We're not as impressed with Italian food as many people seem to be (seriously, pizza and pasta are mostly ... dough?), but there are some things they do really well. Things like olives, tomatoes and air-dried ham taste amazing here, and all these goodies are suitable for eating as 'antipasti'.
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ShareWhat is antipasti?
Antipasti are those little snacks that are often served before dinner in Italy. Antipasti can consist of all sorts of cold items such as cured meats, cheeses, seafood, breads, mixtures and small salads, olive, fresh and pickled vegetables, etc.
Don't want to cook in the heat ...
And then there's the issue of eating in the heat... We don't lose our appetite, but eating hot food is hard - not to mention that law hot food in a boiling hot motorhome!
For a while we tried starting with a small light antipasti at 18:00 and then cooking dinner at 20:30 (when it is hopefully a bit cooler). But that didn't really work. After the antipasti we weren't hungry enough - and it hardly cools down!!!!
Now we eat a reinforced antipasti in the evenings - a sort of crossover between Italian antipasti and Swedish smörgåsbord. It works for now!
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Ama de casa says:
We usually have such dinners as well. We call it "plicketi-pick" 🙂 .
22 July 2015 - 10:15
Steve says:
Your crossover looks like a great choice in the heat. A platter is always an option when traditional dishes don't fit.
22 July 2015 - 11:03
Linnea Edmark says:
Food in the heat is tricky. I can live for a while on type yougurt with fruits and muesli, soups, sandwiches, etc. but the children... Now that it has usually been over 30 degrees here in Bavaria for quite some time, it will be difficult to get them enough. They do not seem (like us adults) to slow down the pace significantly either so where they get the energy to run, jump on the trampoline and fight from is a mystery 😉 Soups that can be eaten both lukewarm and cold are otherwise a good, liquid-rich budget tip if the food basket is limited 🙂.
Greetings from a hot Bavaria (which is forecast to get "cooler" in the coming days).
22 July 2015 - 11:38
Monica says:
That's how we eat too. Maybe not as much to choose from and we make ready-made plates for each of us with a lot of small picks. Because who wants to eat in a hot motorhome as I said! We eat something like that in the middle of the day and then take something lighter in the evening. Here in the cooler Brittany it is now easier to eat hot food and right now we eat good crepes and moules!
22 July 2015 - 14:47
admin says:
Ama de casa, great name for a great dish! 🙂
Steve, picking food is both delicious and easy! There are also many goodies to buy here 🙂
Linnea, fantastic that they have such energy in the heat! Then they probably get what they need after all! We ate a lot of soups at the beginning of the trip (when it was cold). Now it has mostly become something else, but a cold soup could be good! We shop a lot at Lidl to keep the costs down 😉
Monica, moules and crepes sound delicious! 🙂 We take it a little lighter at lunch (fruit salad or wrap) and a little more in the evening. We are not used to the heat so it took a while to figure out how to do! 😉
22 July 2015 - 16:38
BP says:
Looks like perfect food in the heat! You are right about one thing - Italian pizzas are over-advertised. Ours here at home are much tastier (probably adapted to Swedish). Pasta, on the other hand, I can eat as often as I want - but not in a heat like yours.
22 July 2015 - 20:06
Rantamor på näthinnan says:
Yes, sometimes it can be good to have something other than pasta and pizza.
Good thing you have the campervan restaurant with you.
We've been eating a lot of freshly caught fish up here in northern Norway.
God.
Tjingelingen from Rantamor in Northern Norway at Porsrangesfjorden.
22 July 2015 - 20:50
admin says:
BP, we almost never eat pizza. We eat pasta from time to time. It can be good I think (depending on the accessories) but we probably like rice and potatoes more 😉.
Rantamor, fish is the best thing we know! For a while we ate fish almost every day. Right now we can't cook it either because of the heat. Understand that the freshly caught fish you eat must taste amazing!
22 July 2015 - 21:00
Ladies Abroad says:
I like both pizza and pasta, but I agree that antipasti are incredibly tasty. You may recall that I don't eat red meat; the only thing that can make me deviate from this from time to time is really good ham in Italy.
Have a good time!
22 July 2015 - 23:38
admin says:
Ladies Abroad, I understand you! We eat red meat relatively rarely (not total abstinence but we eat mostly fish) but here we are fond of the charcuterie!
23 July 2015 - 11:04
Alexandra says:
Hehe, our plan to go here to Italy this year on holiday originated because I wanted to eat pizza in Naples. 😉 Now we have arrived in Rome... "only" 37 degrees outside. I promised myself after the last European car holiday that never again big cities in the middle of the summer.... but here I am again. 😉
23 July 2015 - 16:20
Discovering The Planet says:
We weren't impressed with the food in Sardinia either. But wow, it doesn't compare to the food on the mainland. For example in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. It's like ready-made food versa fine dining 🙂.
23 July 2015 - 17:47
Elisabeth says:
Cold food works best on hot days. It's important to drink lots of water!
24 July 2015 - 6:17
admin says:
Alexandra, phew! It is really sweaty to be in a big city in such heat! You have to look for cafes and other places with AC! What does the further plan look like?
Discovering the Planet, it will be interesting to explore the food on the mainland then! Sounds promising! Our problem in Italy is that none of us like pizza. We do eat pasta once in a while, but we are not pasta lovers. But as I said, it will be interesting! But first it will be Sicily!
Elisabeth, absolutely true! We use a lot of water here! 😉
24 July 2015 - 9:03