Italian cuisine is not exotic, we know a lot about it. And outside of Italy you can buy a slice of pizza in a fast food restaurant, order risotto with truffles in an expensive restaurant or cook spaghetti carbonara at home. But once in Italy itself, it’s important and necessary to eat right, because food is the most important part of every self-respecting Italian’s life.
Eating right means trying the specialties of the region in which you are, preferably according to the season and not in the touristy places, but in the trattorias where the locals like to eat themselves. This is a guarantee of proper preparation, the use of fresh ingredients and, of course, excellent taste.
Many people accuse Italian cuisine of lacking sophistication. But the external effect is not important. What matters is the pure and simple pleasure you get from a delicious meal. It is through cuisine that you can better understand and get to know Italians.
- Italian pizza
You’d think there would be something new to say about pizza, which has become an integral part of globalized fast food. Fast food does not even want to mention in vain, the same as the real “proper” Italian pizza is baked according to strict rules and must be in a wood-fired oven. Pizzerias with such a furnace usually have a sign “Forno” or “Forno a legna”.
There are two main types of pizza – Neapolitan and Roman. The fundamental difference between the two is the dough base. Neapolitan is more airy, the dough is elastic, similar to a flatbread. The Roman one is crispy to the point of being burnt, thin and flat.
The sign of a good pizza is a small number of ingredients (usually two or three) that complement each other in flavor. The ingredients of a classic Neapolitan Margarita pizza are tomato sauce, cheese and basil, like the colors of the Italian flag. When eating Neapolitan pizza, fold it like an envelope so the toppings don’t leak out. Dry Roman pizzas hold toppings better, and there’s more room for experimentation. Try toppings like prosciutto with arugula, truffles with buffalo mozzarella, eggplant and cheese.
Our pizza masterclass in Rome is a great opportunity to learn more about Italian cuisine and culture, and to make the world’s tastiest pizza with your own hands! Learn the recipes for the classic Italian pizza in its homeland – Italy! You’ll make your own pizzas, choose your ingredients, put them in the oven, and then eat them!
- Italian Pasta
Pasta in Italy is rightly considered the queen of the table (the consumption of these pasta products – 27 kg per person per year!). TV presenter Vladimir Pozner, in his series of travel documentaries on Italy, interviewed various famous Italians. Among other questions he repeated – what dish they would recommend to a foreigner if there was only one thing to try. And many responded (and among them were famous couturiers, directors and movie stars) that pasta is the dish that they personally love and are ready to advise everyone around them.
Pasta in Italy refers to primo piatto (that is, the first course, which also includes risotto and soup). The form and recipes for pasta may vary from region to region, it is best of course to try the dish of the region in which you are.
For example, in Rome, be sure to order the favorite pasta of the Romans – spaghetti with cheese and peppers (Cacio e Pepe). It sounds very simple, but in fact, it’s very delicious! Another common type in Rome is Spaghetti alla Carbonara (pasta carbonara) based on cream and eggs with small cubes of bacon and grated Pecorino Romano cheese. And don’t forget to try Bucatini all’amatriciana (pasta amatriciana) – sliced pork cheeks, olive oil, tomatoes, onions, and sheep cheese.
Forget the very popular American “variations on the theme” – fettuccini alfredo and spaghetti with meatballs. Italians know nothing about these dishes and do not consider them part of the traditional cuisine. However, despite this, they have their predecessors in Italy. For example, spaghetti with tiny meatballs can be tried in Puglia.
And Americans also like to pour tomato sauce on their pasta so that it “floats.” Keep in mind that Italians like to add sauce, but in small amounts, preferring only to accentuate the taste of the dish with it.
- lasagna
Lasagna is essentially the same as pasta. Wide and thin sheets of pasta (dough) are laid out in layers, which are interspersed with a filling based on minced meat, sauce, and cheese. The whole thing is then baked in the oven.
As with pizza, Naples is considered the birthplace of lasagna. In the Middle Ages, it was made without tomato sauce (tomatoes were not introduced to the Old World until the 16th century). But the most famous recipe for lasagna comes from Emilia-Romagna, where the preparation of lasagna was brought to perfection. If you’re in Bologna, be sure to order Lasagne al forno (which translates to “lasagne in the oven”) with ragù filling, white béchamel sauce (in Italian it’s more correct, not béchamel, because Italians believe that the court chef of Louis XIV imported this recipe from Italy), mozzarella cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano (or a combination of both).
Note that a traditional Italian stew uses a bit of tomato sauce, it is not poured as lavishly as is customary in the U.S. This makes the flavor of the meat brighter and more pronounced.
- Risotto
Risotto (literally translated, “little rice”) is round rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. It is a relative newcomer among other Italian dishes, known only since the 19th century.
While southern Italy is almost always a “plate of pasta,” northern Italy, especially Lombardy and Piedmont, can be described as a “bowl of rice.” Arborio and Carneroli are the varieties grown in the rice fields of these regions, and they are the ones used to make the traditional risotto.
The most famous type of risotto is risotto alla milanese with saffron. According to legend, this dish was invented by a worker at Milan’s Duomo. He was using saffron to paint stained glass windows and accidentally dropped it in his bowl of rice.
Other classic variations of risotto can be tasted in Venice: risotto with cuttlefish ink (risotto al nero di sepia) and risotto with bacon and peas (risi e bisi).
- Truffles
Ah, truffles! Sounds luxurious for some mushroom! But this mushroom, unattractive in appearance, is not “some”, but one of the most expensive and exquisite tastes, a real delicacy. There is a real hunt for them, since truffles grow only in the wild. They are hunted with dogs or pigs, which can smell truffles under the ground.
Two main species are distinguished. The rarer (and much more expensive) white truffle, which has a dense and intense aroma. And black truffle, not as fragrant, but more common and accessible. Where to taste truffles? They naturally grow in Umbria, Tuscany and Piedmont, so the best and freshest truffles you will find here. It is worth going to one of these regions during “truffle season”, i.e. in autumn, when there are numerous festivals celebrating these mushrooms (e.g. the white truffle festival in Alba, Piedmont, which takes place in October).
White truffle is an exclusive product to which foie gras or pheasant meat goes. If you are not ready to shell out a large sum for an ordinary meal, but you want to enjoy the taste of an unusual mushroom, we suggest starting with pasta coated with thin shavings of black truffle. Truffle shavings are also used in sauces, added to risotto, poultry and fish dishes.