5 Neapolitan culinary specialties.
The Neapolitan culinary tradition has its roots in ancient times, since the Greek-Roman era there was a visceral love for food, seen as a pleasure of life, even painted on walls and objects in the house. In fact, several archaeological finds between Pompeii, Oplonti and Herculaneum depict baskets of fruit, fish dishes and molluscs, showing us a true diet representation of that time. Then if you think about the Liber de coquina, that is the first cooking recipe book in the west world, written in Naples, now you can well imagine the passion that our people have for food.
Nowadays we should think Neapolitan cuisine as heritage of Campania Region, since the city has absorbed all the culinary traditions of the hinterland, pursuing over the millennia the right balance between land and sea dishes. Moreover, the Neapolitans have always welcomed foreign culinary traditions from various dominations over time, and making them in their own way. A region that loves to eat well, and above all, loves to eat together with others. Food here has also a social role, and especially during weekends when families and friends find themselves eating hours and hours together digesting the impossible.
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Addo’ magnano duje ponno magnà pure tre (Where there are eating two people, there is still enough food for a third person). Neapolitan proverb that fully explain the social role of food.
Having made a brief historical mention of the Neapolitan culinary tradition, we move on to list five specialties loved by the Neapolitan people.
1. Pizza
Absolutely the most loved culinary specialty in Naples and Campania Region, but we could also say that it is the most loved in the world. Three simple ingredients distinguish the Neapolitan pizza, are basil, mozzarella and tomato, which have the colours of the Italian flag. In fact, the Neapolitan pizza would have been a tribute by Raffaele Esposito to the new Kingdom of Italy, but above all, to new Queen Margherita, that in 1889 she was visiting Naples, that is why, is called Pizza Margherita. This Neapolitan specialty has even obtained great European recognition such as Guaranteed Traditional Specialty, or with the abbreviation STG brand, that protects products made according to tradition in Europe, and the Neapolitan pizza is the only product in Italy, with mozzarella, to gain this brand.
2. Mozzarella di bufala (buffalo)
Another product used in Neapolitan cuisine is the mozzarella, although this cheese is mostly produced in the provinces of Salerno and Caserta. As we have already, written, Neapolitan cuisine is the heritage of the whole of Campania and not only of the city of Naples. Neapolitan serves this cheese as appetizers, as started with ham or tomato and basil or as a main pizza ingredient. As we already said above, our mozzarella has received the STG European Protection Mark as Neapolitan pizza.
3. Spaghetti with clams
We have already said that the Neapolitan culinary tradition has ancient origins and how this was even represented in the Greek-Roman frescoes, so you will not be surprised if among the most famous dishes there is a seafood specialty such as spaghetti with clams. In fact, clam and mussel farms are scattered throughout the Gulf of Naples: the most visible is the one located next to Castel dell’Ovo. The Neapolitans love seafood and shellfish, combined with the beloved spaghetti, that is a type of pasta born in this region, you cannot ask for better.
4. Babà
Let us move on dessert, the babà is a classic example of a culinary specialty absorbed by the Neapolitan people, made it anew in a Neapolitan key. In fact, the dessert would have Polish and French origins, but once it arrived in the Gulf of Naples, it assumed its current shape and flavour. This dessert is soft, thanks also to the rum bath they put it. Perhaps because of its liqueur flavour is gladly eaten at the end of a meal.
5. La sfogliatella
If before we talked about a dessert suitable for after lunch and dinner, now we talk about another delight perfect for breakfast: the sfogliatella, full of ricotta (cheese) is a dessert that fill the belly for half day. The dessert has monastic origins, born by chance from a nun from the convent of Santa Rosa in Amalfi coast; it was immediately a great success. Later Neapolitan pastry chef changed the recipe, as we know today. There are two types of sfogliatelle, the riccia, with puff pastry and the frolla with shortcrust pastry. The two sfogliatella served with coffee is the battery charge of every Neapolitans every morning.
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