Weekly Market in Lucca and a Recipe

The last couple of posts were dedicated to Viareggio and Florence, this week let's stay in Lucca and go shopping at the market!

Unfortunately it was very cloudy and grey :(

In Italy, this is one of the experience I suggest you to do: go to a local market wherever you are to see the daily life, for "people watching", to find good bargain and of course, it is a lot of fun!! I love it! For me, it is very unlikely to leave without a bag, even a small one.

I have my strategy: have a look first to the whole market, ask for prices, see if there is anything nice and then on the way back I start to buy!

Usually the stall people do not accept credit cards, so make sure you have enough cash with you. 

You can try things on, but do not be too fussy ;) you are not in a shop so they do not have proper fitting rooms, so you will have to jump inside a van and get undressed on it (doors closed of course!), try on and look at yourself in a very simple mirror. 

You can ask for a different size, not everything is one size only. They might have it or not, their stock is not fully supplied as in a store.

If I am buying more things from the same stall, I try sometimes to bargain a little bit. People do not get offended, but remember they are not obliged to give you a discount. Prices are already quite cheap!

Keep an eye where you see lot of people around a stall, it can mean that there is a good offer or nice stuff. Then be patient, brave and curious and start to throw clothes up and down, go around the stall in every corner! It is  like a treasure hunt, keep searching and searching...

I've found 3 lovely summer dresses here for 10€ each :)

They had lot of things in silk and linen

A tip: while you will be busy searching, if you find something you like, put it on a side next to you, or ask the stall man to keep it for you for a sec. You do not want that, after all you efforts finding that lovely t shirt under many layers of clothes, it get taken by someone else, do you??

A last suggestion: in the last few years the Chinese have some stalls, too. Their prices are very low, but quality is not good at all. I mean it is good looking but after a few washings it's gone. So just think about it!

At last keep your purse in front of you all the times! These places are quite busy, with people pushing you and pickpockets know that you are busy searching, so be careful! 

The local weekly market in Lucca:

when: every Wednesday and Saturday in the morning from 9 to 12.

where: from outside Porta San Jacopo  then along Via dei Bacchettoni till Porta Elisa 

What can you find there? A little bit of everything:

Food can not be missing!

Flowers and plants

Leather: shoes and bags, purses...

Kitchen and homeware: 

Do you know all these tools?

Many many clothes and accessories...

This is one of my favourite place to stop. This is Bagnoli. It is a beautiful grocery store in Viareggio, but they do also local markets. In Lucca you can find him only on Wednesday. The van is close to Porta San Jacopo.

They have several kinds of cheese from all over Italy, really special ones! Lots of mortadella, prosciutto and salami and sausages...Then bread as Pane di Vinca, coming from a small village in Lunigiana, Massa Carrara province.

Pane di Vinca and a super multicereal focaccia! 

They can make you a sandwich right away. The walls are very close, just above you, so you can go there and relax after all your shopping!

Try these onions cooked in the wine: they are as sweet as cherries! I love them!! 

Isn't this gorgonzola tempting?

This was my shopping and my yummy lunch:

Cereal focaccia as you can see there's already bite ;)
mustia ricotta and Tropea onions 

Pasta with Mustia, Tomatoes, Rucola and Nuts.

Mustia is a salted, smoked ricotta cheese typical of Sardinia.

While you are waiting for the water to boil, you can melt the mustia in a dish adding a little bit of hot water ad mash it with a fork. It has to become soft and thick as a cream, not too liquid.

Add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and some Parmesan cheese.

Cut some cherry tomatoes and put them together with the mustia ricotta, keep mixing everything together. You can add some salt and black pepper, if you like. Be careful the mustia is already quite tasty, so check it before! It can be already fine.

Throw pasta in the boiling water with a little bit of salt and leave the dish with the mustia and tomatoes on top of your pan to keep it warm.

In the meantime cut some rocket salad (rucola) and some nuts.

When the pasta is al dente and you have drained it, you can add the mustia with tomatoes, the rucola and the nuts. Mix, Mix for a few minutes and Buon Appetito!!

you can turf off the stove, you can mix it easily in the warm pot 

Buon Appetito!