Street food means practicality, taste and tradition. Let’s discover some of the street food specialties of this year’s Italian Street Food Festival.
Street food is a phenomenon that has taken hold rather quickly in Italy and around the world. Perhaps because of our increasingly hectic lifestyles or due to the fast pace of life that has now got the better of almost all of us, sometimes having a quick and tasty meal on the way home can be just what you need.
In Italy, it is quite common to go out for dinner or lunch at the restaurant but actually, what Italians today love the most is Street food! In Italy it has got a quite ancient story, and it is intrinsic to our Italian culture; the excellent quality of the products and the passion are the founders of our street food. Let’s see together a few recipes.
Crescioni Romagnoli
The Romagna’s crescioni are the street food par excellence of Emilia Romagna, such as the piadina. The only difference is that crescioni are stuffed and you can fill them with: pumpkin and squaquerone, spinach and ricotta, onions and tuna, tomato and mozzarella or cooked ham and scamorza too. Not so famous as the piadina, this Romagna’s speciality will surely get into your heart!
Try Crescioni at Crescioni Berlin’s stand
Arancini
Arancini or Arancine are “balls” of breaded and fried rice, usually stuffed with meat sauce, peas and even caciocavallo. Originating from Sicily, they are the most common street food of the island and are quite known all over Italy too. Rich in flavour, they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They will win you over with their goodness.
Taste original arancine at Focacceria San Francesco‘s stand
Arrosticini
They are skewers of meat from sheep, mutton or lamb; born in Abruzzo, in the middle of Italy, they are a product typically linked to the pastoral tradition of the Abruzzo region and even if they can seem quite simple , their taste will surprise you! In order to eat them, you just have to tear off the pieces of meat with your teeth directly from the stick, as tradition dictates.
Get your arrosticini at Isola Italia’s stand
Cannoli
Cannoli are the most typical sweets in Sicilian history , famous all over the world for their uniqueness;
The traditional Sicilian cannolo is made from a tube-shaped fried wafer filled with sheep’s ricotta cheese,
but sometimes also with custard, buffalo ricotta cream, chocolate or pistachio cream. No doubt they will thrill you with every bite!
At our event you can find delicious cannoli at Kuchen von Gaia and Focacceria San Francesco’s stand
Pittule salentine
Traditionally prepared on 11 November, Saint Martin’s day,but they can be prepared and enjoyed at any time of the year. They come from Salento, Apulia; Pittule are small balls of very soft yeast dough fried in hot oil.
These “pittule” can be enjoyed ,of course, as a salty dish but they can be eaten as a sweet: usually dipped in honey, in cooked wine/figs or simply dipped in sugar. Eat as many as you want , they will never bore you. It is a promise.
You can find pittule at the Apulian stand La Frisa Fra
Panzerotti
The king of the street food of southern Italy is surely the Panzerotto and his birth takes place in Bari (Apulia) in the 16th century. The term ‘panzerotto’ is derived from ‘panza’, a semi-dialectal southern term for a swollen belly.
This firstling is made on the inside by mozzarella, tomato, cheese and pepper mixed together and fried pasta on the outside. Such a famous dish that needs no introduction.
Order your panzerotto at Zum Heiligen Teufel´s stand
Caponata
Caponata is a sweet and sour vegetable dish, a mixture of fried vegetables: aubergines, seasoned with tomato sauce, celery, onion, olives, capers and a sauce of sugar and vinegar; it is an appetiser but also a side dish. Born in Sicily, today at least 35 variants are known. But the original recipe is made by those vegetables we have written before and all them are cut into small pieces.
Try authentic caponata at Trattoria Muntagnola’s stand
Frittattina di pasta
This is an ancient recipe, his story takes place in Neaples: the classic version is made with leftover long pasta, in years gone by, it was the sack lunch for any occasion, the pasta was recycled in order not to waste food, especially in times of great economic and historical difficulty.
What was added were simple ingredients like eggs and grated cheese, and then it was fried in oil in a pan.
Today, the frittatina di pasta is a true pillar of Neapolitan street food, and can be found in cafés and on the streets.
One detail not to be overlooked is the fact that, before being fried, the pasta is stuffed in various ways: with ham and fiordilatte, smoked provola, or minced meat.
Enjoy frittatina di pasta at Partenope´s stand
Frisella
Frisa is a simple dry bread doughnut, which is soaked in water to be softened and then seasoned with the most famous Italian products: olive oil, tomato, salt and basil. They were born in the 10th century in Apulia, as food for merchants and sailors who soaked them (they say) directly in sea water.
This simple dish, that could result as a “poor” one, will surprise you with its authentic Italian taste.
By Frisa Fra you will enjoy the best Friselle!
Pane e panelle
Pane e panelle is the dish you may have never heard about, but actually is one of the most common aperitif/snack in Sicily. Panella is a fried pancake made from chickpea flour, it is used to fill bread (Sicilian tradition calls for sesame one), hence the full name. The most common panelle are simply seasoned with salt and freshly chopped parsley, but a popular variation uses wild fennel seeds instead.
Originate from Arab influence, originally this was a product that only common people ate, just later it started being also consumed by the wealthy people; now everybody in Sicily eats them and they just can’t get enough! We are sure all of you will understand why after experiencing it.
Pane e panelle is a specialty that you can find at Focacceria San Francesco’s stand
Italian Street Food Festival 2021, the event
Now that you have lernt more about Italian street foods and, maybe, you have already started feeling the taste of it, the only thing you have to do is come to the Italian Street Food Festival! The event will have an entry fee that has an amount of 3€ (free for kids under 12) and, will take place on the 24th and 25th July 2021, from 11 am to 10 pm, at the Osthafen (Alt Stralau 1-2, 10245 Berlin).Here you’ll be able to try all the previous regional specialties and lots more as octopus burger, crescioni, bruschette with fava beans and chicory, olive ascolane, burrata, bigné, focaccia with Itailan sausage… Dessert lovers will taste delicious craft ice cream, granita, bignè, tiramisù and other Italian sweets to suit all tastes and finally… true Italian espresso!
During the festival there will be a full program of DJ-sets entertainment powered by different Italian djs.
If you wanna know something more about the event click here.
Rules to follow for everyone’s safety
To be admitted to the event you must show a negative test within 24 hours, a proof of full vaccination or a certification of healing (a Testzentrum will be set up at the entrance, where you can take a free rapid test). During the event it is compulsory to wear an FFP2 or medical mask when not seated (i.e. in the queue of stands, at the entrance). At the entrance it is necessary to present the registration through the Luca or Corona App.
