Rugged mountains (the highest peaks in the Apennines), palm-lined beaches and charming hill towns combine to make Abruzzo one of Italy’s most beautiful and geographically diverse regions. Yet this fascinating area remains relatively undiscovered by American travelers. With its tranquil landscape, the central section of Abruzzo is home to the National Park of the Abruzzo, where brown bears, wolves and lynxes are protected by law. A place where ancient agricultural traditions are still handed down, the region is famous for its livestock production and farming, the growing and production of the highly prized herb saffron, and the bounty of the highly skilled fishermen who live along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

The cooking of Abruzzo is both varied and refined, and chefs who hail from this region can be found in restaurants all over the world. Pasta, vegetables, and meat (especially lamb and pork) are the staples of Abruzzo cuisine, and many delicious lamb dishes and aromatic cheeses, such as Pecorino (sheep’s milk) and Scamorza (often smoked), are rooted in the pasture farming and the everyday life of the region’s shepherds, whose numbers are now in decline. The legendary panarda, a colossal meal of up to 30 courses that dates back to pagan antiquity (and is rarely held today), is an emblem of the place that good eating holds in the life of Abruzzo.

Specialty Foods of Abruzzo

Maccheroni alla chitarra is an egg pasta that is made with a chitarra, a rectangular beech-wood frame, over which fine metal strings, like those on a guitar, are stretched. The thinly rolled pasta dough is laid over the strings and pushed through with a rolling pin, cutting the dough into uniformly fine, long strands. Traditionally, the maccheroni is served with a lamb, tomato and peperoncino sauce, sprinkled with the local Pecorino cheese.

Peperoncino This red chili pepper, known to the people of Abruzzo as diavolino, or little devil, is a key ingredient in the local cuisine. It spices up everything from brodetto alla pescarese, a fish soup made in the fishing port city of Pescara, to the time-honored spaghetti aglio, olio, e peperoncino (spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and chili).

Parrozzo is a famous local dessert, a soft cake made with flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and almonds, covered with chocolate. It was a favorite of the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio, a native of Pescara, who supposedly gave the cake its name (which derives from pan rozzo, a round bread of the countryside) and sang its praises in verse. 

Confetti The town of Sulmona, Italy’s confectionary capital since the Renaissance, is known for producing the country’s best confetti, or sugar-coated Jordan almonds. These tasty, colorful treats are transformed (using silk, plastic, colored paper, wire, and other accessories) into flowers, blossoms, exotic fruits, and many other imaginative arrangements. Confetti are a common sight at weddings and christenings, where they are given to guests in elaborate bags festooned with ribbons.

Cent’erbe is the most powerful of all Italian liqueurs. Emerald green in color, with a high alcoholic content, it was first produced by herbalists of Abruzzo from various plants indigenous to the alpine region of Abruzzo; hence its name, “one hundred herbs.”

 

Food Festivals of Abruzzo

International Chefs’ Festival
Sangro, 2nd Sunday of October
The Val di Sangro, a mountain valley in the province of Chieti, is renowned for producing generations of chefs, who have turned Abruzzo’s simple yet sophisticated regional foods into culinary wonders. In celebration, this festival draws chefs from all over the world to share their expertise and sample the delicacies of local restaurants from special stands lined up along the village’s main street.

Broad Beans Festival
Pollutri, 5th and 6th of December
Pollutri, in the province of Chieti, holds this yearly festival, during which this highly prized vegetable is boiled all night long in nine large cauldrons that line the streets of the town.

Among the many other foods celebrated with special annual festivals in Abruzzo are cherries (Raiano, first Sunday of June); sweet chestnuts (Carsoli, first Sunday of October); grapes and wine (Vittorio, a Sunday in October); prosciutto (Basciano, second Sunday in August); Pecorino cheese (Macchia da Sole); chick peas (Navelli), mutton (San Vincenzo Valle Roveto), and porchetta , or roast pig (Fresagrandinaria).