chef's knife causes looks from both your classmates and the chefs like you were some alien from another planet.)  I now flavor almost all my olive oil for pasta by heating 3 or 4 cloves of garlic in the olive oil & leaving it until I'm ready to use it. It gives the oil and the pasta a subtle taste of garlic.

 

 

Lightly Dressed Mafaldine and Veal Chop with Pizzaiola Sauce

 

Pizzaiola Sauce:  The pizza maker's sauce is another simple, 5 ingredient sauce, that should be tasted with the proper Vesuvian tomatoes.  As the chef went on about the importance of using the pomodorini del piennolo di Vesuvius, I began to wish California had its own active vulcano.  From the same soil that produces the beautiful San Marzano tomatoes, come these.  These pomodorini (little tomatoes), are much sweeter, less acidic, and have more pulp than other tomatoes. Cultivated in July and August, they can be conserved until January by dangling them on a rounded strap that hangs from a wall, where they get the name piennolo.  Chef also pointed out that you know the pomodorini are from the area around Mt. Vesuvius because of the tomato's point at the end.  No point at the end, means their not Vesuvian.

For the rest of us, whose tomatoes don't grow in the sulphur and mineral rich soil from vulcano lava, tasting the tomatoes and sauces made with Vesuvian tomatoes while in Naples is a must.  Besides on pasta, you'll find this sauce dresses various meat and fish dishes throughout Napoli and the Campania region.

We made Pizzaiola sauce by dropping the little tomatoes in boiling water for a short amout of time, removing them, squishing them by hand, and running them through a food mill. We saved a few of the squished tomatoes to add to the finished dish.  We added the tomato sauce to the already simmering aglio, olio & origano (oregano), added salt and dressed both a veal chop and some mafaldine pasta with the dish.

 

 

Paccheri with Genovese Sauce

 

La Genovese:  Some call it the "king" (or should it be the "queen") of Neapolitan cuisine .  How does a sauce that is one of the quintessential sauces of the Naples kitchen get the name from a city in Northern Italy?  Of course, there are varying legends on the origins of the name. One being that the Genovese who owned taverns along the Port of Naples in the 1400s made this sauce.  Whatever the case, it's a fabulous dish from Naples that came about even before the arrival of the tomato. 

Initially, the meat in the sauce was removed after cooking and served as the second course.  Now, and especially in restaurants, the oh so tender pieces of meat dress the pasta along with the dense sauce.  It's a transformation of  a whole lot of onions, aromatics, some meat, bones & pork rind into a rich and flavorful sauce.  By low and slow cooking, the onions dissolve, the tough meat becomes "falling off the bone" tender, and the sauce changes to an amber color.  Like anything that's cooked with patience and passion, the sauce is outstanding.  Savory, meaty (even when the meat is taken out), and hints of sweetness from the dissolved onions, it is as intense as the Neapolitans are.

 

 

La Genovese - At the beginning of cooking time and at the end of it

 

The Meat for the Sauce - Before cooking and after it's cooked

 

Bonnie told me that she was familiar with a few variations on the recipe, ones that used different parts of meat.  Like most Italian dishes, recipes vary from house to house.  To test my theory, I went into three different macellerie (butchers) while in Naples.  I asked which parts of meat I should buy if I wanted to make La Genovese.  Of course, I had three different answers.

What I liked about the recipe from Citta del Gusto was that they used the pork ribs so the bones added a depth of flavor. The pork rind (cotica) rolls added another level of flavor along with increasing the density and richness of the sauce.  As the chef explained, their version also had more meat to it than was traditionally made during poorer times in the city.

Below is the recipe for La Genovese based on how they made it at Citta del Gusto:

 

 

Pasta alla Genovese
(adapted from the Citta del Gusto recipe)
Serves 10-12 people


100 grams delicate extra virgin olive oil**
1 tablespoon of lard
1 pound of meat shanks, one type or a combination of pork, veal & beef
2-3 pork ribs
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 bay leaves
6 pounds of white onions, sliced very thin
120 grams whole milk
1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
1 pork rind “involtini” rolls, optional (see below)
Grated pecorino cheese for garnish, plus more for the pork rind rolls
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for garnish plus more for the pork rind rolls

 

** Chef pointed out that olive oils from Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata were too strong for this dish.

 

Pork Rind Roll (Involtini di cotica di maiale):

1 pork rind
1 clove of garlic, sliced
7-8 leaves of flat parsley
About 1 tablespoon grated pecorino cheese
Salt, enough to cover the pork rind
Freshly ground black pepper, enough to cover the pork rind

To Make the pork rind roll: Stretch out the slab of pork rind. Sprinkle the slab with the garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Roll up and tie with twine.


To Make the Sauce:

In a large saucepan heat the oil and lard and brown the meat.  Deglaze with the wine over high heat, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.  Lower the heat to medium and add the tomatoe paste and bay leaves. Cook for a few minutes to lightly toast the tomato paste.  Add the onions and the milk. Add the pork rind roll if using.  Stir until everything is mixed together.  Cover with foil and cook on low heat until the onions no longer release any liquid. Lower to a simmer and cook until the mixture becomes a thick sauce and the color becomes amber, 8-10 hours.  Remove the meat and slice/shred.  Add back to the sauce and dress paccheri, ziti or penne pasta.  Garnish with a mix of grated parmigiano and pecorino cheeses.  If you would like to serve the meat as a second course, don’t add it back to the Genovese sauce, and serve after the pasta course.  Buon Appetito!

 

 

 

Along with a take-home packet with the recipes, we received a Citta del Gusto apron.  I thoroughly enjoyed the class and would recommend it to anyone who understands Italian or has a friend that can help you with translations.  Thanks Bonnie for organizing our cooking class and for helping with the translation.  Be sure to check out Bonnie's post of our Neapolitan Sauces Cooking Class, too! She has a great video on pomodorini del piennolo di Vesuvio.

 

 

 

Getting there:

Bonnie and I took a cab.  We picked up a taxi at the taxi stand in Piazza dei Martiri, in the Chiaia district, and it dropped us off right in front of the school.  When class was over Bonnie called for a cab, which dropped us along Via Chiaia.  Going there, the cab cost 15 euros and the return trip was 13 euros.  The cab ride took around 20 minutes each way.  As our class let out about 10:30pm and the streets were empty at the time, I was happy to get door to door service.

With a little extra effort, you can get there by public transportation:  From Naples Stazione Centrale, take the Metro Line 2 and exit at Campi Flegrei.  Near the Metro exit is Piazzale Tecchio.  From there take buses C1 or R7 and exit the bus at via Coroglio. The stop is Citta della Scienza-Fondazione Idis. You can always ask the bus driver to let you know when you arrive at the stop. (Public transportation directions are according to Citta del Gusto.)

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Journey Through the Pastries of Napoli

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Taste of Napoli - 15 Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan Style Mussels

Dish from Naples: Pizza Margherita

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Belly

Art of Making Pasta by Hand: A Pugliese Pasta Lesson with Nonna Vata

Best Places to Kiss in Italy

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (Guest Post for Napoli Unplugged)

Saturday Scene - Italy and France in Shades of Blue

 

Welcome to a new series on Food Lover's Odyssey, The Saturday Scene.  I've been tossing around the idea of a day dedicated to sharing a few of my favorite scenes from Italy and France.  Also, one of my friends, who regularly gives unsolicited critiques of my blog, told me that my posts are too long! Yes, he basically said I talk too much. 

After picking both my mouth and my ego from the floor, I decided to mix things up a little and provide shorter posts and ones that are more photo-oriented for those that would like to look more and read less. So committed I am to doing it, I have dedicated every Saturday to posts that are short-on-words and long on lovely views of my two favorite countries.

An inspiration for this week's post has been a Twitter event I've been taking part in called #frifotos. I started participating a few weeks ago, and it's been a lot of fun.  Every week @EpsteinTravels, the founder of the event, and his co-hosts pick a theme. On Friday people from around the world share their photos based on that theme.  Yesterday's theme was "blue."  If you missed the event but still want to see what it's all about, on Twitter you can check out the hashtag #frifotos and see all of the photos there.  There are also two great roundups of the photos: @CorkBilly produces one here, and Wild About Travel shares their picks for the best FriFotos of the week. 

Below are my contributions: the blues of Italy and France.   

 

 A few blues from Carnival in Venice

 

 

Images from the light show at the Bi-Annual Fete du Vin in Bordeaux

 

 

Dusk in the Cinque Terre - Above Vernazza and along the beach in Monterosso

 

 

 

Blue Hydrangeas from the Cours Saleya Market in Nice...

and from a florist near Rue Mouffetard in Paris

 

 

 

Some blues among the colorful houses of Burano

 

 

 

A Rue in Paris - Wouldn't you love to live here?

 

 

Blue window scene at Fauchon in Paris for Easter

 

 

Blue pedal boat at the beach in Camogli

 

Blue sea off the coast of Panarea in the Aeolian Islands

 

Along the shore in Otranto and a few blue boats there, too

 

 

The Bay of Poets in Portovenere - Liguria

 

 

Sailing in the Amalfi Coast

 

 

Blue Umbrellas and the beach in Nice

 

 

 

 

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Spaccanapoli and Naples' Historic Center

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Scenes from CioccolaTo Chocolate Festival in Turin

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French Pastries and Ten Top Patisseries in Paris

Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

 

Spaccanapoli, the street that cuts Napoli's historic center in two.  I had heard about this street before my first trip to Naples.  While weaving my way in and out of the narrow cobblestone, sometimes crumbling, streets of the city's historic center (il centro storico) I couldn't believe that there was one street in this tangled web that actually stood out.  

Then, Bonnie of Napoli Unplugged took me up to the Castel St. Elmo.  From the castle walls, high above the maze of streets, I finally believed.  From above, Spaccanapoli, does exactly what its name says.

 

 

 

 
Spaccanapli (via Benedetto Croce) - with Castel St. Elmo in the background far above 

 

The street is one of three east-to-west streets from Neapolis, the original Greco-Roman city. At Piazza Gesu' Nuovo, the tourist office states that Spaccanapoli "officially begins." Here it is called via Benedetto Croce.  As you travel east, it changes to via San Biagio dei Librai.  The street actually extends farther, both east and west, than the official confines.

During my visit last summer, Bonnie took me on a little of both her Saturday Strolls in the Centro Storico - Part 1 and Part 2.  As Bonnie states, "A stroll through the centro storico is filled with many 'Oh my God' moments!"  She was right. There were so many, that on my recent March visit, I returned again to wander along Spaccanapoli and the area.  Below is a photo tour of some of my favorite places along this walk, and some of the interesting stories of the locales.

 

Cloister of Santa Chiara - Although Naples has the reputation for being a city of chaos, and in many cases lives up to it, one can find peace and tranquility in the many cloisters and churches throughout the city.  The cloister of Santa Chiara, with its Majolica-tiled columns and benches is the best of those serene spots. Lush gardens, gorgeous and colorful art, and shade; I could sit here in utter silence all day.

Besides the cloister, the complex of Santa Chiara has a stunning presepe (nativity scene) and ruins of a Roman bath. The church is also full of history. Here, Bonnie beautifully shares a little of the history of the Church of Santa Chiara.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Via San Gregorio Armeno - The alley overflows with hand-crafted nativity scenes (presepi), statues of Pulcinella, traditional Neapolitan tamborines, and other trinkets.   On a cool spring day or even in the oppressive heat of summer, you can feel a little Christmas spirit by walking along this alley (just off of via Benedetto Croce, to the left).

Along with the traditional hand-crafted items, they also have little statues of Napoli's soccer players.  A Fabio Quagliarella statue, one of my favorite players from Italy's squad, is availble with his old Napoli jersey and one with a Juventus jersey (his new team).  I was so tempted to get one or both, but opted for a more traditional Pulcinella instead.

 

 

 

 

 

Ruins beneath Basilica San Lorenzo Maggiore - The basilica alone is worth a visit, but even more amazing are the ruins below. A Greek agora, then Roman forum, that dates back before Christ unfolds below the earth.  We wandered without any crowds, or anyone else, among the ruins, imagining a time long ago. 

Note: This is not part of the Naples underground tour, Napoli Sottoterranea, whose entrance is nearby in Piazza Gaetano.

 

 

 

 

 
This begs the question: A pizza oven from over 2000 years ago?

 

  

Duomo - The Duomo with no dome, I realized this while searching for this church from Castel St. Elmo.  This church is also known as the church that holds the treasures of San Gennaro, Napoli's patron saint. 

The main treasures are two vials of the blood of the martyred saint San Gennaro.  The Feast of San Gennaro is on September 19th.  Each year, and on the first Saturday in May,  the city celebrates the liquifaction of  the blood, an omen of good fortune for the city.  If the blood doesn't liquify, that's not a good sign for Naples and possibly the rest of the world. After the two recent times in which the blood didn't liquify, bad things happened.  In 1980, Naples had an tragic earthquake and in 1944, Mt. Vesuvius erupted.  (I'm just reporting what I've been told and read.  Plus, I would never want to suffer the wrath of a Neapolitan nonna's malocchio for ever questioning this miracle.)

 

 

 

 

 

Piazza San Domenico Maggiore - The piazza is home to one of the three "plague spires" in Napoli.  The city began erecting the spires after the plague of 1656, as offerings for delivering the city from the plague.  The other two spires (guglia in the singular form in Italian) are the Spire of San Gennaro and the spire in Piazza Gesu' Nuovo, both in and around Spaccanapoli.

 

 
 

  

Of course, I also found some things to eat.  The centro storico is a haven for the Naples food lover.  Many of the best pizzerie are in the centro storico.  Friggitorie (Fry shops) abound, almost one after the other.  There you can pick up any assortment of fried treats, fried pizza, arancini, fried vegetables, etc.  My favorites are  crocche' di patate (potato crochettes) and mozzarella in carozza (fried mozzarella in a bread "carriage").  Any food fest in the centro storico should end with something sweet, a few Neapolitan pastries.  Scaturchio, the oldest pastry shop in Naples, is right on Spaccanapoli, in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore. 

 

 

 

 

 

Useful Links:

Bonnie has a very helpful page at Napoli Unplugged: Listing many of the Churches in Naples, which includes opening hours and links to websites, when available. 

Complex of Santa Chiara

Complex of San Lorenzo Maggiore

 

 

Related Posts:

Journey Through the Pastries of Napoli

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Classic Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

A Taste of Napoli: Fifteen Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

Bella Napoli: Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Stomach

Dish from Naples: Pizza Margherita

Torta Caprese Recipe - Flourless Chocolate Cake from the Isle of Capri

Cozze alla Marinara recipe - Neapolitan Style Mussels

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

 

 

More tales of food for you from Napoli.  About now, you're probably saying, "All she did there was eat!"  Well, you're almost right. Between bites, I actually did walk around much of the city (so much so I still have a blister on the ball of my foot) and saw some of Napoli's churches, museums and castles. 

Many of my evenings in Napoli, and a few afternoons, were spent with, Bonnie and Steve, the couple behind Napoli Unplugged.  They write about all things Neapolitan on their site, and share beautiful photos of the city on their photoblog.  Their site and writing shows their love for Naples, which they have called home for about 5 years.  During my visit to Naples last summer, I had the pleasure of meeting them.  We met for dinner, and then Bonnie took me on her stroll of the Centro Storico.  This trip we spent more time together, a lot of it eating (and drinking Campania wines) at some of their favorite places in their neighborhood, the swanky Chiaia district of Naples.

After many of my walks in and around the Chiaia district, I would meet up with Bonnie and Steve.  During our meals, they would share tidbits and stories from their life in Naples.  Steve, who has a dry and sarcastic wit, also shared many of his views on some of the food rules in Italy (sometimes he even created his own).  Their stories and Steve's rules had me laughing through all of my meals.

 

 
Naples Coastline along Via Partenope

 

 
Fountain at Piazza Trento e Trieste

 

 

 

 

This post is mainly about the Neapolitan cuisine I ate with Steve and Bonnie, but I've added little snippets from what I'm calling, Steve's Food Rules for Italy: 

 

The restaurant: Umberto Ristorante and Pizzeria.  It has a casual feel instead of a more formal one that the term ristorante implies.  You see the pizzaioli and the big pizza oven as soon as you walk in the door. The large seating area and red tablecloths , however, do set a more formal tone. 

Antipasti included melanzane alla parmigiana and typical fried treats of, mozzarella in carozze (fried mozzarella sandwiches, arancini (fried rice balls), and crocche (fried mashed potatoes). The mozzarella was sinfully spectacular with cheese oozing out of its crispy bread "carriage."  The crocche potatoes included ham and parsley, also good.  I had their pizza Margherita and tried some of the lasagna Napoletana (Lasagne made with Neapolitan ragu and little meatballs added to the layers of cheese).  For dessert, Bonnie and Steve opted for Sicilian Torta Setteveli, and I for the Neapolitan Ricotta e Pera (sweetened ricotta, whipped cream and poached pears sandwiched between two slices of pan di spagna cake).  I don't remember a meal in Naples that didn't end with a digestivo, almost always limoncello.

Onto our first of Steve's Food Rules for Italy #1: "Real men don't drink limoncello!"

Yes, Steve insists that limoncello is only for the ladies and "real men drink grappa," or in his case aged grappa.  It's so strong that after a sniff of it, I'm sure my blood alcohol level shot way past .10!  I don't know about this rule, as I've seen plenty of men sipping on a shot glass of limoncello.  However, when the waiter tried to confirm that we wanted 3 limoncelli for the table, Steve quickly corrected him. The waiter and Steve shared some conspiratory laugh in a way that added a only little plausibility to Steve's rule.

 

 
Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana)

 

 
Neapolitan Lasagne

 

 
Pizza Margherita

 
Ricotta e Pera

 

Osteria Don Maccarone: The next night, I dined alone at the osteria recommended by Bonnie and Steve.   It was a rainy Sunday evening and the Napoli soccer team was playing against Parma.  I was practically the only person outside that night, and I was the only person in the small 8 table osteria. 

At first, I thought maybe I should have stayed at the hotel and watched the soccer match. As I was soon to find out, it was completely unnecessary.  Everytime Napoli scored, one of the cooks would run out into the street and yell, "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL" so loud and so many times that I think they heard him in Parma.  While he was yelling, others in the neighborhood were doing the same, and also blaring horns and other various noisemakers from their windows. Napoli won that night 3-1.

I had zucchini alla parmigiana and spaghetti con le vongole. I loved the zucchini so much, I'm making it tonight.  It's simply fried zucchini slices layered with trace amounts of fior di latte (cow's milk mozzarella) and parmigiano cheese. It is baked until the cheese melts and the top becomes golden and crunchy.  The spaghetti con le vongole was also good, and I liked the addition of cherry tomatoes, which added color, acidity & a little sweetness to the dish.

As I was the only one in the restaurant, I quickly made friends with the waiter, Pippo, who is also one of the owners.  He invited me back on Tuesday for pasta e fagioli con le cozze (pasta and beans with mussels) and promised to have a pastiera (Neapolitan Easter dessert) without the candied citrus (I had mentioned that I don't like candied citrus). 

Bonnie and I went back for lunch.  I really liked the soupiness of the pasta e fagioli with cozze, and especially loved the mussels.  Bonnie is more of purist in this area, and likes the fagioli to outweigh the pasta, creating a less soupy dish and a denser sauce that has been thickened from the starch in the beans.

Steve's Food Rules in Italy #2, "Men can't drink cappucino after 10:00am." Well, since we were women, we could still end our meal with a cappucino, right?  I actually thought that rule applied to all genders, but, hey, it's Steve's rule.  In any case, we ended with Pippo's house specialty digestivo of 7 herbs.  A family secret, he wouldn't tell me which herbs were in it, but it was almost as potent as the grappa. 

Although the prices for this place are definitely in a range for "osterie" (our lunch bill was a little over 20 euros for two), the food is more sophisticated and creative than typical osteria fare.  And, Pippo is the quintessential Italian waiter - jovial, jokester, showman.  He invited us back another day to sample lasagna Napoletana. Bonnie also said that the pasta alla genovese is good, but I ran out of time in Naples......next trip.

 

 
Zucchini alla Parmigiana

 

 
Spaghetti con le Vongole (spaghetti and clams)

 

 
Pasta e Fagioli con le Cozze (pasta and beans with mussels)

 

 

Antica Latteria: My last meal with Bonnie and Steve was at the Antica Latteria, around the corner from where they live.  It's right across the street from Umberto's.  It's a small trattoria with only a few more tables than Don Maccarone.  We started off with a creamy ball of buffalo milk mozzarella and fried treats.  The mozzarella and all of the fried treats were exceptional; there were crocche (these fried potatoes were filled with cheese, my favorites of all I had tasted), arancini, fried broccoli, and little fried meatballs.  I had spaghetti con le cozze (mussels) and liked the spicy kick from the addition of peperoncino to the sauce.  I ended with a slice of pastiera and limoncello.

Steve's Food Rules in Italy #3: "You are allowed to order a dish in Naples, even if it's not Neapolitan."

I think I was driving Steve crazy with my quick dismissal of non-Neapolitan dishes at each restaurant and pasticceria. Even though I do agree with this rule, my dismissal wasn't because I thought they wouldn't be good. It was because I wanted to sample as many Neapolitan dishes as I could during my short stay in Naples, especially those I hadn't already tried. If I lived there, I wouldn't be as determined to eat Neapolitan every night. When one is there for only a short time, though, I believe you should try the regional/local cuisine over, say a carbonara. 

 

 
Fritti Napoletani

 

 
Spaghetti con le Cozze (Spaghetti with Mussels)

 

 
Bonnie's Mixed Grilled Fish

 

 
Pastiera (Neapolitan Easter Dessert)

 

As you can see, sample I did.  Thanks again to Napoli Unplugged for sharing their favorite neighborhood eateries with me!

 

 

Restaurant Information:

Umberto Ristorante & Pizzeria - Via Alabardieri 30/31

Osteria Don Maccarone - Via Gradoni Di Chiaia 12

Antica Latteria - Vico Alabardieri 30 

 

 

Related Posts:

Journey through the Pastries of Napoli

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Classic Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

Taste of Napoli - 15 Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan-Style Mussels

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (my guest post for Napoli Unplugged)

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Belly

 

Journey through the Pastries of Napoli

  

 

My trip to Naples wasn't only about the pizza.  With delicious food that ranges from fried treats to decadent desserts, the food of Naples can satisfy any food lover.  This trip I wanted to be sure and sample as much of it as possible.  Before delving into a few Neapolitan sauces I learned to make or my adventures in Neapolitan dining with Napoli Unplugged, let's start with my favorite course: the desserts.

On my first day in the city, I got a rather impromptu pastry lesson on the streets of Naples.  I was patiently waiting for the walk sign before crossing the street.  While waiting and holding my first Neapolitan pastry (of this trip) carefully in front of me, I saw two guys cross the street, AGAINST the light!  I laughed at myself while watching them, realizing I'd be much safer crossing when there were no cars then waiting for a light to give me a false sense of security. 

One of the guys mistook my laughing and smile as flirtation, and stopped to talk.  First question, "Di dove sei?" (Where are you from?).  I'm not sure which made me more foreign, my red hair and pale skin or the fact that I was actually waiting for a traffic light before walking.  After I answered, California.  He called out to his friend, "Ay, Oh, lei e Amerigahna!" 

His Neapolitan accent, pronouncing "Americana" with the hard g and the "Ay" and "Oh" to get his friend's attention, made me laugh even more.  This, of course, only encouraged them.  I continued to chat for a while, mainly because I love to hear the Neapolitan accent, in Italian. (Neapolitan dialect is different and a language where I am completely lost and unable to understand even one word.)

While talking we got on the subject of pastries. They peeked into my bag and proceeded to school me on the make up of Zeppole di San Giuseppe, which is what I had in my hand.  While they might have been the most unlikely source of information, what they said was similar to the information those in the pastry shops gave me. Besides, they were a fun intro to my pastry-eating adventures in Napoli.

 

  

 

 

 

Below are photos and descriptions of my journey through the pastries of Napoli:

 

 

 
 

Sfogliatelle (Riccia) - To thoroughly appreciate this pastry, you need to eat it right out of the oven while it's still warm.  (Like Parisian croissants and other viennoiserie, sfogliatella loses its deliciousness after a few hours.) The crust is crunchy and flaky and the filling creamy and not overly sweet.  The crust is a sort of puff pastry, where thin layers of pastry are rolled into a cylinder.  Between each layer of pastry is a thin layer of lard.  The pastry is formed into its famous clam-like shell and filled with a custard-like mixture of semolina, ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied citrus and a pinch of cinnamon.   

 

 

 

Sfogliatelle Frolla - The sister to the riccia (curly), the frolla uses pasta frolla (shortbread crust) instead of the flaky sfoglia crust.  The filling is the same; a mixture of semolina, ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied citrus and cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

 

Baba au Rhum - A yeast-levened cake soaked in a rum simple syrup, these and the sfogliatelle are the sweet symbols of Napoli.  You can find baba (bah-BAH) plain, like the one above, or filled with fruit and sweetened whipped cream, Nutella, pastry cream, and even ricotta cream. I prefer the ones filled to offset the rum in the syrup.

 

 

 
 Zeppole di San Giuseppe fried (at left) and baked (at right) 

Zeppole di San Giuseppe - These pastries are in abundance in pastry shops all over the city during the days surrounding il giorno di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Day), March 19th.  It's a choux paste piped in a ring shape.  The paste/dough is either fried or baked, and then filled with a lemon pastry cream and topped with macerated Amarena cherries.   

As I stated, they come in two forms, fried and baked. At the first pastry shop I asked the clerk which was better.  I got a look from him that said, "It's obvious, Amerigana" as he told me, "I fritti."  At the second pastry shop, when I specifically asked for the one "al forno," I again got a look from the clerk, letting me know that I obviously chose the wrong one. I had to try both, and both were quite good.  Yes, the fried one is better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torta Caprese - This is a flourless chocolate cake from the Isle of Capri. There are many versions depending on how fine you chop the almonds. I prefer that the almonds are finely chopped, creating a denser and moister cake.  At Pasticceria Scaturchio they used more coarsely chopped almonds, but the cake was still quite moist due to a bit of liqueur included in the recipe.   

 

 

 

Torta Caprese al Limone - This is the lemon version to the chocolate cake from Capri.  White chocolate and lemon, lemon rind, and limoncello replace the dark chocolate and cocoa powder to give you a dense cake full of lemon flavor.  Also flourless, this cake uses ground almonds.  Like the chocolate version, much of the texture depends on how finely you chop the almonds.

 

 

 

Delizia al Limone - As its name says, it's a lemon delight.  Lemon sponge cake imbibed with a limoncello spiked simple syrup, filled with lemon pastry cream and iced with lemon flavored whipped cream.  If you love the lemons, especially the lemons from the Amalfi coast, this is your dessert.

 

 

 
Ricotta e Pera with Pan di Spagna (sponge cake)

 

 
Ricotta e Pera with Biscotti (hazelnut cookies)

 

Ricotta e Pera - Ricotta cream and whipped cream together with poached pears are sandwiched between a hazelnut biscotti, and sometimes two layers of sponge cake.  I found that restaurants usually serve this dessert with the sponge cake, probably to make it easier to eat.  Pastry shops usually serve it with the biscotti.  While the crunchy biscotti pushes out the soft center when you're eating it, causing a bit of mess when eating, I still prefer it for the contrast in textures.

 

 

 

Pastiera - "Non puo mancare sulla tavola di Pasqua" (It can't be missing on the Easter table) - This is the saying I saw and heard whenever the subject of Pastiera came up.  Because I was in Naples during the "Easter season" (which seems to start immediately after Carnevale), I sampled several.  It was in every pastry shop and on every restaurant menu while I was there in March. 

The crust is a pasta frolla, traditionally made with lard (strutto) instead of butter.  The filling is a ricotta cream and egg mixture that is lightly flavored with rose flower water an studded with cooked hulled wheatberries (grano precotto) and sometimes candied citrus fruit.  (I thought the candied citrus fruit was a must, but a Neapolitan restauranteur told me they are optional - and even made a special Pastiera without the candied citrus for me).  

  

 

Scaturchio's - Napoli's oldest pasticceria 

 

The chocolate disk in the top photo isn't a pastry you'll find throughout Naples, but it is the specialty of Scaturchio's.  It's their Ministeriale, a chocolate medallion filled with a chocolate and liqueur cream.  It was very good and very rich, with a potent punch of liqueur.  I may have been a little drunk after eating it.

 

 
Scaturchio's Ministeriale - Chocolate Medallion

 

 

 
 Pastries from the Gran Caffe Cimmino

 

Most of the pastries in these photos came from Scaturchio's (the oldest pastry shop in Naples) or the Gran Caffe Cimmino.   

Scaturchio - Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, 19 

Gran Caffe Cimmino - via Gaetano Filangeri, 12 

 

 

This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesdays - To see what other travelling foodies are eating, head on over to the Wanderfood Wednesdays site!  

 

Related Posts:

Taste of Napoli - 15 Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

Torta Caprese - Recipe for the flourless chocolate cake from Capri

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Italy in Chocolate at Turin's CioccolaTo Festival

French Pastries and 10 Top Patisseries in Paris

Journey through the Pastries of Paris (Part 1)

Journey through the Pastries of Paris (Part 2)

Chiacchiere for Carnevale (my post on Napoli Unplugged)

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (my post on Napoli Unplugged)

 

 

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples, Italy

 
 
 

Five days in Napoli and five pizze Napoletane. There are many reasons why I love Naples - the people, the chaos, the pastries, and yes, the food.  Especially the pizza.  This trip I dedicated part of each day to pizza.  Yes, each day I ate a pizza, a classic margherita or Margherita D.O.C. at five different pizzerie in Naples, my own little pizza lover's odyssey.  

All five of these pizzerie make a VPN pizza (Verace Pizza Napoletana) and must follow the VPN pizza-making guidelines laid out by the AVPN (Association of Verace Pizza Napoletana).  Although these pizzerie follow the same guidelines and basically use the same ingredients, the pizza varied at each place.  As the people at Starita a Martedei explained to me, it really depends on the pizzaiolo.  It's the skill and knowledge of this artisan pizzamaker, to first create a dough and then stretch it into the base of the pizza, that determines the characteristics of his pizza.

Those pizzaioli that follow the guidelines set forth by the AVPN and have passed the association's pizzaiolo test, can display the sign of a Verace Pizza Napoletana, one that has Pulcinella as pizzamaker on it.

 

 

 

VPN guidelines: The guidelines cover more than just the ingredients.  There are rules about oven temperature (surface temperature must be 905 F), how long the pizza should cook (60-90 seconds) and even what type of pizza peel can be used.  Many might find this tedious, but I see it as a love and dedication these artisans have for what they do.  Below are some details on making the dough and making one of the classics - the pizza Margherita. 

 

The dough - For the VPN dough, there are four ingredients: water, salt, yeast, flour (type "00" and up to 20% may be type "0").  I'm a little confused about a 5th ingredient because the guidelines state that "all types of fat must be excluded from the dough;" however, it is widely accepted and admitted that lard is a key ingredient in the dough.  The VPN also gives suggestions for quantities to be used for each ingredient, but each pizzaiolo can and does determine his unique recipe. 

The dough must go through two rising stages, the first lasting 2 hours.  The second happens after the dough has been formed into balls (called panetti) of 250 grams each, and the rising period must be between 4 to 6 hours in a temperature of 25 C.  Then the dough can be used to make the pizza "base," and must be used within the next 6 hours. 

 

Pizza Margherita - A classic Neapolitan pizza, this pizza with the tricolore of the Italian flag was made in 1889 to honor Queen Margherita, who was visiting Naples.  A classic Margherita has sauce from San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte (cow's milk "mozzarella" cheese), olive oil, sea salt, and fresh basil.  There are also guidelines as to the amounts of each ingredient and how it is applied to the pizza "base" (the dough). 

Usually each pizzeria has another version of the classic, which they call a D.O.C., where they use mozzarella di bufala (Buffalo milk mozzarella) and fresh tomatoes instead of sauce.  I actually prefer this version because I think the sauce can tend to make the pizza too wet.

 

 

 

 

Here are the pizze from my pizza lover's odyssey in Naples.  I've listed them in order of my preference.

 

 

 

Pizzeria Starita a Martedei  (via Martedei 27/28)

This pizzeria, first famous for being the pizzeria in the 1954 movie "L'oro di Napoli" starring Sophie Loren as a pizzaiolo at Starita, now makes one of the best pizze in Napoli.  The D.O.C. (pronounced "dock") at Starita was pure magic for me.  The crust might be a little thicker than those at Da Michele and Sorbillo, but much of it is from its bubbling up while in the oven.  It was really quite light in texture and "elastic" accordig to VPN regulations, or as I would say, nice and chewy.  I also tried a few of their fried treats, the zucchini flowers and crocche (pototoes with cheese), which were also delicious. 

 

 

 
Pizza D.O.C. from Starita 

 

 

 

 

 

Gino Sorbillo  (via Tribunali, 32)

 

I arrived in Naples on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and headed straight for Sorbillo, located on via Tribunali (also known as Spaccanapoli) in the Centro Storico.  I hadn't realized that Saturday afternoon's, especially sunny ones in March, meant it was pizza time in Napoli.  Many small groups, chatting in Neapolitan dialect, packed themselves around the entrance waiting for their name to be called.  After almost an hour, it was my turn to be called to an available table. 

I ordered the traditional pizza margherita, and it arrived at my table hot from the oven, evidenced by the smoke rising from the pizza, with scents of tomatoes and basil filling the air.  A VPN crust that was chewy around the border and paper thin in the center, the pizza hung over the plate.  This pizza had the thinnest crust of all the pizzerie in Naples that I have tried.  The amount of cheese on the pizza was perfect. The sauce was rich in flavor, although I would have preferred a little less to balance the cheese/sauce ratio.  Here I wish I had had an eating partner or an extra day to try another version, possibly their D.O.C. version. 

(Note: There is another "Sorbillo" on via Tribunali, so if you're wanting to go to Gino Sorbillo's pizzeria, make sure you go to 32 via Tribunali.)

 

 

 

 
Pizza Margherita from Sorbillo

 

 

 

Here you can watch a video of pizzaiolo Gino Sorbillo at work. How quickly and easily he stretches the dough amazes me each time I watch it.

 

Pizzeria Trianon da Ciro  (via Colletta Pietro 46)

 

Like my first kiss, I will always remember eating my first Neapolitan pizza.  The Margherita D.O.C. from Trianon da Ciro and the pizzeria will always hold a special place in my heart. 

This time I tried the classic pizza Margherita, with tomato sauce and fior di latte.  I think it might have been an off day (or the humidity from that day's rain messed with the dough), but this time the dough wasn't as light and bubbly as I've had during my previous times eating there.  I definitely prefer their D.O.C. version over the classic Margherita.

 

  

 

Pizza Margherita from Trianon da Ciro

 

 

Pizza Margherita D.O.C.

 

 

Working the oven at Trianon da Ciro

  

 

 
Pizzaiolo and Fornaiolo (and me) at Trianon da Ciro

 

 

 

 

 

L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele (via Cesare Sersale, 1)

As one Napoletano pointed out, this pizzeria is one of the oldest and is the most noted of all pizzerie in Napoli (possibly even before the film "Eat Pray Love" came out).  They make only two kinds of pizza, Margherita and Marinara.

I had the Margherita.  The dough at da Michele left me wanting a little more crunch and flavor when I compare it to the others.  The photo below is of the classic Margherita, but you can order the Margherita with "doppio" double cheese.  As you may have realized, I like my cheese to sauce ratio to be about equal, so I would definitely suggest getting the doppio here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Umberto Ristorante & Pizzeria - via Albardieri 31

 

Umberto is a restaurant that also serves VPN pizza.  It's located in the Chiaia district, right off of via Chiaia.  For me, this pizza resembled an American version of pizza more than the Neapolitan one.  The crust was the thickest and had a much crunchier shell than the others.  There was also much more sauce than cheese.  This pizza also looks too perfect and round.  One sign of a true Neapolitan pizza is that it is more oblong than round, it has black char marks, and the more bubbles in the pizza means the dough/crust will be lighter and more chewy. 

 

 

Pizza Margherita from Umberto

 

 

 

Related Posts:

 

Taste of Napoli - Fifteen Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

The Dish from Naples, Italy - Pizza Margherita

 

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

 

Journey Through the Pastries of Naples

 

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

 

Neapolitan Style Mussels

 Pizza al Taglio at Pizzarium in Rome

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina - A Taste of Sorrento (guest post for Napoli Unplugged)

Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Belly

A Drive along the Amalfi Coast

 

 

Best Places to Kiss in Italy

 

 

As Valentine's Day approaches, my mind is on romance.  I've been working on a romantic Valentine's dinner menu. One where each course includes chocolate.  Try as I might to focus on the menu, even a chocolate menu, my mind keeps wandering to Italy.  I know I'm not the only one that connects romance and Italy, right?  There are, however, particular places in Italy that are more enchanting than others.

Those places are etched in my mind as spots I want to return with that someone special.  Spots that induced "oohs" and caused heavy breathing from long inhales and deep sighs.  So magical, they deserve their own stories that start "Once upon a time" and end "happily ever after;" the place where the prince first kisses the princess.

Is this a cheesy, goofy, girly post? Yes, I guess so! I'm a hopeless romantic. Remember, I'm the one that rejected a gondola ride that included an offer to steer the gondola, to wait and ride with my anima gemella (twin of my soul/soulmate).  Although this post may tilt way on the side of "for the girls" hopefully, my dear male readers,  I haven't lost you.  If you're planning to whisk someone away on a romantic trip to Italy, for Valentine's Day or any other occasion, these little wanderings of mine could certainly be of help.

Here are my picks for ten best places to kiss in Italy.  You'll see a pattern in my choices. For me, water - be it an ocean, lake or river, along with long stretches of beach or promenades, and evening lights qualify as molto romantico.  I know there are far more than ten, but I'm hoping you, my fellow Italophiles and romantics, will help by adding your favorite(s) to the comments:

 

Rome - Castel Sant' Angelo on the Terrace of the Angel 

 
 Rome has many breathtaking hilltop views, but this is my favorite and, for me, the most romantic.  At the top of a castle with the Archangel Michael above, sword in hand, standing guard, your "prince charming" (principe azzurro) beside you, the Eternal City  all aglow below, and the hills of Rome twinkling in the distance.

     

 

Taormina - Piazza IX Aprile

 
View from Piazza IX Aprile in Taormina

 
Piazza IX Aprile in Taormina

Most of Taormina rests on the seaside cliffs of Sicily's eastern coast.  The lower part of the city is home to two beach areas.  Of course it's a city for romance.  The bustling Piazza 9 April is midway along the long, mainly pedestrian street, corso Umberto I.  You can snuggle in a corner along the railing at the rim of the piazza and look onto the eastern coastline of Sicily and the sprawling Ionian Sea.  The clock tower (Torre dell'Orologio) and St. Agostino Church are at the other end of the piazza.  While I was in Taormina, every night I saw countless brides and grooms strolling hand-in-hand out of St. Agostino and the other churches in the city. 

 

 

The Aeolian Islands - A boat ride around Stromboli

 
 

Definitely a spot for romance are all of the Aeolian Islands.  A boat ride around Stromboli at dusk and an evening ride back to Lipari stands out in my mind as the most romantic part of the trip. Stromboli erupted and spewed it flames of lava. (If only I were with my "one true love" instead of being bothered continually by a pesky marinaio.)   The pesky sailor did point out La Stella di Venere ("star" of Venus, actually the planet), which I had never seen before.  On the night ride back to Lipari, you could clearly spot the Big and Little Dippers, called Orsa Maggiore and Minore in Italian. (If the sailor wasn't good for romance at least he was good for learning a few new words in Italian.)

 

 

Vernazza - From Above or Along the Harbor

 
 

I couldn't leave "my happy place" off the list.  At dusk atop the hill overlooking Vernazza, you will certainly be alone.  I would suggest bringing a bottle of wine AND a flashlight.  Winding your way down in the dark, can be a struggle, even without having had any wine.  For those who don't want to climb, the harbor is just as romantic. 

 

 

Anywhere in Venice

 
Saint Mark's Square - Venice

 

I believe the water and the reflections of the city - its lights, its buidings, its glass - flickering above the water's surface does something to your senses. How can you not feel amorous here?  Kiss on bridges, in a quiet calle, along the small canals, on the steps of Santa Maria della Salute, on Giudecca - looking out at the Doge's Palace and the Campanile, in the back seats of an empty vaporetto.  Possibly the best place of all is St. Mark's Square when it's virtually empty, very late at night.   

  

 

 

Florence - Ponte Santa Trinita: Looking onto the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio

  
 

While students, tourists and young lovers pack the Ponte Vecchio, take a stroll along the Santa Trinita bridge for a bit of quiet, and a view of the Ponte Vecchio and the lights along the Arno.

 

 

Camogli - The Beach at Dusk

 
 

Camogli, one of the many picturesque towns in Liguria, has a long stretch of beach.  After the daytime crowds depart, this stretch of beach allows you to carve out a private spot for smooching and watching the sun set on the Ligurian Sea.  To top it off, Camogli celebrates lovers during St. Valentine's Day and the week preceding it.  The festival is called "Innamorati a Camogli."  Hotels have special deals for couples, there are art and poetry competitions dedicated to love, and hearts are strung everywhere in the city.  You can add your heart to the fishing nets along the harbor. 

  

Sorrento - Belvedere di Sorrento

 
View from Belvedere di Sorrento

 
Naples and the Gulf of Naples from Sorrento 

Behind the Convent and Cloister of San Franceso is the terrace called Belvedere di Sorrento.  You have sweeping views of the coastline, a look down the cliffs onto the Marinas Grande and Piccolo of Sorrento, and out onto the Bay of Naples.  Many couples end their walks through Sorrento here, cuddled together against the terrace railing or along the park benches.

 

 

Lago Maggiore - The Terraced Gardens on Isola Bella

The island on Lake Maggiore houses Palazzo Borromeo and one of the most spectacular gardens in all of Italy.  The terraced gardens lush with greenery, flowers and statues are a sight all by themselves.  Adding to the beauty are the white peacocks that roam the gardens, the views of Lake Maggiore and of the mountains, snow-capped in Winter and Spring.  The variety of plants in the garden provide color from March to October.  The beauty of both the gardens and the surrounding views make it a perfect place for a prince and his princess.  Actually, legend has it that the ladies of Count Borromeo's household asked him to build the palace on the island because they didn't want to hear the prisoners' cries from the dungeons in the mainland's castle.

 

Napoli - Via Partenope

  

Via Partenope is part of a long stretch of road that edges along the sea, the lungomare, in Naples.  It runs from the neighborhoods of Santa Lucia to Mergellina.  Along the Via Partenope stretch is a long promenade with views of Castel d'Ovo and Mt. Vesuvius in the background.  Other lovers have left their mark along this classic lovers' stroll.  Along the promendade, look out for padlocks, painted with couples' names and locked around poles.

  

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Where are your picks for most romantic spots and the best places to kiss in Italy?

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A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

A Weekend in the Aeolian Islands

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

 

 

The first time I took this drive, I was looking for the fastest way to get from Sorrento to Amalfi.  I had slept in after too many limoncello the night before.  With the extra sleep and a clearer head, I wanted to meet back up with my friends, who had taken an earlier ferry to Amalfi. The pensione owner, who patted my hand in a grandfatherly way each time I asked for help, went over the bus schedule with me and told me where to catch the bus.  As I headed out, he handed me a napkin full of biscotti and blurted something quickly in Italian. All I heard was "mal di stomaco" (upset stomach). I said, "grazie" and blushed, thinking he must have known I drank too much the night before.    

As it was my first time in Sorrento, and Italy, family and friends gave me a laundry list of "must dos and sees" for each city. The list was so long that I would have had to spend all my time seeing other people's favorites instead of creating my own.  After maybe one day of trying to do that, I decided to ignore the list and find my own favorites.  My notes on the list next to the Amalfi Drive read, "Take the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi - nice view."

Nice view doesn't quite describe the bus ride. It started out a little slow and bumpy as we ambled across the peninsula.  (Sorrento is on the northern side of the Sorrentine peninsula.  At the tip of this peninsula, the gulf of Naples ends and the Amalfi Coast begins.)  I saw lemon groves, houses, and hotels tucked away among more lemon groves as we crossed the peninsula.  Once we arrived at the coastline, things changed dramatically. 

 

 

The ride went from bumpy to winding.  After the first few curves, I understood why the pensione owner had said, "mal di stomaco" and given me the cookies.  The two-way highway is a narrow winding road, barely wide enough for two buses to fit next to each other when coming from different directions.  (More than once, one bus had to back out of a turn because both buses wouldn't fit.) On one side of the highway is a steep wall of rock climbing farther up and back.  The other side, the coastal side, is an even steeper drop, hundreds of feet, down into the blue sea.  A small railing winds with the highway road. It's the only barrier between the road and the drop. 

The bus hugged the railing as we wound our way along the coast. At every curve the bus driver tooted the horn to announce its entrance into the even narrower turn. The bus driver's gray hair and beard gave me comfort.  At the time I thought this showed his experience and success with driving this road.  Looking back, I think the stress from this drive several times every day might have caused him to gray prematurely.

My coast-side window view drew my attention away from the barf bag-inducing push and pull of the road.  That view, throughout the entire ride, made my mouth drop deep like the cliffs from which we drove. The sapphire blue sea. Stark white or pastel colored villas, topped one upon another, clung to the hillside. Bougainvillea climbed walls and terraced patios in full fuschia-colored bloom. There were more lemon groves and also small secluded beach coves nestled in the curves of the rocky coastline.

 

 Looking Down on the Coastline's Cliffs

 

 
View of the Amalfi Coastline

 
Villa Clinging to the Cliff

 
Bougainvilla Covered Building Along the Drive

 
Secluded Beach

 
Looking Down on Positano from the Positano Bus Stop

 

 
Positano

 

 

That first trip was years ago. Each time I return, I take this bus ride.  Each ride is like my first, awestruck I gawk out the window.  Yes, I could rent a car and drive myself, being able to stop whenever I choose.  I'd rather let someone else, who is more experienced with the road and Italian drivers, drive while I look.  You can rent a private driver, but the bus is a great deal for such a view.  Last summer the roundtrip fare from Sorrento to Amalfi was 7.50 euros. Luckily, I almost never get carsick, but I still pack a few cookies and a water with me each time, just in case.  These photos are from my most recent trip in the summer.

Yes, the drive is a "nice view," indeed. This is one piece of "must see" advice I'm glad I took, although accidentally.  And, limoncello continues to play an important part in some of my most memorable travel experiences. 

 

Information on using the buses:

The SITA bus website gives you information  on bus routes and schedules.  There are buses that run from Sorrento to Amalfi, stopping along the way at Positano. 

From the main bus stop in Amalfi, you can pick up another bus to ride along the rest of the coastline to Salerno.

Bus schedules change throughout the year, but you can easily pick up a current schedule wherever you're staying, the tourist office in Sorrento Positano or Amalfi, and at the bus ticket offices in each city. Many tabacco shops (Tabacchi) and cafes along the coast also sell bus tickets. 

 

 

 

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What "must see" travel advice are you glad you took?  Is there one "must see" you wish you hadn't?

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Related Posts:  

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

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Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

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Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Journey Through the Pastries of Naples

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The Dish from Naples: Pizza Margherita from Two Pizzerie in Napoli

Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Belly

Gnocchi all Sorrentina - A Taste of Sorrento (my post for Napoli Unplugged)

Mustaccioli - Christmas Cookies from Naples ( my post for Napoli Unplugged)