What We Ate in Matera

Hi Everyone, here I am again. It’s been too long since I’ve posted. It was a busy time personally and I plan to blog more often now.

I just saw my cousin (Hi Monica!) and she told me that when she reads my blog she gets hungry That reminded me of a series of snapshots that I haven’t published yet that I took last August of most of the dishes I ate during my month in Matera in Southern Italy.

So I thought I’d start blogging again with a post about food, everyone’s favorite subject (it is everyone’s favorite subject, right? Or is it just mine?)

Without further ado here are some of the wonderful dishes my boyfriend R’s mother and aunt prepared last summer for everyone during vacation. Everything was so flavorful and mouthwateringly delicious.

There was only time for quick snaps between when the food was placed on the table and when we dug right in, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

Many times when I tasted a new dish, it was so good I would declare it “top five” and add it to my list of favorite foods. However, as R pointed out, you can only have five foods in a top five list, so I have a teeny tiny problem

Oh, and everything pictured here is 100% vegan!

Disclaimer: I’m not responsible if this post makes you hungry.

I put this photo first because it was my favorite! Pasta with baked zucchini, oil, salt, breadcrumbs, and peperoncino dolce (sweet powered chili pepper, as opposed to the spicy kind). Definitely top five!

There was always plenty of bread.

And plenty of olives, which I ate with gusto.

And of course plenty of red wine.

Vegan chocolate cake R’s aunt prepared

Homemade pasta with homemade tomato sauce.

Potatoes and onions

The famous Pane di Matera (the Bread of Matera)… so good

Minestrone

Artichoke-filled rolled bread, made with pizza dough

Focaccia

Pasta with cauliflower and toasted mollica (big chunks taken out of the soft white part of bread). So good.

Red onions baked with oil, salt, breadcrumbs, and capers. One of my favorites.

Homemade sun-dried tomato bread. Really moist and delicious.

Taralli. You can get taralli in other parts of Italy, but the ones from the South are the best. The ones from Puglia are the most famous, but these taralli from Matera give them a run for their money. So tasty, light, and crispy.

One day’s outdoor market haul. Pictured are: pears, peaches, tomatoes, figs, two kinds of olives, two kinds of dried chickpeas, zucchini flowers, bananas, lemons, capers, and almonds.

These are the frittelle di fiori di zucchine (fried zucchini flower fritters) that R’s mom made with the zucchini flowers from the market.

Fried friggitelle (Italian frying peppers). I couldn’t get enough of these. I make them myself at home, too. They take about forty minutes to cook and you have to stir them continuously but it’s so worth it.

Insalata di riso (rice salad)

Homemade olive bread

Pasta with pepper sauce

Pasta with lentils

Red onions and capers

Homemade marinated eggplant

Breakfast: bread with homemade cherry jam. I could eat half of the jar with a spoon if I was left to my own devices.

Greens and potatoes

Peppers, olives, and capers. Another favorite

Vegan quiche

Focaccia. This focaccia (and the ones in the three photos that follow) were bought from a bakery in Matera to eat for lunch the day R’s family made the homemade canned tomatoes. It’s a family tradition.

Potatoes and peppers

Pasta con aglio, olio, peperoncino e capperi (pasta with garlic, oil, hot pepper, and capers). So misleadingly simple.

Vegan lemon cream cake. Absolutely delicious

Bruschetta