Join me on a mouth-watering trip through the traditional cuisine of this area known as Tuscia, the ancient Etruria that was home to the Etruscans and of which Tarquinia is part. Here you’ll be able to enjoy a genuine blend of Tuscan cooking with the cuisines of Umbria and Lazio.
The typical dishes of the area have strong links with the local produce, such as olive oil, garden vegetables, meat, salamis and DOC-label wines.
The most characteristic country flavors of the rich local cuisine are linked to the centuries-old farming and cattle rearing tradition; this area is especially renowned for the Maremmana breed of cattle, raised here in the wild.
The local cuisine is thus mainly meat and vegetable based, but seafood can also be enjoyed in the numerous eateries in the Old Town, given its proximity to the sea.
One of the most typical recipes is Acqua cotta, made with broccoli or asparagus and very popular among the local countryfolk: a vegetable soup containing wild chicory, potatoes and stale bread, flavored with garlic and calamint, a touch of chili pepper, a few cherry tomatoes and olive oil.
You’ll also find a large variety of pasta dishes, such as fettuccine, spaghetti, strozzapreti or lombrichelli, with sauces made from wild boar and hare meat, and above all with the king of the local mushrooms, the ferlengo or cardoncello varieties, the perfect pairing for sausages.
As for main courses, this is a meat-lover’s paradise: with delicious beef, lamb, pork and rabbit, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
All these specialties are best washed down with a glass of delicious local wine, and this area boasts a splendid selection of “Tarquinia DOC” wines, with white, red and rosé to suit every palate.
There’s plenty here for the sweet-toothed visitor too. Some specialties are available only during particular times of the year, but all of them are made from choice local ingredients, such as the pizza with ricotta and cinnamon, the rice fritters or the Pizza di Pasqua (Easter pizza), which despite the name, actually resembles the traditional Christmas panettone. And then there’s Maccheroni con le noci, a highly original pasta dish made with lots of walnuts, dark chocolate, sugar and cinnamon.
