Credit: florador
We’re talking Food, and surely there is no place better to indulge than in Italy (Eataly). Whether you’re after savoury or sweet, somewhere in the Big Boot there is something special in the making to pamper your palate.
Here, we’ll look mostly at the mains (pasta, pizza, meat and more) but if you’re more of a sweet-treat person, check out our Dessert Edition. In a previous article, we also recommended two Bologna-based cooking schools, have a look at that here.
Everyone knows that pasta is a staple in Italy, and we’re not talking the dried variety that you buy in stores back home. Freshly made, they come in all shapes and sizes, and are accompanied by all sorts of fillings and sauces. What you might not know, is that the pasta has it’s own flavour, and therefore the sauces are added sparingly to a dish so as not to overwhelm the other flavours on the plate. With over 650 varieties of Italian pasta, we can’t cover them all but here are a few of our favourite Pasta Recipes.
Credit: Russ Morris
Of course, we must mention the delicious pizzas which have been perfected by the Italians. You might like your pizza with mushrooms (fungi), with 4 cheeses (quattro formaggi), or folded in half (calzone). Some of the best pizzas are basic, with fewer toppings but heaps of flavour. Try the Marinara, with tomato, garlic and oregano. My personal favourite is the Diavola, which has a spicy salami as it’s main topping.
What’s less commonly known is that rice dishes are also popular in Italian cuisine, particularly in the northern regions of Lombardia and Veneto (think arancini and risotto). Of course, with almost the whole country blessed with a beautiful coastline, fish is also a staple. Cured meats, as well as delicious cheeses are part and parcel of Italian cuisine, as are many of our most-loved breads (panini, ciabatta and focaccia). Coffee culture is also prevalent in Italy, and on our trip to Turin, we discovered some of the country’s best brews.
Buon Appetito!
Ross with a wonderful rice arancino in Turin
