{"id":322,"date":"2008-09-16T10:56:21","date_gmt":"2008-09-16T10:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marialiberati.com\/blog2\/?p=322"},"modified":"2008-09-16T10:56:21","modified_gmt":"2008-09-16T10:56:21","slug":"abruzzo-a-quick-guide-to-my-favorite-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/2008\/09\/16\/abruzzo-a-quick-guide-to-my-favorite-spots\/","title":{"rendered":"Abruzzo- a quick guide to my favorite spots"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pescara-map.jpg\"<\/a>\"parrozzo.jpg\"<\/a>\"loreto-aprutina.jpg\"<\/a>
\n\u00a0I have just returned again from my ‘pied a terre’ in the mountains of Abruzzo, just about an hour away from Rome.\u00a0 Still emotionally drunk with all the\u00a0food, wine\u00a0and beauty this little spot (well not really so little) has to offer. I know most get to travel only the well known places in Tuscany or Rome or Venice..not that there is anything wrong with that. But you are missing a true experience, an old world experience..
\nAbruzzo is considered the ‘greenest region of Europe’ for its’ natural beauty. The beauty of Abruzzo, is that we have mountains (Appenines) on one side and the Adriatic sea on the other, and\u00a0lush parks in between.\u00a0It is a place where the mountains co-exist harmoniously wiht the sea. The beach stretches for 130 kilometers (approx 80 miles)\u00a0with the sea cliff serving as a continuous backdrop.
\nFor many years famous writers have used the words ‘forte e gentile’\u00a0 (strong and gentle)\u00a0 to describe this beautiful region.
\nSome streets are still \u00a0filled with cobblestone. My\u00a0favorite towns are Tagliacozzo, Avezzano, Pescara,\u00a0and L’Aquila. I am in close proximity to them all\u00a0 and although each of these towns do hold some sentimentality for me, they also hold some great culinary experiences, too many to include all at once. So let’s start with some delights in and around Pescara.
\nIn the US, the San Marzano tomatoes are considered ‘king’ but if you are a food insider in Italy and a true”Abruzzese” you know about the tomatoes from Francavilla-right near the biggest city in Abruzzo-Pescara.\u00a0 They are even more delicious than the San Marzano and in August they are sold everywhere in Abruzzo.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone jars them\u00a0 for sauce\u00a0( ‘sugo’) all year around. They just don’t have the publicity\u00a0surrounding them\u00a0that the San Marzano\u00a0 do and they are difficult to find outside certain parts of Italy but a true treat to behold. The ‘pomodoro of Francavilla’ are\u00a0\u00a0 deformed in shape and not perfectly round or oval-but they are a \u00a0gourmet delight. A pound of these tomatoes with some\u00a0 olive oil (see below), fresh basil, 2 cloves\u00a0of garlic, slice of onion\u00a0 makes a\u00a0\u00a0 tasty ‘sugo’ to top penne or spaghetti.
\nNear Pescara is my favorite little town to buy olive oil-Loreto Aprutino. A beautiful little town that was once owned by the family of St Thomas Aquinas.\u00a0 The drive up the hill to Loreto-Aprutino is a sight to behold. The landscape\u00a0 covered\u00a0\u00a0with olive trees\u00a0 and dotted with \u00a0little churches\u00a0 that are filled with thousand year old\u00a0frescoes. Here you can find olive oil made from olives picked by hand, another taste like no other, an old world treat.
\nThen you will need some wine to go with that meal and in the same vicinity\u00a0\u00a0you will find Pasetti vineyards and a superb Montepulciano D’Abruzzo to go with that pasta. Dessert is next with a trip to the locals’ favorite gelato bar in Pescara. Although the tourists opt for the glitzy, ornate gelato bars in center of town,you will find the locals standing out the door at the little Bar Bologna for their artisan produced gelato.
\n\u00a0Going to the beach and being near the sea always makes me hungry. But that is no problem here with plenty of ways to satisfy your hunger..in fact ,too many ways.
\nHere is a traditional recipe from Pescara..you will also find it in my best selling book The Basic Art of\u00a0 Italian Cooking.\u00a0 A desert made with a type of sponge cake, almonds and dark chocolate called Parozzo.
\nParozzo (serves 4)<\/strong>
\n1\/3 cup melted dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa)<\/strong>
\n1\/4 cup sugar<\/strong>
\n1 tablespoon butter<\/strong>
\n1 tablespoon of\u00a0 almonds<\/strong>
\n1\/3 cup flour<\/strong>
\n1\/3 cup potato starch<\/strong>
\n10 toasted almonds (for decoration)<\/strong>
\n3 eggs<\/strong>
\nGrind almonds with 1 tblsp sugar.\u00a0 beat egg yolks with remaining sugar. Add in ground almonds, then flour and then potato starch. Add in melted butter.<\/strong>
\nWhip egg whites till peaks form and fold into flour mixture. Place in a round cake pan and bake in a preheated oven\u00a0for 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, take out of pan and cover with melted chocolate and decorate with 10 toasted almonds. Let chocolate harden before eating.<\/strong>
\nIf you would like to get to Pescara, the easiest way to get there is by train from Rome at Termini Station. There are buses that go\u00a0to many points as well ,the bus system in Abruzzo is known as ARPA. Or if you want to drive for a true Italian adventure, from Rome take the A24 going North and then the A25 going East follow indications for Pescara.
\nNext we will take a trip to the mountains, which makes me hungry as well, but there\u00a0will be\u00a0plenty of\u00a0culinary delights\u00a0 to\u00a0find along the way to take care of that.
\nCiao for now.
\nMaria
\nFor more recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at https:\/\/www.marialiberati.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0I have just returned again from my ‘pied a terre’ in the mountains of Abruzzo, just about an hour away from Rome.\u00a0 Still emotionally drunk with all the\u00a0food, wine\u00a0and beauty…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,27,40],"tags":[69,254,284,20,159,362,328,363,195],"class_list":["post-322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abruzzo","category-caro-diariodear-diary","category-history-of-foods","tag-abruzzo","tag-beach","tag-gelato","tag-olive-oil","tag-pasta","tag-pescara","tag-seaside","tag-tour","tag-travel"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marialiberati.com\/freshsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}