Listen to “Buon Natale! Plus Favorite Christmas Dishes from Italy” on Spreaker.
Buon Natale! Welcome to our annual Christmas episode of Untold Italy – one where we reflect on the year that’s just passed and give you some cheer and best wishes for the future.
Show notes
In this episode, we ask some of our podcast guests and friends in Italy what they will be eating at Christmas time, or Natale as it’s called in Italian. If you haven’t planned your Christmas menu, you may find some inspiration in our recipes which include a very decadent pasta recipe and cookies from Tuscany.
To look forward to in 2022
- Untold Italy Tours – Check out the upcoming itineraries and get notified when they are available to book
Most Popular Episodes
5 – Episode 88: The Grand Tour – Our listener Kathleen shared a unique way of seeing the classic sights in Italy by organizing a private tour that took her group to Rome, Florence, and Venice and some extra special spots in between
4 – Episode 89: Harvest in Tuscany – Talking to us from Chianti, Arianna from KM Zero Tours – Slow Travel Tuscany (who shared one of our Christmas recipes in this episode) told us all about what it’s like to visit her part of the world during fall or autumn during the grape and olive harvest
3 – Episode 90: Limoncello – Simply the Zest! – Our good friend Pierpaolo from Joe Banana Limos & Travel took us on a bright yellow journey to the Amalfi and Sorrentine Coasts where we heard about everyone’s favorite lemon liqueur – limoncello
2 – Episode 91: Learning Italian for your Trip – The Intrepid Guide’s Michele Frolla certainly got us inspired to move beyond “Ciao”
1 – Episode 81: Packing for Italy – Your favorite episode of 2021 was the episode with our my good friend Corinna Cooke, tour host and author of the Glam Italia Guides! In this episode, Corinna and Katy got very specific on their packing styles and debated the question: carry-on vs checked bags?
Italian Christmas Recipes
La Pecorara from Abruzzo – Nikki Taylor
Get Nikki’s La Pecorara recipe here.
Pandolce from Liguria – Enrica Monzani
Enrica is a born and bred Ligurian food writer, photographer and cook instructor. She is the lady behind the bilingual foodblog A Small Kitchen in Genoa where she tells recipes and food stories from the Italian Riviera.
She organizes regional cooking classes for foreigners in her home kitchen in Genoa. Find out more about a typical Genoan Christmas menu and some Genoan’s Christmas traditions.
Get a Discount on Enrica’s Cooking classes and Food tours in person, to be booked privately: coupon “UNTOLDITALY” (5% discount until June 2022)
Get Enrica’s Pandolce recipe here.
La Nuvola Piemontese from Piedmont – Liv Windsor
Olivia is an Italophile who moved to Italy in May 2019 to indulge in her love for the land of la dolce vita, cooking, food & wine. What was meant to be just 12 months has quickly turned into a year and a half… and counting! She has explored the country south to north, working in agriturismi and organic wineries before settling in Turin, Piedmont for the last year after meeting a local Piemontese man. Olivia writes a blog called Livguine, named after her love for pasta and her nickname Liv and has just started offering virtual & in-person food, wine & travel experiences in Northern Italy.
La Nuvola is a very special type of pandoro. La Nuvola means ‘the cloud’ in English. The soft golden inside is sweet and airy and the outside is covered with buttercream before being dusted in so much icing sugar that the pandoro literally resembles a ‘little cloud’. This special treat which melts in your mouth, is quite pricey but that’s because it’s a unique, indulgent treat to be enjoyed at Christmas time. It also looks a bit like a snowball which makes it all the more Christmassy!
Find about more about ‘La Nuvola’ and Liv’s take on some of the Best Christmas food in Italy here.
Ricciarelli Almond Cookies from Tuscany – Arianna Cini
Arianna was born and raised in the Chianti region of Tuscany, and is deeply connected and passionate about her beautiful countryside, its people, and its traditions.
Arianna is a qualified tour guide and she and her partner Alessio started KM Zero Tours – Slow Travel Tuscany, an innovative boutique travel business focused on creating slow and cultural travel experiences aimed at discovering Tuscany from a deeper, authentic, and personal perspective.
Find out more about Arianna and Allessio’s gift boxes to keep the dream of Chianti, Tuscany and Italy alive (and tasting good) while you can’t visit.
Get Arianna’s Ricciarelli recipe here.
Zeppole from Sorrento – Pierpaolo Guida
Pierpaolo runs Joe Banana Limo & Travels with his brother Giovanni. They have more than two decades of experience in the toursim business. Year after year they have grown and have added private boat tours, private guided tours and other services, until the realization of their dream that was to become a travel agency. In this way, they feel they can meet all the needs of their guests.
Watch and cook along with Pierpaulo as he makes zeppole for you.
Future Podcasts
We have some amazing podcast episodes lined up already for 2022 but if you have any episode ideas, please do feel free to email them to us at ciao@untolditaly.com.
Resources
- Listen: learn more about Christmas in Italy in Episode #051: Christmas in Rome and Italy and Episode #102: Christmas in Capri and discover Italy in December
- The best time to visit Italy – a month by month guide to seasonal differences across Italy’s regions
- How to plan a trip to Italy – our article that takes you step by step through trip planning
- Italy Travel Planning – our FREE Facebook community where you can ask questions and get inspiration for planning your trip
- Travel shop where you’ll find items mentioned in the show