Last June, in the midst of a European heat wave, I slowly made my way down through Italy over the course of three weeks. It was my first visit, and the food I tried in every town rendered me speechless. Until you eat Italian food in Italy, you just can't understand the magic and power of Italian ingredients and cooking traditions.

I have to say this because it's absolutely true: I fell in love at first bite in Trento. My very first meal of my very first stop on the journey. And it's not like I'm new to discovering fantastic foods around the world—I've been living and traveling abroad for 10 years. How was it that the pasta presented to me had the perfect texture, color and shape? How did the creamy mushroom sauce taste so divine? How was the wine, a simple house red, so incredibly complex? And why did it all still feel kind of healthy?

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