Having touched down on Italy’s somewhat tempestuous mainland little over 24hrs ago… And having experienced a particularly painful diversion from the notorious airline which shall not be named (replacement… bus… service – enough said), an intense injection of fat and sugar seemed the most obvious mood saver. Cue said gelato tip.
With enticing gelaterias seemingly on every Italian street corner, it’s important to know what to look out for to find one worth the reputation. As with much Italian cuisine, the best food often looks the least fussy or fancy, but the most ‘real’. A wonderful Italian friend of mine once revealed her secret. “Always look to the pistachio gelato, cheap versions will be pumped full of alluring, bright food colouring to woo the gullible tourists. But have you ever seen a bright green pistachio? No. They’re sludgy, grainy, pretty ugly really… But naturally teeming with flavour. So you should expect the same from your pistachio gelato. If the pistachio looks dirty, you’re in the right place”.
Trotting off with my local’s insight, I felt sufficiently equipped to tackle gelato in one of Umbria’s most tourist-filled towns: Assisi (a brief five day warm-up on the mainland to see a few old friends before heading on south to Sicily on Saturday). Certainly there were a few tourist traps to be avoided, but just off a little up and above the main drag perches idyllic Caffe’ La Selva (pictured), nothing fancy, just fuss-free (but delicious) pizza slices, panoramic views from a hidden garden terrace and, of course, grubby pistachio gelato. The tip came up trumps. Silky nocciola (hazelnut) and pistacchio gelato were piled effortlessly into our sensibly medium-sized vessels for immediate decimation. Pure, Italian and entirely real.
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