Easy Italian Recipes

A Feast of Hidden Treasures

Bounded by the Apennines on one side and the Adriatic on the other, the Marches is unfamiliar to most visitors to Italy. lts cooking is defined by fish and seafood along the toast, and vegetables, chicken, rabbit, snails, and truffles and other wild fungi in the hills and mountains. The coastal brodetto, or seafood stew, is seasoned with saffron and traditionally made with thirteen kinds of fish. Verdicchio is the region's best-known white wine varietal, and Rosso Conero, produced near Ancona, its most respected red wine. Mistrà is the local anise-flavored digestive.

Culinary signature: Formaggio di fossa

This artisanal sheep's milk cheese is packed in straw and ripened in trenches (fosse) or caves for three months, resulting in an earthy aroma, a unique, fermented flavor, and a rich, creamy texture. It is enjoyed as a table cheese and is particularly good with honey, nuts, and fruit preserves.

Regional Specialties

Olive all'ascolana a specialty of the coastal town of Ascoli Piceno; green olives stuffed with ground meat, breaded, and fried unti) golden and crisp

Ciauscolo a rich, soft smoked salami, meant to be spread, not sliced

Vincisgrassi lasagne layered with prosciutto, chicken livers, sweetbreads, and white sauce

Rabbit often cooked in porchetta (roasted in the style of porchetta) with fennel and salt

Frustingolo dense fruitcake made with nuts and dried figs