Vineyards, olive groves and wheat fields sloping gently down to the sea. And then the fragrant Apennine forests and the lonely peaks of the Sibillini Mountains. Everything fits together perfectly in Le Marche.

Because this region is a neat mosaic that unites and shapes the north and south of Italy. Starting with the cuisine. Here you meet stories of the sea, peasant traditions, secrets hidden in mountain huts, colors and scents of the hills.

So, ready for a tasty journey through the typical dishes of Le Marche?

Typical products of Marche: the first

1) The Vincisgrassi

Beware of calling it lasagna! In Le Marche, it's vincisgrassi, perhaps the most famous and beloved pasta dish of this region. True, the name is a little strange and hard to pronounce, but the flavor, trust me, you won't easily forget that one.

Legend has it that this typical dish from the Marche region owes its name to the Austrian general Windisch Graetz who, as a guest in the region, had a recipe invented for himself. From there the name passed to the people who over the years "crippled" it until it became the current "vincisgrassi."

What they are. A "rustic" version of the more common lasagna, made with egg pasta sheets, topped layer after layer by ragout of sweetbreads and chicken giblets, with the addition of béchamel sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Yes, it is definitely not an everyday dish. And yes, you will need a very comfortable couch to digest them 😉

2) The Maccheroncini

Campofilone, a small town of just 2,000 inhabitants in the province of Fermo, has become famous precisely because of its maccheroncini, one of the Marche's most popular foods abroad.

Maccheroncini are very fine egg noodles, to be enjoyed, according to the original recipe, with a meat sauce. But delicious also in a fish version or, for a more "mountain" flavor, with black truffle.

This peasant recipe from the Marche region was the first egg pasta to obtain the PGI label in 2013.

3) Cargiù

Cargiù (or calcione or caciù, depending on the area) is a ravioli filled exclusively with sheep's milk ricotta, lemon zest and marjoram. Over time this Marche dish, typical especially of the hinterland of Macerata, has slowly been enriched with fuller fillings, and sweet and fried versions have also been born.

Second courses from the Marche region

1) Rabbit in porchetta

One of the tastiest main courses in Marche cuisine is undoubtedly rabbit in porchetta.

A laborious preparation with a very distinctive flavor in which the rabbit is first carefully boned and then seasoned with salt and pepper. In addition, liver diced and sautéed with pancetta is also included in the cooking process. And finally the whole thing is flavored with wild fennel.

Cooking can be done in a pan with a drizzle of oil and wine or in the oven with the addition of olives.

2) Fish broths

Among the typical dishes of the Marche region, brodetto is perhaps the one that has the most variations. In fact, there is no standard recipe, but the preparation varies according to the area.

In general, we are talking about a fish soup that, in the past, contained all those fish that fishermen could not sell because of their modest size or because they were broken in the nets.

There are 4 main versions:

In Fano, brodetto is red: it is cooked, in fact, with tomato paste diluted in oil and with the addition of water and vinegar;

tomato sauce is used in Ancona so as to make the soup more full-bodied and consistent;

In Porto Recanati you find instead a white version. The brodetto is in fact prepared with the addition of saffronella, a wild saffron that grows on the slopes of Mount Conero;

in San Benedetto del Tronto the fish is flavored with vinegar, green tomatoes and peppers.

3) Stoccafisso all'anconetana: among Ancona's signature dishes.

This typical dish from the Marche region, from the Ancona area in particular, consists of pieces of stockfish placed in a pan with chopped celery, carrots and tomatoes. The fish is then drizzled with oil and wine and covered with pieces of potatoes.

The sweet traditions (and temptations) of Le Marche

The seahorses

In the cuisine of the Marche region, sweets certainly could not be missing!

Among the most famous are cavallucci, a typical preparation of the Christmas season, so called because of its horse's hoof shape. Made with sapa and cooked must, this dessert is filled with a mixture of cocoa, candied fruit, and dried fruit.

Needless to say, you will have to leave a nice little space in your stomach to savor them in all their "lightness"!

3) Frustingo

Another Marche dessert without which Christmas cannot be celebrated is the frustingo.

The name and ingredients vary from area to area (there are as many as 22 different versions), but this is undoubtedly the oldest recipe in Marche cuisine, whose origin seems to go all the way back to the Etruscans.

Regardless of the variations, however, the dessert has a base of dried fruit and figs.

2) Cicerchiata

From Christmas to Carnival is a short step ... and so, after the horses on the sweet table of the Marche people comes the cicerchiata.

This cake consists of many balls of egg dough, lightly sweetened and with a knob of butter added, which are to be fried in oil and then dipped in hot honey; the balls are then aggregated together into different shapes.

Typical appetizers from the Marche region

1) The crescia

Flaky crescia is a kind of much more full-bodied piadina made with water, flour, milk, and brewer's yeast. The flaking is then obtained by folding the sheet of dough over itself several times and greasing everything with lard. Baking takes place on a special griddle called a "testo."

The filling? Inevitable are the salumi and cheeses typical of Marche gastronomy. But the tastiest version is undoubtedly the one with "strascinate herbs," that is, with field vegetables repassed in a pan.

2) The ciauscolo

It is not the usual salami, although the shape closely resembles it. Ciauscolo is a typical cured meat from the Marche region that is characterized by being soft and spreadable.

And, if we may, we recommend a pairing that for us has no equal: sandwich with ciauscolo and pecorino cheese. And there's none left for anyone....

3) Olive ascolane

The name itself tells us that these special olives are a typical Marchigiano dish from the Ascoli Piceno area. True, they are found just about everywhere in the region, but certainly those from the Ascoli area are unsurpassed.

These are large, tender, meaty olives that are pitted and stuffed with a meat filling (beef, pork, chicken), cooked for a long time in a sauté of celery, carrots, and onion. After cooking, the meat is minced and eggs, nutmeg and Parmesan cheese are added.

This filling is placed inside the olive, which is then breaded and fried.

Small warning: don't be surprised if after tasting the first one you can't stop. Ascoli olives are like cherries: one pulls the other!

... and to finish (or rather digest) the typical foods of Marche: Varnelli and Anisetta Meletti!

Last but not least-the bitters!

Because Marche is not only good "to eat," but also "to drink."

So after a good gulp of typical Marche dishes , don't forget to ask for Varnelli or Anisetta Meletti. These are two anise-flavored bitters: the first is dry and typical of the Macerata hinterland; the second is sweet and native to the Ascoli area. Perfect for "killing" coffee!

The foods of Le Marche are undoubtedly a riot of flavors that your palate is unlikely to forget. Ready to be won over?