Traditional Italian Snack Food, or Genuine Ideas for a Break
Traditional Italian snacks is based essentially on genuine and absolutely simple ingredients. Let we see the most famous Italian afternoon snacks ideas.
Anyone is more the 30 years old and has or has had an Italian grandmother knows what we are talking about. Traditional Italian snacks have always a genuine and hand made - packaged products are forbidden - absolutely preservative-free and not fried.
And what about drins? Water, fruit juice or a glass of milk. Sparkling and sweetened drinks are absolutely banned.
Nowadays we are more and more attentive to what we eat, it is interesting to see how the wisdom of those who preceded us is a good starting point to recover good eating habits. The typical countryside snack is based essentially on genuine and absolutely simple ingredients. Let we see what are the most famous Italian afternoon snacks ideas.
Traditional Italian snack food list
Let's start with some savory snacks ideas that are usually prepared just before being eaten.
Bread, Olive Oil and Salt: Healthy and Simple
It goes without saying that we'll use extra virgin olive oil, while as for the bread it is better tu sue a slice of rustic bread.
Preparation
Cut a slice about ½-inch thick, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Bread and Tomato: Pane e Pomodoro
Pane e pomodoro has all the flavor of the countryside food, it’s a variant of the previous proposal, but in this easy snack idea you have to add 2 cherry tomatoes per slice of bread (cherry tomatoes, datterini...).
Preparation
Wash the tomatoes and cut them with a knife, cut the slice of bread and squeeze the tomatoes on the bread in order to let the juice out. Then add a pinch of salt, a drizzle of oil and, to taste, two drops of vinegar. Leave the tomatoes on the bread after squeezing them. They will add extra flavor!
Submarine Sandwiches
This snack a little more caloric and it is more suitable for the lunch break. While the previous preparations included a single slice of bread on which the ingredients are placed, here we talk of a real sandwich, enriched with traditional cured meat (salame, prosciutto, speck…), it can be eaten simple without adding anything else, especially when you have very good bread or focaccia available (the must of Rome is the "Pizza con la mortazza", translated a kind of pizza bread and mortadella). A tasty classroom snack idea that we recommend to consume with moderation.
Preparation
Cut two slices of thin bread (you can also use a part of a baguette), enrich with 2-3 slices of the chosen cured meat, depending on the sandwich size. If you want, add slices of your favorite cheese or mozzarella and tomato. And for the most demanding palates, add some artichokes in oil.
Mini Pizza Snacks
This is definitely the most complicated Italian snack recipe that you may prepare in view of a party. You can make 1-2 pizza trays and then cut them into squares. Here you find the authentic Italian recipe for homemade pizza.
Traditional Italian Sweet Snacks
Here we are with some simple recipe ideas for quick and yummy children's snack:
Fruits
An apple a day keeps the doctor away! The most classic choice is the apple, but banana (rich in potassium) is also good, as weel as orange and tangerines (vitamin C). Undoubtedely the healthiest snack! You can also make a fruit salad and enrich it with some ice-creams on special occasions.
Bread and Jam
The base is always bread, but instead of oil you use homemade or organic jams without added sugar. You can replace bread with rusks.
Preparation
Cut a 1/2-inch thick slice of bread, spread a layer of jam of the taste you prefer. Without exaggeration, once in a while you can add a thin layer of butter before jam. Fort those who have a sweet-tooth, every now and then you can replace jam with organic hazelnut chocolate spread.
Bread, Butter and Honey
This easy and cheap afternoon snack is optimum a few hours before a good training becaus it's an incredible source of energy. Choose the honey you prefer (wildflower, chestnut, acacia and so on) but we recommend to opt for organic or raw honey.
Preparation
Just like bread and jam, cut a slice of bread, spread a very thin layer of butter and complete with a layer of honey.
Slice of Homemade Cake
In Grandma's house homemade desserts have never missed. A healthy sweet snack could be a slice of a jam tart (crostata), of a ring-shaped cakes (ciambellone), or apple pies (torta di mele).
Preparation
Follow our recipes for the pie with jam (crostata) and for the soft honey ring-shaped cake.
As you can see, Italian grandmother's snack recipes are basically healthy and simple ingredients.
Have a good snack!
