sluttiest summer eats

what Italians eat to survive the heat (spoiler: it's not carbonara)

This is not the first time you’ve heard me complaining about excessive heat in Italy. Or perhaps finding another announcement that the earth is much hotter this year than it was the last, and that we really need to get our sh*t together as humans to - you know - save our beautiful planet.

But here are a few ways Italians handle it, food-wise!

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An intro

One of the reasons we absolutely love Italy is because of its immense natural beauty. In this single peninsula - 1000 kilometers long, 381 kilometers wide - there are a multitude of microclimates yielding the fruits of our dreams. In the summer, it’s the sweet cherry tomatoes on the vine, the vibrant orange cantaloupe, the pretty little zucchini with their golden flowers…

…Just a few things we can tolerate eating when it’s 35c/100f+ degrees out!

I grew up coming to Italy in the summer, learning that there are definitely summer foods that - yes - have to do with seasonality, but more so - handling the heat.

No one wants to turn on the fornello (stove) or forno (oven) when it’s hot. That’s a universal truth. It’s also a little more eco-friendly to avoid gas and electricity.

Summer is all about portability baby. And, accessibility. Italians also want to eat something nice, fresh, and fast - especially if they are at the beach.

While I dearly understand that most do not travel thousands of miles to Rome to eat salad, you can surely balance your carbonara cravings with equally delicious and authentic dishes that are more weather accommodating. Also, most of these dishes you can adapt at home because they are things many Italians prepare to bring on beach trips and the like.

‘Cuz no one looks cute sweating bullets into their spaghetti.

Do I dare to say that there is minimal pasta in this post?

Yes. But, the carbs are still many. This is the slutti spaghetti newsletter, after all.

SLUTTIEST EATS TO STAY ALIVE IN THE HEAT

aka what summer foods Italians eat! (besides an easy panino)