BBC: Festival of Grandmother’s Sandwiches

Festival of Gramother's Sandwiches

Maybe there is more to grandma then you thought.

The BBC reports how the southern town of Giovinazzo‘s annual “festival of grandmother’s sandwiches” has taken on huge proportions as more Italians are forced to return to traditional recipes and homemade food because of the poor economy.

“We’re living a difficult time, not many people can stretch to a meal out in a restaurant right now, but they can afford to come here, spend a couple of euros on a sandwich and feel equal to other people”, says organiser Gianfranco Stufano, who is now in his 30s. “It’s a chance to reconnect with the philosophy of how people used to make the most of local produce, waste nothing and still eat well.”

Poor economy or no, the sandwiches sound terrific The most popular is stuffed with parmigiana: layers of aubergine and mozzarella in a basil-fragranced tomato sauce. According to the article, the others include: Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (pomodori sott’olio), Aubergine in olive oil (melanzane sott’olio), Spicy ricotta (ricotta forte), Artichokes in oil (carciofi sott’olio), Hyacinth bulbs in oil (lampascioni sott’oglio). This year the organizers made 11,000 sandwiches, and still had to turn people away empty handed.

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