Although
what it is distinguished as typical Italian food are pasta,
pizza and sausages, its cuisine is a world to explore.
From the south of the peninsula, with its simple and perfumed
flavours with abundant olive oil, to the mountainous north
with its spicy hot meals, Italy offers to the visitor
its colourful cuisine.
In Italy is usual to eat a first plate, or antipasto,
and a main plate. The antipasto can be soup, risotto,
salad or pasta. The main one consists habitually of fish
or meat, accompanied by vegetables. If they have to eat
a single plate, the Italians show preference for the pasta
or pizza. Without any doubt, the best place to savour
these specialities is in the trattorias.
In the south the food usually consists of preparations
with a great amount of vegetables, like eggplants, marrows,
cauliflower or peppers, decorated with aromatic herbs,
wild mushrooms and asparagus. The cow cheese stuffed with
mozzarella cheese -buvino-, or butter -burrino-, are two
specialities of the south. Among cured cheeses, the provolone
cheese is the most famous. In Naples, is usual the pastiera,
made with crushed wheat, that accompanies sweet and salty
plates.
In the centre of Italy the basic ingredients are meat
and vegetables. The Lazio sepia fish and the carp to the
grill of Umbria are also outstanding. In the mountainous
zones the plates are very spicy, as a way to fight the
cold weather. The typical cheese of the zone is the pecorino,
made of sheep milk, with a sharp flavour. In the north
there is a great variety of gnocchi of spinach and potatoes,
meatballs, of meat or ricotta, and polenta, a paste done
with maize flour that must be let dry to fry or roast
like support for meats and fish.
The islands have their own gastronomical tradition. In
Sardinia many plates, like the fabada, remember the Catalan
cuisine, although others like the cibettino, -calf stuffed
with pig stuffed with hare as well-, belongs to the culinary
tradition of the island. Sicily has a Mediterranean cuisine.
Between its typical plates they emphasize macaronis with
ragout, pricked meat based sauce, and arancini of riso,
balls of rice stuffed with peas, chicken, fresh cheese
and hard egg and fried. The piacentino is a cured cheese
ripened with black pepper, typical of the zone.
Italy is a great consumer of all type of cheeses. The
most known are the reggiano parmigiano and granna padano.
In Venice the speciality is risotto, although also the
paste is very good. The vinegar or balsamic aceto of Módena
is the most expensive of the world, as much by its incomparable
quality as by the long process of natural maturing that
entails. The Italian cold cuts, like zampone -foot of
stuffed pig that is used to cook lentils and porotos-,
mortadela, salami, and prosciutto di Parma.
When it comes to desserts, ice creams are famous anywhere
in the world by his incomparable flavour. The Italians
are great fans of pastry, specially tiramisú. In
order to accompany the food, there’s nothing better
than one of their well-known wines, like chianti. Another
thing you can count on are a cup of aromatic Italian coffee
or a delicious grappa.
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