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Abruzzo: a Land to Eat<br />
rind with rosemary, bay leaf, peppers, and<br />
vinegar.<br />
Pizza rustica: Pie of pork sausage, mozzarella,<br />
eggs, and Parmigiano Reggiano.<br />
Polpi in purgatorio: Octopus cooked with<br />
tomato, garlic, parsley, and diavolicchio hot<br />
peppers.<br />
Scapece di Vasto: Pieces of raw fish preserved<br />
in earthenware vases with vinegar,<br />
salt, chili peppers, and saffron.<br />
Scrippelle ‘mbusse or ‘nfusse: Fried crepes<br />
coated or filled with pecorino and served<br />
in chicken broth.<br />
Timballo di crespelle: Crepes layered with<br />
spinach, artichokes, ground meat, chicken<br />
giblets, mozzarella, and grated Parmigiano<br />
Reggiano baked in an elaborate mold.<br />
Zuppa di cardi: soup of giant cardoons from<br />
L’Aquila with tomatoes and salt pork.<br />
Zuppa di lenticchie e castagne: tiny mountain<br />
lentils and fresh chestnuts in a soup<br />
with tomatoes, salt pork, and herbs.<br />
Food Festivals in Abruzzo<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHEFS’ FESTIVAL OF<br />
SANGRO, 2nd Sunday of October<br />
The Official Guide to Italian Tourism<br />
The Val di Sangro, a mountain valley in<br />
the province of Chieti, is renowned for producing<br />
generations of chefs, who have<br />
turned Abruzzo’s simple yet sophisticated<br />
regional foods into culinary wonders. In celebration,<br />
this festival draws chefs from all<br />
over the world to share their expertise and<br />
sample the delicacies of local restaurants<br />
from special stands lined up along the village’s<br />
main street.<br />
BEANS FESTIVAL OF POLLUTRI, 5th<br />
and 6th of December<br />
Pollutri, in the province of Chieti, holds<br />
this yearly festival, during which beans are<br />
boiled all night long in nine large cauldrons<br />
that line the streets of the town.<br />
Among the many other foods celebrated with<br />
special annual festivals in Abruzzo are cherries<br />
(Raiano, first Sunday of June); sweet<br />
chestnuts (Carsoli, first Sunday of October);<br />
grapes and wine (Vittorio, a Sunday in<br />
October); prosciutto (Basciano, second<br />
Sunday in August); Pecorino cheese (Macchia<br />
da Sole); chick peas and saffron (Navelli, first<br />
Sunday after August 15), truffles (Casoli and<br />
Acciano, July), mutton (San Vincenzo Valle<br />
<strong>Italy</strong> Now<br />
Garlic is a staple<br />
of the cuisine of Abruzzo.<br />
Roveto), and porchetta, or roast pig<br />
(Fresagrandinaria).<br />
The Wines<br />
Abruzzo produces one DOCG and three<br />
DOC wines that have won many international<br />
awards and are served in the best restaurants<br />
around the world. These four wines<br />
are: Controguerra, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo,<br />
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Montepulciano<br />
d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane (DOCG). The<br />
best production areas are the Pescara valley,<br />
between Popoli and Pescara and the Teramo,<br />
Pescara, and Chieti hills.<br />
In the official classification of Italian DOC<br />
wines, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo is in sixth<br />
place, behind Chianti, Asti, Oltrepò Pavese,<br />
Soave, and Valpolicella.<br />
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is made almost<br />
exclusively with grapes from vines of the<br />
same name, with the possible small addition<br />
of other grapes from recommended and/or<br />
authorized red grape vines (up to 10%<br />
Sangiovese is permitted to be added to the<br />
blend). The top of the range has a brilliant<br />
ruby red color and a dry, mellow, pungent,<br />
slightly tannic taste. It is a robust wine that<br />
37<br />
Photo courtesy of Regione Abruzzo.
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