Cuisine of Abruzzo
The cuisine of Abruzzo is known for its simplicity, emphasizing fresh and high-quality ingredients, such as lamb, seafood, and pasta, often seasoned with olive oil, garlic, and chili peppers.
The Abruzzo cuisine
The cuisine and cellars of Abruzzo are also worth discovering! In the central Italian region, rural traditional cuisine predominates with hearty and spicy dishes and is always prepared from the best and freshest ingredients. The whole thing is rounded off by some excellent wines, such as the well-known Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Meat & fish dishes of Abruzzo
The actual roots of Abruzzo’s cuisine lie far inland – the soil did not and does not yield much, so lamb and goat dishes in particular, as well as their dairy products (e.g., ricotta made from sheep’s milk), still play an important role today. The meat is often boiled or braised and prepared as lamb goulash (agnello brodettato) or as a leg of lamb (agnello alle olive) with chopped olives and oregano. The juicy lamb skewers (“arrosticini”) come from the charcoal grill and are the Abruzzese national dish.
Lentils (“lenticchie”) from Santo Stefano di Sessanio and chickpeas (“ceci”) from Navelli are famous even beyond the borders of Abruzzo. On the coast of this beautiful region, fish is naturally eaten predominantly – either as “brodetto” (fish soup), “baccalà” (stockfish) or in various ways from the grill (alla brace).
Spices and wines of Abruzzo
Spices are often quite hot in Abruzzo, especially chilli. The “Olio Santo” from Abruzzo, which is a combination of high-quality olive oil with sliced pepperoncini and fresh basil, is a fitting accompaniment. In addition to chickpeas, precious saffron comes from Navelli. Although it is not often used in Abruzzo’s cuisine, it has made a name for itself in the northern Italian city of Milan in the rich yellow “Risotto alla Milanese.”
The growing areas of the two most famous wines, the red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and the white Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, extend over the hills between Teramo down to the Pescara valley. There are many vineyards, especially in the area around Popoli and Sulmona and south of Chieti. In general, Montepulciano from the north of the region is considered a little more elegant, than from the south a little more robust. It is available both as a high-class top wine and as a solid and not-too-expensive red wine with DOC status.
The indigenous grape Trebbiano d’Abruzzo also produces highly esteemed wines in some places, but larger quantities are produced from the simpler Trebbiano Toscano. About four million of the 60 million hectolitres of wine produced annually in Italy are produced in Abruzzo and mainly Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. This puts the region in fifth place nationally in terms of volume.
Abruzzo - A hidden gem worth exploring
Cuisine of Abruzzo
Confetti from Sulmona
The Costa dei Trabocchi
Beautiful towns and villages
Geographical location
Landscapes of Abruzzo
The golden saffron from Navelli
The "Laboratori Nazionale del Gran Sasso"
Provinces & Capitals
