Marche

Marche sits on the east coast of Italy, directly in the center. There, the food is comprised of both fish and meat due to the Appenine mountain range splitting the region corner to corner. On the East side of Marche, we see the rise of the civilization know as the Piceni, whom began as a small village, but spread throughout Italy. As the civilization grew, they became great mariners, sailing the Adriatic with great angst, and spreading their culture through trade and virtue throughout the Mediterranean. Sadly, however, they were dominated by the Romans in the early years of the Republic, and the only examples of the Piceni are the arts and culture they left behind in those areas.

In terms of food and food ways in Marche, they are diverse in both ingredients and foods. On the east side of Marche, we see the use of mostly fish and anything sea related, as they have no way of getting around the Appenine mountain ranges. A beautiful recipe that comes from this side of the range is the Coda di Rospo in Potacchio, or Monkfish cooked in Sauce. This dish became a surprise for me in the fact that it was damn good. The dish was comprised of Monkfish that are seared in olive oil, de-glazed with white wine and the fond released, the tomatoes are added, along with crushed garlic and minced parley, and that mixture is simmered with the monkfish until the fish is tender and juicy. The entire dish was beautiful in every way, from taste to texture, smell to color; all around the dish surprised me in every way.