One of the first things G’s mom asks him before we leave for home is “what do you want to eat?” which means “what would you like to see on the table when you get here.” Southern Italy is “particularly” famous for its food (not an expert on this. It is a subjective statement but then again, this region has some of the best fruit, fish and olive oil in the country). In G’s case, home food includes a lot of seafood. And stuffed paprikas. And mushrooms. And eggplants. And olives. (Did you know that there is only one type of olive? The green and black ones are the same, just different ripeness. I thought they came from different type of olive trees.)
The salsiccia, which is Italian sausage, is amazing. Fine, Germany has great sausages too, but try the salsiccia? While German sausages or wursts tend to be fit for beer, not too much taste going on, simple and easy, Italian salsiccia come in different flavours: various herbs, cheese, mushrooms and vegetables. The only downside would be that it’s pretty tricky to grill (perfectly). G’s mom left some on the grill a little too long because she had to take a phone call, and we could tell the slight difference.
해산물이 넉넉치 않은 독일에 살다보니 남부 이탈리아, (특히 바로 바다 옆 지역) 집에 가면 홍합, 오징어 파티를 한다. 물론 그 중간에 파스타, 구운 가지, 올리브, 버섯, 감자 등등이 나타났다가 10분만에 사라지기도. 내가 제일 좋아하는 음식 중 하나는 살시챠라는 이탈리아 소세지. 독일 소세지는 약간 거칠고 건조한 감이 없지 않아 있는데 (그래서 맥주랑 먹기가 좋은걸수도) 이탈리아 소세지는 약간 더 기름지고 윤기가 좌르르.
주변이 올리브나무로 둘러싸여서 올리브 역시 주 “반찬.” 난 지금까지 올리브는 검정 올리브랑 초록색 올리브랑 다른건줄 알았는데 사실 같은 올리브였다. 덜 익으면 초록색, 많이 익으면 검정색이 되는 것.
And the gelato. This is my ultimate favorite gelato. The Best Gelato in The World. Nobody seems to know the official name for it. G and the shop refer it to quartino (because it’s divided into four pieces) and the family decided it was a type of spumoni, although it didn’t seem to mean the exact same thing. The tastes are crazy: First is vanilla, second lightish pinkish layer is peach, then a bit of dark chocolate and stracciatella and then rose. That little dark red center is actually a spongy piece of bread dipped into an Italian liquor called Alchermes that tastes and smells like roses. And it’s not like the tastes are all mushed up together, you can distinctively taste the vanilla, peach, chocolate and rose.
역시나 그렇듯이 식사후엔 젤라또를 먹는다. 이 지역에서 특히 유명하다는 젤라또인데 케익의 모습을 띠고 있다. 무려 다섯가지의 맛을 선보이는데, 바닐라, 복숭아, 초코렛, 쿠앤크-> 장미. 장미맛과 향이 나는 이탈리안 전통 알케메스라는 술에 보드라운 빵을 적셔서 넣은 것.
All photos by rachelsanghee