What is risotto and why is it different from your average rice dish?
Italy has more than its share of world-class food products. Truffles, cheeses, sausages, hams and much more abound and are core elements to Italy’s famous cuisine. But what actually are these, other than delicious sounding foods? How are they prepared? When they are traditionally eaten in Italy? From what region do they hail from? What are the best Italian dishes or hams? And where can you find them?
I have often wondered how the Pecorino cheese was actually produced, and took the opportunity of joining a slow food tour organised by Lucia Norrito, for a personal insight at a small family-run farm situated between Pienza and Montepulciano, Tuscany. I learnt also, that this is no ordinary farming family, but a family, who 20 years ago, came to Tuscany from Switzerland to commence a new life in organic farming. It was by no means easy.
This food of the gods has been known for ages as the panacea for all that ails mankind. In the past, studies have suggested that those who eat chocolate may live up to a year longer than those who don't. More recent studies seem to confirm what many of us have long known to be true--chocolate does have healing powers! This particular study showed that chocoholics live longer than chocolate abstainers, thanks to the cocoa's cholesterol-battling antioxidants that are said to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Salumi is not a term that is heard often outside Italy, yet many of these products are found in specialty shops, Italian delicatessens and are used by cooks the world over. Some examples, like Prosciutto need no introduction while others are not usually seen outside the mother country. Salumi is a large family of high-quality cured meats that go beyond Italy's famous hams, lending their flavors to terrific appetizers as well as main courses.
In a town nestled in a thickly wooded valley on a volcanic slope in southern Tuscany you may be able to discover what is certainly Italy’s most closely-guarded culinary secret, a rare cheese made from pig’s milk called Porcorino (Porcherino in the local dialect).
The white truffle might smell like earth, tree roots and old cheese, but this gastronomical object of desire, from Italy's Piedmont region, is very famous for its aroma, taste and aphrodisiac qualities. For centuries people have travelled from near and far just to savor a little piece. It is a gastronomical jewel only to be experienced at its fullest intensity in Alba, Italy.
In the world of gourmet foods, there is one treasure that is literally and figuratively worth its weight in gold. Truffles, especially the highly sought after white variety are the pinnacle of gourmet, usually too expensive for most consumers, except in parts of Northern Italy and Umbria where Tartufi are a key ingredient in local dishes. In this way truffles live a double life: outrageously expensive and used in the highest of high cuisine, and yet harvested in a time-honored tradition that has little to do with gourmet sophistication.
Without a doubt, there are millions of dishes in which the tomato is one of the principle ingredients, or in which it is used as the base for recipes. It could be for its color, flavour, or versatility, and heaven knows the tomato has travelled a long way since the ancient Aztecs, to finally find itself in today's recipes. The tomato accompanied corn, potatoes, hot peppers (pepperoncino) and the sweet potato on its journey to finally be introduced in Spain at the beginning of the 1500's ( during the crossing voyages of Cristoforo Colombo).
Salami (Salame in Italian) is yet another example of an Italian sausage tradition that has been abused by mass production and over processing. In America salami has been reduced to pre-sliced waxy discs on sandwiches and pizza that barely resembles their namesake. However just like many foods still made in their time-honored way in Italy, Salami (or Salame) is way beyond similarly named products found in most supermarkets.
Saffron in Italy is best known in Italy as a red powder to spread over Risotto alla Milanese. This red powder provides the risotto with its characteristic yellow color, and it adds color and flavor to other Italian rice-based dishes.
Navelli in Abruzzo, just south of the National Park of Gran Sasso, is considered the world capital for high quality saffron.
Saffron comes from a fall-blooming crocus flower (Above), Crocus
Italy is the leading producer of rice in Europe, with the majority of it being grown in the abundant Po river valley. Lombardy is home to the best rice growing area, the Lomellina, while Piedmonte and the Veneto also have bountiful rice harvests. Rice thrives so well in the Po valley that first courses of risotto are more common than pasta and are a great way to serve whatever is in season, from seafood to wild mushrooms (such as Porcini) to meat and game. Anyone that has had a perfectly prepared risotto or risi dish knows just how serious the people of this area take their rice.
Like most aspects of Italian gastronomy, there is more than meets the eye when dealing with Italian hams, known as Prosciutto. While there are two types of Prosciutto (cooked and raw), most non-Italians think of the uncooked, air cured variety known as Prosciutto crudo. This type of ham has been made in Italy since Roman times, the name coming from the Latin word meaning, "dried of liquid." Prosciutto di Parma, the variety most Americans have heard of has been praised for its flavor for over two thousand years. However every region in Italy that has pigs makes some variety of Prosciutto but only a few are available outside of Italy.
In the vast culinary world of edible mushrooms, only one can be called king. What Italians affectionately call the Porcini (the piglet) is a ruling class of the delicious fungi. The meat-like texture of Porcini, with its earthy and somewhat nutty flavor is unequaled among mushrooms and lends itself to countless dishes. Porcini can be found the world over, however American consumers have yet to fully utilize Porcini in all its forms, being mostly seen in its dried form. Nevertheless, there is much more to Porcini mushrooms than the dried bags found at the supermarket and while dried Porcini are excellent, the king of mushrooms deserves more respect.
It often happens that a nation of people will identify themselves as a distinct culture by their traditional foods. For Italians, it always seems both pasta and pizza are the cornerstones of what makes Italian food "Italian". However, there is a staple food of Northern Italy that does not get the recognition, but certainly makes up the third aspect of the Italian food trinity: Humble, yet versatile and satisfying polenta. Italian cuisine has been characterized by being the food of the peasant and just as poor Southern Italians worked the fields with their bellies full of pasta, Northern Italians subsisted on little more than polenta for centuries.
Pinoli or "pine nuts" are gathered by mustering through leaves on the ground near pine trees, around August or September - they are found inside huge pine cones and embedded within their hard oblong foliage.
It's in these layers of the pine cone where, the tender nuts are housed - nestled in between its flaps and encased within a shell. The pine nut's outer shell is dusted with a thin black magical powder and a delicate golden skin. They are highly prized for making a mix of olive oil and Parmigiano cheese. They are abundant in many Italian dessert recipes, and especially used on biscotti-cookies.
Being a third-generation Sicilian American, pesto sauces were not common in my family. Sure my grandmother had all the ingredients: Fresh basil from the garden, good extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano and pine nuts (a Sicilian favorite) from the groceria. But it just wasn't in the family tradition. Curious, I tried it in local restaurants and it was good, but I still did not understand why people raved about this "raw" sauce. However during my first trip to Italy I tried it and ever since I've been a huge pesto fan and brought my knowledge of it back home.
You may have seen it at the supermarket, packed in individual slices next to the other pre-packaged baloney products. Sadly this is what most Americans think of when they hear the word mortadella. However real Italian mortadella, the pride of the city of Bologna is more than just fatty baloney. Either served in a sandwich, as an appetizer or part of the main course Mortadella di Bologna is yet another delicacy coming from the bountiful region of Emilia-Romagna.
It's difficult to imagine Italian cuisine without the distinct flavor of fresh herbs. Indeed, the mere thought of Italian cooking brings to mind the aroma and taste of basil, oregano, rosemary, and garlic. Planting and cultivating your own herb garden is simple, and will provide you with your own steady supply of fresh herbs for use in your kitchen.
Basil
Basil is an essential herb in Italian cooking. Crushed basil leaves
It seems that nearly every nation has some form of dumpling, and it's easy to see why. They are tasty, versatile and make excellent use of leftover ingredients. In Italy, dumplings are collectively known as gnocchi and are made in several different styles - all of them delicious. In the family run Trattorias of Rome, you can sample some of the best gnocchi every Thursday night in a citywide tradition. While Florence is home to gnocchi so good, gluttonous priests have been known to choke from eating too fast - the infamous strozzapreti (priest-stranglers).
