Emanuele is Italian Connection’s food and wine expert, and personally seeks out the authentic Italian food and top regional wines that are a hallmark of Italian Connection’s tours. An Italian native and former restaurant owner, he takes food and wine seriously and often prepares sumptuous picnics or delicious lunches to share with our guests on tour. He personally tastes all the wines he recommends and travels with his own wine glass that is larger than normal. When not on tour, we share the Italian tradition of a family lunch every day, when Emanuele prepares simple healthy dishes of Italian food. Here are some of his recipes of authentic Italian food that that you can cook at home.
Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen, Italian Food Traditions & Recipes
Simple yet flavorful cuisine is a highlight of our Walking & Cooking in Umbria tour, where you work up an appetite on the trail and learn to cook traditional dishes with farmhouse cooks. The wines are rich and pleasurable, making the simplest dish a taste of pure joy. Ingredients 1 red onion, halved and thinly […]
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Western Sicily is where a lucky fisherman may still catch a fresh tuna during May and June, when restaurants feature lots of interesting tuna preparations. If the tuna aren’t biting, this tasty dish can be made with ingredients found in any Italian pantry. Ingredients 1 clove garlic, cut into thin slivers 1 small peperoncino (dried hot red […]
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About our Asparagus Risotto Recipe: Hearty alpine cuisine is a great reward after hiking uphill to admire the Wildflowers in the Dolomites, where you’ll find a great variety of risotto dishes that will keep your taste buds happy through both of our Dolomites tours. We alos use wild asparagus that we forage in Sicily to […]
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The classic peasant dish of La Maremma is acquacotta- which literally translates to “cooked water.” It is said that this soup goes back to the times of the charcoal makers – i carbonari – that worked during the cold winters. Every bit of food that was traded for charcoal went into a soup pot of […]
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This dish is traditionally made with busiate, an oddly shaped pasta from the town of Trapani, but impossible to find elsewhere. Taste it on our Splendors of Sicily tour. At home, you can use fusilli. Ingredients 1 pound of pasta 6 ripe tomatoes 1 clove of garlic (Trapanesi like this dish reeking of garlic, we […]
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The mild climate in the Cinque Terre means it is not only great for walking, but has a long growing season, too. A light Ligurian olive oil is used as a main ingredient in this dish, perfectly coating the pasta to slippery perfection, raising the status of the humble zucchine to new heights. Of course, you can use […]
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This delicious salad makes a refreshing lunch on a warm summer’s day. Enjoy it in the shade of a 13th century castle on our Tuscany Hilltowns tour, where the jade-green olive oil makes this peasant dish simply sublime. Ingredients 8-10 slices of stale country bread, preferably unsalted 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 red onion, […]
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This unusual dish is full of the exotic flavors of Sicily, echoing the island’s turbulent past when various rulers—Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Spanish to name a few—left a strong imprint on everything from architecture to Sicily’s remarkably varied cuisine. Perhaps Emanuele will make this for us on our Walking & Cooking in Eastern Sicily tour, but in […]
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The hearty flavors of La Maremma blend with the echoes of the ancient Etruscans in this earthy dish, perfectly paired with the deep red Morellino di Scansano. Ingredients 1 onion, chopped fine 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 7-8 black olives, pitted and sliced 1 tsp capers, packed in salt 1 cleaned rabbit, cut into pieces (about […]
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Piedmont is known for its wonderfully malodorous cheeses as well as ethereal white truffles, both of which you can sample on our Piedmont Vineyards & Lakes tour. When you don’t have any truffles, this simple dish will satisfy with its strong flavors and can stand up to a powerful piemontese wine. Ingredients 12 oz. (330 grams) yellow cornmeal, preferably […]
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On our Savoring Sicily tour, you taste olive oil the moment it is pressed, an amazing culinary experience that also cures chapped lips. Beautiful gnarled olive trees and lush citrus groves are ever present on this tour, and this simple recipe uses both to produce a tasty antipasto. Ingredients 32 large black olives 1 clove garlic, peeled 1 […]
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Our hosts at the Palazetta del Vescovo, Paola and Stefano, are an accomplished cook and sommelier, and have created a peaceful haven for relaxing in the countryside. They’ll teach us about traditional Umbrian cuisine on our Walking & Cooking Tour in Umbria as well as great food presentation, while making sure we taste the best of Umbria’s impressive […]
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