The Italian is without a doubt the most international of the world’s cuisines, with pasta and pizza as some of its great flags. And yet there is much more to discover in the gastronomy of a country with regions as diverse as Tuscany or Sicily, to give some examples. To discover this succulent world of possibilities, now for the seventh edition, the Week of Italian Cuisine in the Worldwhich this year takes place between November 14 and 20.
A walk from the authentic Neapolitan pizza to the rice balls known as Arancini in Sicily going through the carbonara from the Lazio area (no cream, please) or the trophie with pesto alla genovese of Liguria in the form of tastings and menus in the most authentic Italian restaurants in Madrid and Barcelona which is also enriched with extras that range from round tables to cooking classes and kitchen contests.
Tasty walk through Madrid’s ‘little Italy’
On the occasion of the VII Week of Italian Cuisine in the Worlddifferent restaurants in Madrid will propose special dishes with authentically Italian and certified products.
Gathered under the initiative ‘Taste of Italy’some of the restaurants that best represent Italian cuisine in the capital will offer a ‘star dish’ of your own choice that will invite you to embark on an original gastronomic journey and discover new recipes and flavours.
A journey that we can start with the melanzane alla parmigiana (parmigiana aubergines) from Francesco’s Tavern (Ríos Rosas, 53), continue with a plate of stuffed pasta, carbonara foam cappellaccio and crispy guanciale sottosopra (Callejon Puigcerdá, 8) or try the lemon and prawn ravioli from The Pirate’s Tavernette (Holy Grace, 26).
In Mena Apulian Food (Humilladero, 16), representative of the Apulian regional cuisine, they will surprise us with some panzerotti (a kind of stuffed fried patties) and bombette (rolls of fresh pork stuffed with cheese, salt and pepper) while in pante (Calle Villanueva, 21), specialists in Sicilian cuisine, will delight us with their garganelli -a type of cylindrical pasta- with boletus and morel mushrooms.
In Madrid, each restaurant participating in the Taste of Italy initiative will offer a ‘star dish’ of their choice
Renaissance lunches and live showcooking
In addition, there will be different events within the framework of the Italian Gastronomy Week, among which are a ‘Lunch with Raphael’ on Monday, November 14, around the exhibition Magister Raffaello exhibited at the Institute of Italian Culture by Manfredi Bosco, president of the Spanish branch of the Italian Federation of Cooks, who will carry out a cooking show on the cuisine of the Renaissance period.
Different masterclass on regional cuisine Italian in hospitality schools and gourmet shops Madrid, a wine economics seminar and one conference on the mediterranean diet promoted by the Embassy of Italy that will take place on November 17 at the Italian Institute of Culture are other proposals.
Eating Italy without leaving Barcelona
Barcelona also throws itself, in its case for a second edition, with the tasty Italian Cuisine Weekin fact extends it to the November 27.
will do it with a succulent food tour that will bring the Italian regional cuisine with more character and that bears the name Italy with pleasure, with stops in a total of 16 restaurants in the city and with traditional dishes from the region they come from.
At the initiative of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona and with the support of the Italian Consulate, the restaurants offer in this case a tasting menu with three courses and dessert with fixed prices ranging between 35 and 45 euros.
Xemei representing the Veneto region with proposals such as buttered cod, gnocchetti and maja squinado or Venetian-style liver, Straight to the point (Piedmont), Beautiful Italy (Campania), what a bar (Campania), counter current (Sicily), Can Sardi (Sardinia), Fastuc (Sicily), gravin (Puglia) and Zaza Cuina i Vi (Emilia Romagna) are some of them.
For a price between 35 and 45 euros, Barcelona restaurants offer a trip to regional Italian cuisine with more character with three courses and a dessert
In addition, they also participate radici Y Galùboth representing Sicilian cuisine, Le Cucine Mandarosso (Irpina), Raffaelli (The Toscana), Le Romane (Rome), The Osteria del Contadino (Sardinia) and the Restaurant CASA SEAT.
Italian cuisine beyond pizzas and spaghetti
It will be the opportunity to show off dishes from their respective places of origin by chefs such as gabriel milanofrom Algrano, which will prepare the most iconic recipes of the Piemonte region, such as proasted peppers with bagna cauda sauce or the plin ravioli stuffed with chard and ricotta with sage, butter and meat sauce.
For its part, Nicola Dragi diving from Contracurrent will bring us closer to Sicilian specialties such as insalata di finocchi, sardine and arance and capperi di Pantelleria or the arancino di zafferano e ossobuco alla cacciatora.
While, Niccolo Poli de San Sardi offers the character of Sardinia with recipe book hits such as the rAviolis stuffed with mullet and ricotta ragout in fish broth and botarga or the smooth to «SaCabrarissa» with vernaccia, cherry and basil.
Fabio Gambirasi, from Zaza Cuina i Vi, brings us Emilia Romagna with its tortellino in broth or parmigiana tripe and Menudo Bar shows dishes from his Campania such as montanara or eggplant dumplings.
A week to travel for the best Italian cuisine in Madrid and Barcelona