Simple and tasty dishes created with the basic ingredients of the Mediterranean cooking, generally locally produced, characterise the typical cooking of Sorrento Peninsula.
The Mediterranean diet is acknowledged everywhere like the most wholesome, natural and complete diet. It varies from the typical fish menus of the coast areas to the robust cooking of the extensive internal areas.
Oil, tomatoes, mozzarella and spices are the basic ingredients of rich dishes like "cannelloni" (once called "strascinate"), "gnocchi", pasta with beans, stuffed pepper (in dialect called "mbuttunat") or of delicate dishes, such as "caprese" salad (tomatoes and mozzarella), pasta with courgettes, pickled anchovies, "parmigiana" of aubergines (fried aubergines with tomato sauce and cheese).
At the first place handmade pasta of all kinds, pizza, different kinds of fresh or ripe cheese, sausages, vegetables cooked in different ways as side dish with all kinds of meat and fish.
The whole washed down with genuine D.O.C. wines for all tastes, which well suit to good eating, whose list grows from year to year,: the old Falerno; the famous Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, Lacryma Christi; the more recent Arpinio, Falanghina and Coda di Volpe, to mention just some of them.
Finally, it is worth spending some words for confectionery, that, originated in the convents’ kitchens in the last centuries, nowadays is a greedy attraction in the pastry-shops windows. It is all a triumph of specialities: "sfogliatelle", almond cakes, genuine ice-creams, lemon cakes, "profiteroles", pies ("caprese" is the most famous)… and, for a triumphal end, many tasty digestive liqueurs locally produced: lemon liqueur (the famous "limoncello"), nut liqueur ("nocillo" or "nocito"), liquorice liqueur, sweet fennel liqueur, etc.
First try and then trust!