Are you tired of eating the same old Italian dishes? Do you crave something new, something exciting and unconventional? Then you’ve come to the right place! Italy is known for its incredible cuisine, but have you ever heard of the strange and unusual Italian delicacies that aren’t so popular among foreigners? From pungent cheese to fried brains, we will take you on a journey through some of the weirdest foods Italy has to offer. Get ready to be surprised, and maybe even a little grossed out, but always adventurous. So, buckle up and prepare your taste buds for a wild ride!
Sanguinaccio
It’s unappetizing to even think about a dish cooked with pig blood, but sanguinaccio is a delicacy in Italy. The pudding contains sugar, pig blood, dark chocolate, and various components like almonds; the ingredients are cooked until they form a creamy, thick mass. It is then refrigerated and eaten cold.
Italy also serves variations of sanguinaccio, like migliacco, which contains similar ingredients but is filled into a thin, flaky crust before being baked and chilled.
Sardinian cheese
Su casu martzu, a name even Italians don’t know about. This is because su casu martzu is a Sardinian delicacy that transforms pecorino cheese beyond recognition; only a few can stomach it.
Su casu martzu enhances fermentation by adding larvae of cheese fly, whose worms break down the fat, softening the cheese. This is one of the few foods people won’t even try because it looks unappetizing and can be dangerous.
Lampredotto
This unique dish resembles a lamprey eel, an unusual visual that gives it its name. Lampredotto is made from abomasum, the final stomach of a cow or other cattle.
Hailing from Florentine, the dish is made by slow-cooking abomasum in a rich, seasoned veggie broth. Once the broth and meat reduce, the thick mixture is rolled into a bread and served.
Despite its unusual cooking, it’s popular and loved by residents of Florence, where it is served as a street food.
Meusa
Typically known in Italy as panino con la milza, meusa is a sesame sandwich stuffed with the lung and spleen of a veal. Although it sounds unappealing, the sandwich is a popular delicacy in Sicily and surrounding areas.
The veal spleen and lung are thoroughly cleaned before being chopped and boiled. The half-cooked meat is then fried to a crisp, topped with a creamy sauce, and served hot. It’s a dish many foreigners love once they try.
Mallegato
Another blood-based food, mallegato, is a savory sausage that originated in Pisa, Italy. Chefs season pork with salt, nutmeg, raisins, pine nuts, and other herbs and spices before grinding it into raw pig blood. Sometimes, the pine nuts are sauteed with white wine or dessert wine (vin santo)
The resultant mixture is rolled into a pork gut and cut into slices. The flavor or mallegato can be a bit particular, so few warm up to the idea.
Coratella
You’d get nowhere if you asked for coratella in Italy since it’s a generic term for lamb entrails.
We’re referring to a delicious stew that transforms all the typically gross ingredients like lungs, heart, liver, guts, and spleen into a delectable stew that’s impossible to ignore.
The innards are cooked with garlic, thyme, basil, sage, and marjoram, and often a dash of white vinegar. Served independently, the dish can be enjoyed with wine.
Cibreo
Cibreo dates back to the Renaissance, to Caterina de’Medici, Queen of France in the 1500s. Caterina was born in Florence, Italy, where she frequently feasted on creamy chicken soup and was responsible for bringing it to France.
Cibreo, or Renaissance chicken, is a chicken fagottini with a thick stew made from rooster testicles. Most Italians aren’t aware of this dish’s existence, so it’s a forgotten dish, but some old-timey eateries serve it.
Cervella fritte
It’s hard to be fond of a dish primarily cow brain, but Italy serves numerous food variations. It’s unclear where this dish originated from since it’s highly versatile, but most eateries in Italy serve it.
The dish may be made from pig, lamb, or cow. The brain is picked and cleaned before being cooked; some recipes stirfry the brain with vegetables while others batter fry it and serve with chile and ravigote sauce
Chiocciole al sugo
Literally translated to snails with sauce, chiocciole al sugo is an even fancier version of escargot. The snails are cooked in a rich stew and served as a soup or occasionally with bread.
The dish hails from Calabria and goes by lumache al sugo, which has a similar recipe with only a few tweaks here and there. chiocciole al sugo may not look appetizing to most of us, but every bite is jam-packed with flavor and is worth the experience.
Trippa
Tripe or trippa is made from flattened animal stomach lining. It can be made from various animals and cattle, but most recipes use sheep, pig, or cow.
The recipe for trippa varies depending on the type of cattle used but typically follows boiling and then frying. Some Italian dishes like caldume cook trippa in a thick broth.
Naturally, the concept of trippa can prevent a few from trying, but Italians generally well-liked it.
Fegatini di pollo alla salvia
The grossest part of a chicken is the liver since most of us skip this goblet in favor of other elements. But Fegatini di pollo alla salvia is a Tuscan dish that transforms these unlikable chicken parts into a delicious entree.
The dish is made by cooking chicken liver in sage, butter, and dry white wine. Some dish variations also use minced prosciutto, although the former is preferred. Most non-Italians skip this food after hearing it’s made from giblets, but it’s one of the most popular foods in Tuscany.
Horse meat
Many of us shy from eating bovine meat, but Italians take it up by cooking equine meat. Horse meat is commonly eaten all over Italy and is considered a healing food since it’s served to recovering patients and young people.
Naturally, eating equine is off-putting, so many non-Italians refuse to try it. There are numerous ways to cook horse meat; some recipes make a stew, while others toss it with garlic and serve it plain.
Rabbit meat
Comparatively, it isn’t weird to eat rabbit meat, but it’s still off-putting to some. But rabbit meat isn’t as commonly served as we think; only a few places in Italy serve it especially mixed in pasta, and since it’s much more expensive to cook, only high-end restaurants utilize rabbits.
Despite this, rabbit is a unique delicacy that many Italians love. It’s famous for Italian chefs and foodies, attracting a few foreigners.
Boccone del prete
Visually, boccone del prete looks like a delicate dish. But most people freak out or even find it disgusting when they learn what makes it.
Boccone del prete, or the priest’s morsel, is a dish that celebrates the most sublime and unusual part of a chicken: its rectum. Naturally, the idea of eating chicken rectum is gross to some, so it’s not favored much or even disliked by some Italians.
Risotto al nero di seppia
Hearing about Risotto al nero di seppia makes most people uneasy; it’s a delicacy that is made from squid ink. It is a popular Italian dish that originates from coastal regions like Sicily and Venice. It’s known for its striking jet-black color, which is achieved by adding squid ink to the rice during the cooking process.
While it’s a popular dish, many Italians rarely choose to eat it because of its weird taste. Only a select few can stomach the initial displeasure to feast on Risotto al nero di seppia.
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