We all know that Italians have a passion for food. Food is a major part of any social engagement, and it is of great importance that any guests you may be expecting are feed well. To the point of being unable to move in some cases.
This week I had the pleasure of hosting my best friend from London. In need of a bit of r&r, she arrived at Bari on Tuesday evening and spent a lovely few days with me in my little southern Italian town. Two other friends who had been in Croatia also popped over by boat for a little visit. I do believe that we doubled the native English speaking population here very quickly!
This week was filled with food (yes, more so than normal!) We ate very well, to the point of bursting on some occasions! I made sure my friend had a typically sweet Italian breakfast:
Then some nice pasta for lunch, followed by a whole load of carbs, in the form of bruschetta, chips and pizza. Oh, and pizza with chips ON it. Filling, but oh so good...
But I think the highlight was definitely our Italian BBQ experience, or what they like to call a 'grigliata'. At one of these barbecues, you are usually offered bruschetta, followed by meat, more meat, a bit more meat, and extra meat if you are still hungry. My friends were brave and tried the torcinelli, which are made of different parts of lamb, such as the liver, stomach and brain. They are definitely a delicacy here, and people seem to go mad for them. Much to the Italians' delight, the general consensus was that they weren't too bad at all! At least, there wasn't a lot of grimacing going on mid-chew, which is always a good sign!
We drank beer and wine, and generally enjoyed socialising with a lovely big group of friendly Italians. I would definitely recommend attending one of these grigliatas if you ever get the chance, even if you do have to be rolled home after gorging on too much meat....
This week I had the pleasure of hosting my best friend from London. In need of a bit of r&r, she arrived at Bari on Tuesday evening and spent a lovely few days with me in my little southern Italian town. Two other friends who had been in Croatia also popped over by boat for a little visit. I do believe that we doubled the native English speaking population here very quickly!
This week was filled with food (yes, more so than normal!) We ate very well, to the point of bursting on some occasions! I made sure my friend had a typically sweet Italian breakfast:
 |
| Unfortunately there wasn't quite enough chocolate in these, so we had to add a bit more, in the form of this tasty find from lidl. Very similar to Nutella, but half the price.... |
Then some nice pasta for lunch, followed by a whole load of carbs, in the form of bruschetta, chips and pizza. Oh, and pizza with chips ON it. Filling, but oh so good...
 |
| a typical chip pizza |
But I think the highlight was definitely our Italian BBQ experience, or what they like to call a 'grigliata'. At one of these barbecues, you are usually offered bruschetta, followed by meat, more meat, a bit more meat, and extra meat if you are still hungry. My friends were brave and tried the torcinelli, which are made of different parts of lamb, such as the liver, stomach and brain. They are definitely a delicacy here, and people seem to go mad for them. Much to the Italians' delight, the general consensus was that they weren't too bad at all! At least, there wasn't a lot of grimacing going on mid-chew, which is always a good sign!
We drank beer and wine, and generally enjoyed socialising with a lovely big group of friendly Italians. I would definitely recommend attending one of these grigliatas if you ever get the chance, even if you do have to be rolled home after gorging on too much meat....
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