I’m just back from a six week whip around Italy and Switzerland, hosting a food & wine tour in Emilia-Romagna and researching for ones in Southern Italy, Switzerland and Veneto. And I ate some great food!
Of course there were a few duds as well – but the idea is that if I ‘kiss-the-toads’ then when I take you with me, it’ll be Prince Charming meals all the way (you’re welcome)! Here’s the best dishes from around the world that I ate this year and where to find them, so whether you travel with me or on your own, you’ll be well prepared! Desserts were so good they’re on a separate list.
Salumi di Suino Nero di Parma Ristorante Cocchi (Parma)
The black pigs (suino nero) of Parma are known for deep-red, well-marbled meat and Parma is famed for its cured meats. The two come together deliciously on a salumi platter served in one of Parma’s oldest restaurants, including local Felino salami, pancetta, 48-month-old culatello, and 60-month-old shoulder prosciutto. In a region where most meals start with salumi it’s hard to single out one plate, but this one is it!
Pretzel with Ham, Pickles & Cheese Altes Tram Depot (Bern)
Sometimes, especially after weeks on the road, you just want a delicious snack rather than another fancy meal! That’s what I found in a micro-brewery next to Bern’s famous Bear Park overlooking the River Aare at the bottom of the historic city centre. It worked a treat with a tasting tray of their beers including Hoppylirium, a hoppy seasonal brew made with plum and apricot.
Spaghetti alle Vongole al Cartoccio Ristorante da Ciccio (Amalfi)
I had one of my favourite pasta dishes this year at one of my favourite Italian restaurant on the Amalfi Coast. Spaghetti vongole doesn’t need to be wrapped in parchment paper and baked (al cartoccio), but I love the theatre – and aroma – of it being served tableside (pictured top). Da Ciccio’s addition of a few capers and olives and a scattering of diced tomato takes it to a whole new level. I’m adjusting my recipe accordingly.
Porcini Tagliatelle Trattoria Rigoletto (Parma)
Europe’s full of big, fleshy porcini in autumn – they’re nice, but not always flavourful. I had the best porcini pasta ever in an unassuming trattoria in a back street in Parma (possibly my favourite food city). At Trattoria Rigoletto, Antonella makes her rich egg pasta fresh daily and I’m guessing she adds a little dried porcini from last year’s harvest to her sauce to amp up the umami.
Pumpkin Cappelletti with White Truffles & Sage Trattoria da Noemi (Ferrara)
Imagine my delight when I wandered into this trattoria in the historic medieval centre of Ferrara and discovered the first of the season’s white truffles being shaved over fresh pumpkin-filled pasta. Luca (son of chef Maria Cristina) explained that as the waters flow down from Piedmont they bring the truffle spores with them, so Emilia-Romagna has its share of the more famous region’s prized funghi. Yum – what an unexpected treat!
Porcini & Chanterelle Risotto Cantina Mediterraneo (Treviso)
Rice is a popular crop in Veneto, especially carnaroli and vialone nano for risotto. Combine that with autumn’s harvest of wild porcini and chantarelles and you have one of the best risottos I’ve ever tasted. I had it at a casual restaurant in a piazza in the hamlet of Badoere, surrounded by semi-circular arched porticos that originally housed the stables and other service buildings for the villa that once stood in the centre.
Salad of ‘Water Onion’ Osteria da Oreste (Santarcangelo di Romagna)
Cipolla dell’acqua, a sweet salad onion grown in a medieval hill town not far from Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast, is now protected by a Slow Food Presidia. Santarcangelo is a food-lovers’ paradise with several great restaurants in the historic centre. At da Oreste, chef Giorgio Rattini serves the blanched local onion as a delicious warm salad with fresh fig, goat robiola cheese and a slightly spicy green oil.
Radicchio con Bruciatini Ca’ de Vèn (Ravenna)
Any visit to Emilia-Romagna’s Adriatic coast must include the stunning Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, followed by lunch at Ca’ de Vèn (‘house of wine’) an enoteca/restaurant in a restored medieval wine store. This crunchy salad of radicchio topped with fried pancetta is a local specialty that sounds simple but always has my tour guests asking for seconds (and thirds)! Great with some piadina and a glass of local sangiovese.
Egli Fillet Meunière Restaurant Le Mont-Vully (Lugnorre)
Switzerland may be land-locked, but its many large lakes provide plenty of fresh fish. My favourite are egli, like small whiting, from Lake Murten. The delicate little fillets are best served simply dusted in flour and pan-fried in butter with a squeeze of lemon. The best I’ve ever had are at Hôtel Restaurant Le Mont-Vully with stunning views over the lake to the Alps; needless to say we stay (and eat) here on my Swiss tour.
Wild Boar with Chanterelles Restaurant Haberbüni (Bern)
A restaurant in the spacious converted hayloft of an old wooden farmhouse outside Bern was one of my most exciting discoveries of 2024. Autumn is game season, and a grilled cutlet of wild boar was the standout dish of a delicious degustation menu there. It was served with the breast rolled with forest herbs (including pine, spruce and wild garlic) and local white polenta. Butter-fried chanterelles were flamed in Cognac for a final flourish.
