#2720 salumi

Salumi are Italian cured meat products, usually made of pork. These meats are thinly sliced and often served as appetizers in Italy. MT and I came to love plates of salumi, and I have the photos to prove it! We were in Rome for four nights, and we had these appetizers three of those nights. We just didn't know what we were missing on that first night. 

This first photo is completely wonderful because not only does it show the giant board o' salumi, it also shows bruschetta al pomodoro, and best of all, MT making some kind of face like he has entered the heavenly realm of meat (and beer, and bread with tomatoes). 

That light meat with white splotches is mortadella. It was my least favorite. 

One night we went out to actively participate in aperitivo - a pre-dinner drink and appetizer. We found this little restaurant at the top of the Spanish Steps. I had a bellini to drink, and MT had a beer, and we chowed down on this delicious offering of salumi and cheeses. There were also some olives and tomatoes and a fruit compote. It was all pretty wonderful. I don't think we had dinner after this "snack". I'm pretty sure we had gelato, though!

I gave you a glimpse of this beautiful selection on my last post. We wanted the salumi and cheese to come out before the pasta, but it all came at the same time which made our small table feel very crowded with deliciousness. I can't name the different types of meat. I can tell you that the dark meat at the bottom of the photo is beef, then there are a couple of types of salami (going counter-clockwise), and some prosciutto There is some type of sliced cheese, some mozzarella, an artichoke heart, along with some olives and tomatoes there as well. I think the only thing left on that plate at the end of the meal was the lettuce.

I want to show you the sandwich shop in Florence. It's not a great photo, I know, but maybe it gives an idea of the variety that was available.

There were probably 20 different kinds of sandwiches on different types of bread. I went down the line and thought, "I'll have that one," then I'd take a step and something else would catch my eye and I'd change my mind. I think I had it narrowed down to three different sandwiches. In the end, I chose salami and prosciutto with cheese on focaccia. The woman popped the sandwich in a toaster oven for a few minutes to warm it up. The bread was pleasantly crunchy while still a little chewy (how?!), the cheese was melted, and the meat was super tasty. There was no condiments, no veg, and it might have been one of the best sandwiches ever (excluding the sandwiches from Enrique Tomas in Barcelona, which may always be my favorite).  I was surprised that with all that variety, MT chose the same sandwich as me. I don't think I have ever seen him eat a sandwich that wasn't loaded with veggies, but he agreed that the simplicity of the sandwich, and the quality of the ingredients made this lunch pretty dang great. 

One other thing:

Italy's version of pan con tomate. They like the tomatoes in chunks. Did I eat it? Heck yeah I did! MT was surprised at how I chowed down on the toasted bread loaded with tomatoes. You know the saying...

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