Every year, thousands of people fly to Italy to visit its beautiful and astonishing landscapes but still many people don’t relate Italy with street food. However, Italy is not only about pizza and pasta.
So, here is a list of 12 best Italian street foods or “Cibo di Strada“:
1. Arancini
These small rice balls deep-fried until they turn crispy and golden colour, come in lot of variations. They are most commonly filled with ham and cheese, or sometimes with minced beef or chicken, salmon, veggies or even chocolate!
This heavenly taste dish has been originated during 10th century in Palermo, Sicily and it still is a common and most favourite street food in all over the Italy.
2. Farinata
Originated mainly from the Ligurian capital Genova, farinata is made with chickpea flour, extra virgin olive oil, water, salt and some nutritious filling. It is mainly cooked in wood ovens, in a big pan and then sliced into big triangular-shaped pieces.
3. Olive All’Ascolana
Like several other Mediterranean countries, Italy is no exception when it comes to love for olives. Olives, especially the green ones are filled with ground meat, some spices, and sometimes even cheese. It is then breaded lightly and fried. It is said that, if you haven’t tasted olive all’ascolana, you haven’t tasted Italy.
4. Pesce Fritto Al Cono
Well, nothing is better than seeing freshly caught seafood just in front of you which is then washed and fried and served to you in a paper cone. This street food is easily available in several Italian port towns.
5. Zeppole
Dough balls filled with variety of fillers and deeply fried to make it crispy. How interesting does it sound? Well, it sounds exactly as interesting as its taste. They are sometimes even filled with jelly, custard, butter/honey mix and pastry cream and dusted with powder sugar.
6. Crema Fritta
Crema Fritta is actually a deep fried thick and breaded custard cream. Mainly in diamond shaped, these are gooey inside and crispy outside. Wandering through the narrow lanes of Italian cities with the cone of Crema Fritta in a hand, sounds delizioso, right?
7. Porchetta
Also known as one of the most favourite street food which is available in almost every corner of Italy, Porchetta is nothing but pork stuffed in a sandwich. Well, the taste is not as simple as it sounds. First this fatty, tender and boneless pork is seasoned with garlic, rosemary, salt and some other herbs and is then slow-cooked on spit till perfection. Mouth-watering, what do you think?
8. Pizza al taglio
Italy is incomplete without pizzas, but this street food is slightly different or we could say a new version of traditional Italian Pizza. Pizza al Taglio is baked in big rectangular-shaped trays, then cut down to smaller pieces and sold as per the weight on the streets.
9. Gelato
Italian gelato or Italian ice-cream is known worldwide for its taste. Made from absolutely fresh fruits, cream, sugar and milk, Italian gelatos are lot more flavourful and yummy. In any gelateria, you can find at least 20 different flavours to chose from. Which one are you gonna choose?
10. Cannoli
Got a sweet tooth? These beauties stand as Italy’s most classic and yummy desserts. Originated in the Palermo city, this street food is literally worshipped there. This tube-shaped pastry dough is fried and filled with a mix of chocolate chips, ricotta cheese and sugar and is garnished with candied orange on one end and cherry on another.
11. “Pane ca meusa”
Pani ca Meusa is a traditional sandwich from Sicily (pane ca Meusa is Sicilian for the Italian pane con la milza), made from sliced veal spleen and lungs. The meat is steamed and stuffed in a sandwich along with lots of cheese and some lemon juice.
12. Lampredotto
Absolutely delicious and flavourful, Lampredotto is a cow stomach cooked mainly in tomato, onion and celery sauce and served either as a sandwich or separately in a plate.
Buon Appetito!
By Ashwini Deepak
Do you know any other Italian street foods? Which one is your favourite?
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