Whether famous or not, apples are a traditional Italian product, with the most well known being the apples of Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy’s north. An old Italian food festival is being revived though, at Casalnoceto, between Alessandria and Pavia, where the apple was once king.

At the eastern border of Piedmont, the festival or ‘sagra‘ of the ‘pom di moj’ (in Italian dialect), is being held to celebrate the method that was once invented to preserve apples. The ‘moj’ method was one where healthy apples were washed, placed in a demijohn with a large neck, and covered with a slightly alcoholic wine and vinegar. They were kept there for about 40 days and then were taken out towards the end of March to be eaten at the traditional spring festival.

The apple festival of Casalnoceto takes place on Sunday, March 21st, starting at 9:30 am and going all day. You can taste the bitter-sweet local apples and discover this relatively unknown but beautiful part of Italy. Casalnoceto is located about 100 km east of Turin, and only 75 km from Milan, making it a great option for a day tour from Milan. For more information on the town, see the Piemonte in dettaglio site.

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This old Italian recipe for bread-crumb balls comes from Apulia, a region in Southern Italy; it’s delicious and will leave your taste buds hungry for more!

Here are the ingredients: bread crumbs; 1 egg; grated pecorino cheese; 1 garlic clove; parsley; extra virgin olive oil; salt.

Preparation: soak the breadcrumbs in a bowl of milk, then drain ( squeeze to expel all the remaining liquid) Next add to it the egg, pecorino, oil, garlic, chopped parsley and salt. Roll into balls and then fry in a little oil. Cook the breadcrumb balls until golden brown.

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Bruschetta is a delicious Italian appetizer that one can prepare in no time at all. Here are the ingredients: four or six slices of durum wheat bread; 1 large potato; salmon; lumpfish roe; oil; salt and white pepper.

Preparation: cook a big potato in slightly salted water, drain and then chop into small cubes. Next place them in a pan with a little oil, pour in sour cream and mayonnaise and stir until soft and creamy. In the meanwhile toast the slices of bread until golden and crispy. Next pour the sauce over them and garnish with salmon, lumpfish roe and dill.

Phot | Flickr

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World famous Italian chef, Gualtiero Marchesi, has decided to dedicate a new sandwich to Italy. The chef, famous for his Michelin-star efforts for Italy, is making the sandwich not long after the brand image campaign surrounding the McItaly burger.

Marchesi is creating three sandwiches inspired by Italy, and by its modern architectural promise, particularly associated with Expo 2015. The chef from the La Scala restaurant, the Biffi Scala, envisions a new-age Milan - that created by the likes of Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid.

Marchesi’s sandwiches will adopt the shape of the three Milan skyscrapers that the two architects are building at the CityLife complex in Milan. The buildings have been nicknamed: the ‘Dritto’ (Straight), the ‘Curvo’ (Curve) and the ‘Storto’ (Crooked). We will have to wait to taste them…

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We’ve looked at plenty of Italian snacks here on Dolce Vita, but this is the first I’ve heard of anything like this Italian cheese snack. If you’re going to throw an Italian snack party, you could try this “parmesan cheese pudding” with your friends.

Ingredients: 200 grams of grated parmesan cheese (make sure it’s the good “parmigiano” stuff), 200 grams of robiola (like stracchino cheese), three eggs, two egg whites, 200 mL of fresh cream, 50 grams of flour, 40 grams of butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Mix the parmigiano and robiola cheese together in a bowl, add some butter and nutmeg, and then add half the flour and cream. Mix together for a smooth consistency. Add the eggs and egg whites and continue mixing. Grease six small tins, add some flour and then pour in the mixture. Place all the tins in an oven-proof dish with some water in the bottom and cook in a hot oven at about 170°C for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Photo | Flickr

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There are many Italian cheeses that you can treat yourself to, and often the enjoyment is increased by choosing the right side serve for your cheese. With soft cheeses, aged cheese and everything right down to the simple ricotta or mozzarella, Italy has much to offer. But if you experiment with other traditional Italian products like marmalade, jams and other sweet or savoury accompaniments, you will find yourself in a real cheese paradise.

For example, with the asiago cheese from Trentino, you could try a “radicchio” or chicory condiment, where the bitter taste of the vegetable works well with the slightly mature cheese. A soft cheese, but with a strong taste, like “caciotta” blends nicely with a forest fruit or strawberry and raspberry jam, with its slightly sour taste.

A classic marriage of Italian cheese and condiment is a vintage pecorino with fig jam. Its perfume and sweetness blends nicely, and the fig accompaniment can be used for harder cheeses like parmigiano reggiano (parmesan) or grana padano.

Photo | Flickr

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If you’re looking for great happy hour in Rome, try the American Bar Ballantine’s when next you’re in the eternal city. It’s located on via Salvatore di Giacomo, 19/23 and has jumped on board the current trend of happy hour and aperitifs that many Italians are now enjoying as essential part of their Saturday night out.

Ballantine’s serves food with aperitifs from 6pm to midnight every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, including hot pasta buffet, for about ten euros a head. You should consider this your drink and dinner all in one - we certainly don’t recommend backing up for food at a restaurant somewhere after this happy hour!

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Mention the word mustard and most Italians will screw up their nose and give you a tirade on how disgusting the food is in Germany and how the last time they went there they spent three days on a diet. Generally speaking, the Italians don’t like condiments of this kind, but it turns out that Cremona in Lombardy, has its own mustard version, made with fruit.

This traditional Italian product is made from candied fruit with mustard essence and is generally prepared at the end of summer or beginning of autumn, using either mixed fruit or one type of fruit. It can also be made with vegetables, and the first recipe of Cremona’s mustard dates back to 1604.

The fruits most commonly used in this recipe are cherries, apricots, figs, pears and peaches. Sugar and mustard is then added to create a kind of fruit preserve. The traditional mustard from Cremona has recently been added to a list of traditional products where the correct technique and method of production is outlined.

This particular fruit mustard compote is generally used to accompany meat, including boiled or roast meats, or Italy’s famous “cotechino” or “zampone” boiled pork. It can also be matched to various Italian cheese in what is considered a more innovative combination, or even fresh fish and shell fish.

Photo | Flickr

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The Tuscan olive oil festival of Cetona, in Val di Chiana takes place this weekend from December 5 to 7 after many days of hard work to finish the olive harvest for this year. The extra virgin olive oil festival involves the oil produced from “chianine” olives, the name also given to Tuscany’s famous “chianina” beef.

The festival includes tours through the olive groves, the town’s historic olive presses, and the town centre where you can conduct tastings of the olive oil and traditional products of the area.

Tastings include bruschetta, cabbage, soup, beans and chick peas, with recipes based on various types of olive oil. The festival is open from 10am to 10pm and the local restaurants all feature traditional dishes using the local olive oil.

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A traditional Italian Christmas menu probably doesn’t include finger food and snacks, but if you’re entertaining for people on Christmas Eve and still want something Italian, this parmesan and parma ham (or prosciutto crudo) snack could do the trick.

You’ll need some puff pastry for the base and then the ingredients for four people are: 80 grams of parma ham in one slice, 75 grams of grated parmesan cheese, two eggs, 200 ml of fresh cream, a bunch of celery leaves, 20 grams of walnuts, salt and pepper.

Create four discs from the puff pastry and put them into little pie tins with some oven paper. Punch a couple of fork marks in the bottom of the pastry and then fill the pastry with dry lentils, so that the pastry doesn’t swell and lose its shape. Cook in the oven for ten minutes at 200° C. Get rid of the lentils and cook for another three minutes.

For the filling, separate the egg yolk from the white, and use only the yolk, mixing it with the cheese and cream. Heat over boiling water to get a thick mixture, then add salt and pepper. Fill the pastry pies with the cheese filling, and then cover with some prosciutto, the walnuts and chopped celery. Serve luke warm.

Photo | Flickr

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