Instantly Italy

Italian speaking practice and grammar tutoring

[Family Recipes] Le cupete piemontesi

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I was born and raised in Liguria but half of my family comes from Piemonte. 

My mom was born in Sale delle Langhe (a tiny village that carries the name of a fancy tourist destination for foodies but doesn’t have anything to do with it) and one of her sisters lives in Mondovì, a town located between the mountains and the plains, 80 kilometers south of Turin.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] Zucchini and pumpkin flower fritters

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

When it comes to holidays and festivities, in my family everything revolves around tradition.

We have been celebrating Christmas in the same way and with more or less the same food for years. Every year we gather around the same table, with the same people, and we eat more or less the same dishes.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] Insalata Russa, A Staple on Our Christmas Table

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas, lately.

It’s been a really strange year – I am being kind, 2020 – and Christmas won’t make an exception. Christmas is all about traditions and knowing that everything will be the same, year after year, but this obviously cannot be said for this year.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] Bunet, a Piedmontese Delicacy That Smells of Chocolate and Sundays Past

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

When I was a kid, Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s were a very big deal. 

My father worked shifts, sometimes he had to work at weekends too, and we didn’t get to celebrate every Sunday together, which meant that the Sundays he was home were really special days.

[Read more…]

How To Eat Vegan in Italy Without Missing the Tradition: a List of Plant-Based Traditional Italian Dishes

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Traveling as a vegan can be difficult sometimes.

Vegan options are everywhere today but, depending on the place you find yourself in, the choice might be quite limited. If you are in a big city, I am sure you’ll have plenty of options, while if you are somewhere in the countryside – like where I live, for example – being vegan can sometimes mean having to eat a salad and little else.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] Torta pasqualina

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Despite all traditions, I firmly believe that what makes festivities really special is food.

If you are Italian and think of Christmas, the smell of panettone immediately comes to your mind. You may think of the presents, the parents, the gathering but what you really crave is that slice of sugary paradise, which just doesn’t taste the same if eaten some other time during the year.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] My mom’s Christmas dessert: salame al cioccolato

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

What makes Christmas so special? Traditions. 

Every year, when Christmas comes, you already know it will all be the same as the year before: you will decorate the tree with the same old lights and ornaments, you will buy presents for family and friends and probably gather with them eating the same food and doing the same things you do every year.

[Read more…]

Looking for authentic Italian recipes in English? Here are three Italian food blogs you’ll truly love

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

We have amazing food bloggers, here in Italy, publishing plenty of great Italian recipes. 

Unfortunately, these blogs are all in Italian. So, if you are looking for authentic Italian recipes in English, written and published by Italian bloggers, it can be quite an adventure.

[Read more…]

[Hidden Italy] Antica Confetteria Pietro Romanengo in Genova

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I’ve been in heaven, back in December. 

I am not exaggerating, believe me. Last month, I have been given the chance of visiting a place where a lot of magic – and many sweets things – is made and I felt really lucky for that.

[Read more…]