You may not know it, but I’m French with Italian origins from my mother. I went to Italy and I have to say that I fell in love with this country; that is why I want to talk about it. There is so much to say that I’ve decided to write several article depending on the theme. In this article I will talk about Italian food ( yup 🍴🍕🍷🍝🍦😱😋🙊 ), the I will probably write one about the heritage / history / culture, and also maybe one about random things only Italian can revendicate. Let’s get started with … FOOD !!!
First things first : antipasti ! In italia you start your meal with an antipasti, then primo piatto, secondo piatto and if you still can have room for dessert there are dolce. Usually, antipasti are bruschetta. It’s a slice of old bread which has been grilled, with tomato, basicil, garlic and of course olive oil. Italian cuisine basic ingredients are : tomato, basilic, olive oil, onions, parmigiano reggiano, beef and mushrooms. You find these ingredients in almost every sauce that comes with your pastas, risottos, pizzas, salads and so on. Each country has it’s proper products depending on what you can find in the area. Italia being a warm country tomatoes are sun kissed and juicy, olive oil is strong, condiments are tasty etc…
These are illustrations of what I was saying. On those pics you can clearly see the ingredients. It proves that with a few thongs you can create delicious and famous recipes. Spaghetti alla bolognese are known all around the world. It’s a simple recipe still tasty, it’s universal.
Risotto is a famous » piatto « . My favorite one is the risotto al funghi. Its rice ( a special one for risotto ) mushrooms, cream, parsley and of course parmigiano reggiano ! Not dietetic but a risotto here and there is no bid deal !
These are original gnocchhis, handmade ones. They have nothing to do with the ones you can find in the supermarket. Ingredients are potatoes, the yellow of eggs and flour. It’s very long to cook them – I know because I’ve done gnocchhis several times with my Italian family – you have to boil the potatoes then retire the skin out of them without burning yourself, then you pressed them and add the eggs and the flour. The dough has to be soft, so you have to knead it for a long time. Then you take bites of dough and make rolls. Then you cut them into tiny pieces. That’s why the shape is so weerd, it’s because it’s hand made. It’s like cooking play dough ! That’s being said, they are baked in like 2 minutes ! You out these little guys in boiling water and when they come to the surface it’s ready ! You can eat them with anything you want, in my family it’s a sauce made with tomatoes and beef, and on the top of then we put pieces of parmigiano reggiano.
I will talk about this plate briefly. It’s polenta, and I don’t like it. It’s like semolina but with a very thick texture. I wanted to mention it because it’s what my grand lot her used to eat during WWII. Indeed, it was a very cheap meal, corn semolina wasn’t pricy, and more important the texture is so heavy that it fills in your stomach and during the war people were starving so that’s why there were eating that, to survive. I was so upset when my grandma talked to me about it … Of course you can still eat nowadays, I’m side that with a tasty sauce it can be delicious.
Dolci ! Yeahhhh ! I prefer sweets than salty meals so I always have room for dessert ! Tiramisu is THE Italian dessert, it’s as famous as Italian gelato. Oh by the way, La Gelateria Romana is the best !
Each region has it’s specialities, in Sicilian for exempl they use lots of candied fruits, they out them everywhere ! Cannoli are known by pretty much every one :
Sometimes you can find them filled with chocolate or fresh fruits but theses are the original ones, the Sicilian way.
Panettone so eating during Christmas time. It’s a very festive cake. It’s like a brioche with dried fruits. It also exists with chocolate for the gourmands.
To finish the meal … Cafe of course ! Ristretto per piacere !
Birletti are the most famous espresso makers in the world ! I personally prefer capuccino, it’s softer. The taste of an expresso is too strong for me.
So I think I’m done for today’s article ! Of course there are other delicious recipes but I’m not writing a cookbook. I hope that the next time you will go to an Italian restaurant, or better to Italy, you will find your happiness between all those marvelous things ! Life is tasty, so delight yourself !
Chronicles of Ada 