Luca Themed Disney Dinner

This week, we are premiering the new Disney+ feature film, Luca, with a themed Disney dinner!  Luca is a story about two young sea monsters (Luca and Alberto) set in the Italian Riviera.  Able to disguise themselves as human beings, Luca and Alberto discover food and friendship in the small fishing town of Portorosso.  Food is a central component of the film, shared amongst friends and family and strengthening the bonds between them. Through their adventures, the boys discover various types of Genovese food including pasta, gelato, and various street food.  With all these mouthwatering components, I decided Luca was the perfect film to draw inspiration for a Disney Themed Dinner! 

If you are interested in learning more about the food and culture that inspired Luca director Enrico Casarosa, check out his interview with La Cucina Italiana HERE!

Antipasto (Starter)

For our starter, I took inspiration from Enrico Casarosa’s interview and decided to prepare focaccia al formaggio. According to Enrico, this famous dish from Recco is praised all over Italy.  This isn’t like the typical focaccia you will find in the states.  Focaccia al formaggio is essentially two very thin sheets of pastry stuffed with stracchino cheese and baked until crisp on the outside and smooth and melty on the inside.  That sounded good to me!

The recipe I used for our focaccia al formaggio came from Foodful Life.  The recipe stresses that preparing this dish is an artform which takes practice, and boy are they right!  Getting the pastry paper thin was definitely a challenge I would like to improve on over time, but overall, I was happy with the end result!   

If you can’t find stracchino cheese at your local grocery store, try a different soft cheese that will melt in the oven.  I used a blend of fresh mozzarella and mascarpone, to keep it Italian!  Brie is another cheese that is good for melting if removed from the rind.

Il Primo (Main Entrée)

One of the best foodie scenes in the film is when Luca and Alberto taste the pasta dish trenette al pesto for the first time.  The boys are skeptical at first, but after tasting they immediately fall in love.  Throughout the film, we see Luca and Alberto enjoying trenette al pesto – their new favorite meal to share with new friends!

For this reason, I knew I had to serve this as our main entrée for our Luca Themed Disney Dinner.  And we were in luck!  Disney released their own official recipe for this classic Italian dish.  You can see the full recipe over at Buzzfeed HERE.

This pasta contains green beans, potato, and fresh pesto sauce (a staple in Genovese cuisine).  I’ve never had a pasta dish quite like it before, but I was thrilled with how it turned out!  My five-year-old (like Luca and Alberto) was skeptical of the overwhelmingly green color, but upon tasting she gave it her stamp of approval! 

Il Contorno (Side Dish)

You know me, I always need to make sure there is a healthy side dish with my themed dinners.  For our Luca Themed Disney Dinner menu, I decided to serve an Italian Zucchini Bake with a recipe I found from Sweetpea Lifestyle.  Zucchini, onion, mozzarella, and my homemade marinara sauce comprise this dish. I treasure this marinara sauce recipe, as it was my Great-Grandma’s own family recipe from Naples, Italy.  You can find her recipe HERE!

This zucchini bake was easy to prepare and was a delicious healthy side dish to accompany our trenette al pesto! 

Il Dolce (Dessert)

There was no question as to what we would be serving up for dessert for our Luca Themed Disney Dinner – gelato!  This frozen Italian dessert is enjoyed throughout the movie by young and old, including Luca and Alberto.  I picked up a few flavors from our local grocery store, and let the kids mix and match how they saw fit.  If you can’t find gelato at the store, I’m sure your kids will forgive you for substituting some ice cream 😉. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about our Luca Themed Disney Dinner!  Planning these themed dinners makes movie nights even more immersive and fun for the family!

What did you think of Pixar’s newest feature film, Luca?  Are there any foods from the film you wish you could try at home?  Let me know in the comments!

Looking for more Disney Themed Dinners? Check out our Ratatouille Themed Dinner HERE and our Princess and the Frog Dinner HERE!

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