Arufa and M vacationed in Italy in October. They drove west from Florence to Santa
Margherita and Portofino, zigzag across the country to Venice and finally Rome. Besides sightseeing and shopping, they
indulged in the traditional Italian food – a lot of pasta, seafood and funghi.
Some of the dishes they enjoyed in Florence included a salad of burrata and crispy zucchini and tagliatelle
with cherry tomato and basil.
On their way to Portofino, they stopped at Lucca for fritto misto, ravioli, and pasta with
squid.
To celebrate the porcini season, they ate pasta with porcini
in Santa Margherita.
In Venice, they feasted on gamberi (large shrimps), scampi,
and spaghetti with clams.
Arufa and M visited Eatery Roma, the humongous branch of the
giant international high-end supermarket chain (it has locations in Tokyo and
NYC). They had dinners at various
restaurants there. The pan of fried calamari,
shrimps and anchovies was wonderful,
but not as much as the tartufo
bianco dishes, such as the eggs with a generous amount of shaved white truffle,
or a “menu tartufo” consisted of three items on a plate – tajarin (a Piedmonte egg pasta), egg and polenta, and a fondue of Raschera cheese, milk, butter and egg, all
of which were topped with white truffle.
The latter two were served in aperitif glasses.
Arufa and M’s meals in Italy were rustic and simple but deliziosa!
