Marche Food: Top 5 Eats & Drinks You Can’t Miss

Visiting the Marche region in Italy? Well, you’re in for a treat! This often overlooked area is so packed with delicious food and drink that it will make your taste buds sing. Here’s your personal guide to some absolute must-try food in Marche that really shows off its local tastes. Get ready for some real foodie explorations!

1. Vincisgrassi: The Marche Lasagna

First on the list, you simply have to try Vincisgrassi! It’s like lasagna but, you know, only way better. As a matter of fact, this regional specialty uses a richer ragu, often featuring a mix of meats and sometimes even offal, slow-cooked in wine. It has these layers of thin pasta that absorb all this flavor. Then, it’s finished with a creamy béchamel and sometimes even some truffle shavings. As I was saying, it’s comforting and decadent. Oh, and legend says this dish goes way back to when a general of Napoleon wanted something extra special to eat. Pretty fancy, huh?

Very few meals beat trying it at a local trattoria in Ancona or Macerata. Just picture this warm, cheesy, meaty goodness. Almost everyone likes it served by a nonna who will argue it’s been her very own family’s recipe for centuries. See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Family Recipe Vincisgrassi)

2. Olive Ascolane: Fried Olives Stuffed with Meat

Next up is Olive Ascolane, these aren’t just ordinary olives, though. These are large, green olives from Ascoli Piceno that folks lovingly pit, stuff with seasoned ground meat, coat in breadcrumbs, then, of course, they fry them until they’re nice and crisp. It’s like your ideal savory snack! Typically, locals tell you that every family usually guards its recipe very closely. After all, they use their own secret blend of spices. Usually you can locate these at pretty much any aperitivo or street food stall. Honestly, they are just amazing paired with a glass of local wine!

Find the best versions straight from the source in Ascoli Piceno. Seriously, that allows you to experience the genuine, handcrafted touch of this regional delicacy. Apparently, they use a lot of skill when they stuff and prepare them. Clearly, it shows in the flavor. Read our full review: Olive Ascolane Recipes Full Review and Details

3. Brodetto: The Fishermen’s Stew

So, if you are a seafood lover, Brodetto will totally speak to your soul! Basically, this hearty fish stew varies a little from town to town along the Marche coastline. Basically, they use whatever the fishermen haul in each day; usually you’ll see a mix of Adriatic fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, simmered in a tomato-based broth, very tasty. Sometimes, they also add a splash of vinegar to punch up the flavor just a little. The taste truly screams of the sea.

As a matter of fact, it is served with toasted bread for soaking up all that yummy broth! For the most genuine experience, you should head to seaside towns like Fano or Porto San Giorgio and also find it prepared right along the water’s edge. It seems the very best brodetto tastes just like the ocean itself. See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Brodetto Fish Stew)

4. Verdicchio: The King of Marche White Wines

You absolutely have to wash all this delightful food down with some Verdicchio! That is the region’s most famous white wine. The area produces this crisp, dry wine from the Verdicchio grape. Many describe this grape as having notes of almond and lemon. So, people like it because it compliments pretty much any seafood dish, and pairs very well with Olive Ascolane! Anyway, this comes in these unique amphora-shaped bottles, which adds to its charm, and you know, makes it easy to spot on a wine shop shelf.

If you like wine, visit the vineyards around Castelli di Jesi where this grape is grown. Clearly that will let you experience where they make it. It may also let you soak up the full beauty of the Marche countryside. After all, tasting it right at the source truly showcases just what it offers! Read our full review: Verdicchio Wine Details

5. Moretta Fanese: The Fisherman’s Coffee

To complete this food trip, sip on some Moretta Fanese, which, by the way, it’s a very unique coffee concoction only from Fano. So, this drink blends espresso with anise liqueur, rum, and brandy, plus lemon peel, it’s very interesting! It came from local fishermen needing something very powerful to warm them up on those chilly mornings out at sea, very practical.

Head to Fano. Almost everyone enjoys it at local bars that face the Adriatic. Then, the potent mix provides the perfect caffeinated kick and warm feeling after a satisfying meal. Seems like you need a strong coffee while trying something special! See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Moretta Fanese Recipes)