You’ll find the Marche region of Italy sandwiched between the region of Umbria and the Adriatic Sea. Its environment ranges from rocky mountains to sandy beaches, with rolling green hills and swathes of farmland in between. With such vibrant, diverse terrain to draw from, there are so many different dishes and tasty snacks that will grace your plate as you make your way through the area and it can be hard to know what to choose. At Trek & Taste, we’ve put together a list featuring some of the tastiest below. Some are variations on well-known Italian classics and some are completely their own thing. When you’re in Le Marche and find your stomach rumbling, make sure to try these local favourites.

Olive Ascolane
Vincisgrassi
Arrosticini
Cremini Fritti
Caffè del Nonno
Brodetto di Pesce
Frittella
Pesce Fritto
Maccheroncini di Campofilone
Fritto Misto di Verdura

Keep on reading to find out what these delicious bites are and how you can get your hands on them when you make your next trip to Italy. As an aside, if you’d like to support the site, you can buy us our next coffee at the link below. Grazie!

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A platter of different fish and pasta dishes with a can of coke and a bottle of water — A tasty fish platter at Ristoro al Porto in San Benedetto del Tronto

Olive Ascolane

As a Brit, Andrew is more than partial to a mini Scotch egg. That salty, meaty little bite hits the spot at lunch or at a picnic every single time. Visit Italy, and you’ll find a delicious equivalent. Olive Ascolane, sometimes known as Olive all’Ascolana, are (as you might imagine) olives, stuffed with minced meat (beef, pork or a combination of the two) and deep-fried in oil. Ask anyone involved in their production and they’ll tell you how much effort they take to make but, promise, it’s so worth it. Incredibly moreish, bring out a bowl of these and they’ll be gone in seconds.

Vincisgrassi

We all know and love Lasagne. Delicious layers of fresh pasta, bechamel sauce, ragu and layers of cheese, all baked together into a cake of classic Italian goodness. A word of warning: Vincisgrassi is NOT lasagne. We found out the hard way when we drew comparisons. It is absolutely its own thing. The key difference? It’s all in the sauce. You’ll find no mince here. Instead, Vincisgrassi features a ragu made of all different kinds of meat “from the farmyard,” chopped coarsely and slow-cooked. These include pork, beef, chicken and even include the giblets! This gives the dish a wonderful richness and is so worth trying if you love a lasagne but are looking for something a little different.

Arrosticini

Technically a speciality of the neighbouring Abruzzo region, you’ll find arrosticini in restaurants and agriturismi across Le Marche. Little cubes of lamb or mutton, skewered, seasoned with salt and roasted over coals. They’re a smash hit in Le Marche and, if you’re a fan, you can even find special long barbeques, specifically for cooking arrosticini, in the bigger supermarkets (yes, of course we have one). They’re very simple, but extremely delicious. When you order them, they usually come in tens. When we order them, we order enough to play Mikado with the skewers afterwards.

Cremini Fritti

If you’ve tasted olive Ascolane, you’ll likely have spotted cremini fritti on the menu nearby. They often come as a pair and make a wonderful sweet-and-savoury pairing as part of your antipasti at dinner. Cremini fritti are portions of lemon-infused custard, cooked until semi-solid, then cubed, crumbed and deep-fried. As we’ve said, you’ll find them accompanying your antipasti (or starters), where they serve to nicely offset the salty, savoury nature of typical Marchigianese food. Don’t fancy them early in your meal? Enjoy them for dessert, or as a snack by themselves. In some cases, you’ll find them infused with local liqueurs, such as anisetta, for added richness and depth. They’re delicious!

Caffè del Nonno

As card-carrying millennials, we love an iced coffee. That refreshing, invigorating combination of dairy, ice and caffeine hits the spot perfectly in the morning, just after lunch, in the evening, at night… maybe we drink too much coffee but the point stands. Unfortunately and perhaps surprisingly, iced coffees are not a thing in Italy. At all. Strange, right? For whatever reason, they just haven’t taken off there and, if you ask for one, you’ll likely be met with a look of confusion or the assumption that you’re looking for one of these.

In its place, you’ll find the smooth, creamy and extremely moreish Caffè del Nonno, or crema caffè. Coffee, sugar, milk and cream are slowly mixed together, resulting in something that’s not quite an iced coffee and not quite an ice cream. It is, however, absolutely delicious, and is eaten with a spoon. The perfect afternoon refresher.

Brodetto di Pesce

All along the Adriatic coast, you’ll find the local speciality Brodetto di Pesce, which literally translates to “fish broth.” We’ll admit the English version doesn’t make it sound all that appetizing, but there’s so much more to it than fishy water. Just ”across the pond” on the otherside of the Adriatic, it’s known as Brudet. Order it and what you’ll receive is a delicious, hearty bowl of soup, often featuring as many as thirteen (!) different types of seafood, including fish, crabs, mussels and clams, all of which will have been caught locally. You’ll find it in rosso (red) or bianco (white), with the difference being that the red includes tomato. Whichever you find on the menu, it’s so worth a try if you like seafood and fish.

Frittella

When you look up frittella online, you’ll likely find the typical fried doughnut, stuffed with custard or fruit. As street food in Le Marche, however, it’s a little different. At sagras and street festivals, frittelle are deep-fried pizza dough, folded and stuffed with a variety of fillings. They differ from a calzone, as the filling is added after the dough has been fried. Fillings range from provolone cheese and mortadella to prosciutto crudo and cotto - basically, anything you’d fill a sandwich with, you can stuff into a frittella. They’re an amazing lunch, or late-night snack if you’re at a festival and feeling peckish.

Pesce Fritto

At home in England, fried fish and a trip to the beach go hand in hand. Luckily, we get a little flavour of home whenever we visit the seaside in Le Marche, as fried fish, or “pesce fritto” is an absolute staple. Just like in the UK, you’ll find battered cod, or “baccalà,” but the standard is actually calamari. You get the heads and the tentacles, covered with a light batter made from flour and sparkling water, which goes super crispy and is absolutely delicious. You can also get crab claws, known as “kele,” as well as sardines and the aforementioned olive all’Ascolana, but stuffed with fish instead of meat. Order a few hundred grams of “misto” (a mixture) and you’ll come away with a tasty platter of fried fish to pick at.

Maccheroncini di Campofilone

Ever had a bowl of spaghetti and thought to yourself “wow, this is amazing, but I wish the pasta was thinner?” You’re in luck! Maccheroncini di Campofilione has been made in Le Marche for over 600 years and is a menu stalwart across the region. Elsewhere in Italy, maccheroncini exists under a variety of guises, but in Le Marche, you’ll find long, delicate strands of semolina pasta, usually served with a traditional Marchigianese ragu. It’s a local favourite and is the perfect dish for if you’re looking to push the culinary boat out just a little, while still ordering something you’re sure to enjoy.

Fritto Misto di Verdura

You might notice a running theme here: delicious, local produce, battered and deep-fried. Fritto Misto di Verdura continues the theme, with fresh vegetables sliced into battons, coated in the same light batter as the pesce fritto and fried in oil. You’ll usually find zucchini (courgette), but you’ll often find aubergine and artichoke too. Whichever you find on the menu, give it a try. You’ll still find chips with ketchup but, if you’re after something (marginally) healthier, they make a great alternative. Now this is blasphemy: we think they taste better too!

If your stomach’s rumbling and you’re imagining an aperitivo and a plate of pesce fritto overlooking the Adriatic sea, it’s time to start packing! Take a look at our ultimate packing checklist here for all the essentials.

Also, if you’d like to help fund the site, you can buy us our next caffè del nonno here. Grazie!