Street food in Italy is something exceptional, especially in the evening, at night and in summer. It can be found practically everywhere: in a rotisserie in the centre, in a hidden street, or in a kiosk around the corner. It is practically widespread on the whole peninsula, the origin is certainly recognized somewhere, but it can be found everywhere in different versions; this is the case, for example, of sliced pizza and all those fried foods from the rotisserie, supplì, croquettes, Ascoli olives, up to the classic sandwich.

Some specialities, however, can only be found in certain areas, linked to the local gastronomy of small villages. The names are many, the variations equally numerous.

I would like to talk about that good food that struck me and that often attracts visitors from all over the world when they decide to try real Italian street food.

Miasse: origin Piedmont - Valsesia

Sweet or savoury, there is no difference, they are always something really good: their history dates back to the fifteenth century in Valsesia, an alpine valley in the province of Vercelli.

In the past, they were used many times in place of bread, or as part of a single and rich dish, today in addition to all these consolidated ways of consumption, they have become a much-loved takeaway.

Using white or cornflour, eggs, and milk, they are cooked on the fire with a special tool, called iron of the miasse: they are practically two circular iron plates placed on long handles that are heated on a high heat and on which the dough is poured semi-liquid for which miasse are very thin and crisp.

Salt is never added and they are eaten almost always naturally, obviously it is the variety in the filling that makes them truly special, also and above all thanks to as many local specialities, such as fresh cheese flavoured with chilli pepper, or gorgonzola, then there are variations that range from very salty cold cuts to honey cake, blueberry jam, cream, and Nutella.

Cicchetti: origin Veneto - Venice

Cicchetti from the Latin ciccus, small or modest quantity of food, it all started in Venice in the thirteenth century, when trade was very high, both from the East by the sea, and from the West by land, the two customs were a meeting point among the merchants, who used to drink a glass of wine, while waiting for documents, or to celebrate a commercial exchange, and ate in a hurry, a few things to accompany the wine, during a break, leaning on a stone or on a table, practically an anticipation of the hectic life of a few centuries later.

The cicchetti are small pieces of something, the use of toothpicks is mandatory, it precisely identifies the cicchetti, cubes of sausages, pieces of cheese, mignon sandwiches, slices of sandwich stuffed or with cream spread, rolls of grilled vegetables, olives, pieces of fruit, and everything you can pull up with a toothpick. These specialities are particularly found in bacari, the classic Venetian osteria, and Venetian meatballs are always the center of attention.

Lampredotto: origin Tuscany - Florence

In 1100 the English nobility, during hunting trips, ate bread with lamprey, a delicacy of the sea, in the same way, the custom spread in Europe, and even Florentine nobles tasted this dish, however perhaps due to the fact that it came from afar, or perhaps because the people of Florence similarly called a town delicacy, shortly afterwards the Lampredotto became a typical Florentine dish, indeed the typical sandwich of Florence. The Lampredotto sandwich is a boiled meat, abomaso, one of the four sections of the beef stomach, with tomato, onion, parsley, and celery. Cut the bread and soak the top with boiling broth, the meat cut into small pieces is put inside without anything else or with a favourite sauce.

Venetian meat cicchetti recipe

Ingredients:

400 g minced meat (traditional beef)
100 g of ground mortadella
100 g of bread soaked in milk and squeezed
1 mashed boiled potato
1 egg
Half a crushed clove of garlic
1 spoonful of chopped parsley
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs (for breading)
1 l of oil for frying

Arrange the ingredients in a bowl with the exception of the breadcrumbs which are placed on a large flat plate. Mix all the ingredients forming balls of about 80 g each. Bread in the breadcrumbs and fry in oil at 170 °C for 5 minutes.

Enjoy the tasting and remember the toothpicks.