From pizza to pasta, Italian food is a staple of the American diet — and eating these often-cheese-topped, always-carb-laden delicacies in Italy is something dreams are made of.
But there’s a stranger side to Italian dining that’s just waiting to be explored by adventurous eaters. The next time you’re in Italy, step out of your comfort zone and chow down on these strange foods.
Cuttlefish in black ink sauce
While we’re used to pasta sauce being either red or white, there’s another hue to try when you’re dining in Italy: black. Cuttlefish ink is the key to this dark sauce, which typically includes tomatoes, white wine and cuttlefish pieces, served atop a bed of pasta. Sometimes, the cuttlefish ink is also used to create black pasta noodles.
Cibreo
This traditional dish is proof that Italians don’t believe in wasting any part of the chicken. Once the prime pieces of the chicken have been used up, the leftovers (think liver, heart, gizzards, testicles and cockscomb) are boiled into a creamy stew known as cibreo.
Lardo di colonnata
If you like bacon, you just might fall in love with lardo di colonnata, which is literally just pork fat cured with herbs and spices. This rich and indulgent fare is usually served in thin slices with bread as an antipasto.
Casu marzu
Certainly not for the faint of heart, casu marzu is a cheese that gets its flavor from a special ingredient: maggots. Yes, maggots are purposefully introduced into this sheep’s milk cheese to speed up the fermentation process, and the cheese is meant to be enjoyed while the maggots are still alive. Although previously outlawed by the European Union, casu marzu is now perfectly legal to enjoy.
Lampredotto
You might think those sandwiches being sold on street carts throughout Florence are filled with ordinary beef, but it may very well be lampredotto, which is made from the fourth stomach of a cow. Typically prepared by boiling with herbs and vegetables, lampredotto is a popular find throughout Florence.
Pani ca meusa
If cow stomach sandwiches don’t do it for you, perhaps you’d be more interested in pani ca muesa, a roll filled with cheese, hot lard and calf’s spleen. This Sicilian street food may include calf lung, as well.
Pajata
Over in Rome, the intestines of unweaned calves are cooked without being emptied so that the milk within can thicken into a creamy, cheesy sauce. It’s often mixed with tomato sauce and served on top of pasta.
What’s the strangest food you’ve ever tried in Italy?
(Featured image: Moyan Brenn)
