Some more vegan treats in Italy

Another couple of weeks have past and they have been filled with food, as you would expect in Italy.

First up we have my first proper vegan experience of Italy. I was eagerly awaiting Roma as I knew there were a few vegetarian restaurants and cafes scattered about. We went to Il Margutta on the first night. Most of the produce is organic and it's all seasonal. By page one I had decided on my meal - the vegan degustation - a mini-meal of 4 courses.

First course was a trio of gazpacho - left to right - melon, green pepper & basil, and red pepper. It was accompanied by vegetable crudites & basil sorbet. So light, fresh & tasty - and such a relief after eating heavy pasta & pizza for weeks!

Second course was a small pasta dish - but it was so light I hardly noticed - this was green onion, pea & cherry tomoatoes. Simply seasoned with olive oil, salt & pepper. Perfetto.

Third course was seitan steak with a baked rosemary potato. This was a bit of a surprise, as the rest of the menu was quite light & summery. It was still delicious though - I really love seitan and I'm too lazy to cook it at home, so I was very happy.

The final course was dessert - a trio of sorbet with fresh fruit. Left to right - passionfruit (I think with mint?), melon, and strawberry. These were delicious - strawberry was definitely my favourite. All up, a fantastic meal, and at 30 euro, not bad value, especially considering the location of the restaurant in the ritzier end of town.

Most of my meals out in Italy have consisted of making do with the pizza & pasta on the menu. On night 2 in Roma, we were too tired to walk far, so chose a small, fairly touristy, restaurant near the hotel. It was a good choice - the waiter spoke excellent English, so I was able to ask whether the pasta was made with egg easily (the penne wasn't). This is Penne Arriabiata. It had a good kick to it, but nothing that took away the awesome flavour of the fresh tomatoes. Accompanied by a free glass of sparkling wine, at 8 euro very good value.

On our last night in Roma we headed to the restaurant district - Trastevere. I actually felt like a salad, after so much pasta & bread over the previous few days. We found a very cute little restaurant with this massive mixed salad on the menu. It was exactly what I needed!

Next we have skipped a few days to Venice. There are a couple of vegetarian-friendly places in Venice, but this is the only one I have visited so far. Gam Gam is an unassuming kosher restaurant in the former Jewish ghetto.

I went with the recommendation of previous vegan diners & asked for the Israeli appetisers without egg. This feast is what was delivered to my table - left to right: Spiced carrots & raisins, felafel (one of the best I've ever tasted), chickpea & celery salad, tomato salad, marinated mushrooms, chickpea & pepper salad, hummus (so smooth & so good), hot chilli sauce, and baba ghanoush.

This meal was divine. After nearly 4 weeks of Italian food I was so happy to eat more like I do at home. And the best bit was the produce is super fresh - we're in Italy after all. I really hope I can go back to Gam Gam, but more importantly, if you're ever in Venice, make sure you find it.