The pleasures and love for Italian cuisine are known throughout the world. Italian cuisine and recipes vary from region to region, and is generally very healthy and nutritious, using natural and seasonal ingredients.
Most of the traditional and “specialty” dishes we know today are generally derived from simple peasant cooking, for example pizza, which could be found on the streets of Naples a couple of centuries ago and which vendors street vendors sold to those who had no cooking facilities of their own at home.
Although there are essential ingredients that every Italian kitchen should have (including basil, garlic and olive oil!), the most important ingredients are passion and creativity.
Italians take pride in and enjoy their food, and cooking and eating habits can vary from region to region, even from town to town. Each place has its own unique dishes and ingredients, and even the traditional dishes that are so popular throughout Italy are cooked in different ways depending on which region you go to. For example, if you eat a lasagna from Naples, it doesn’t have the béchamel sauce as you would expect in more traditional lasagna. It also has meatballs (or polpette) instead of minced meat, and also salami and eggs.
The different regional cuisine depends on a number of factors, not just which ingredients are most abundant in each region, but also historical factors. Naples, for example, was founded by the Greeks, and this had some influence on the Neapolitan way of life. Not only in language and music, but also in the kitchen.
traditional italian menu
Antipasto (appetizer), eg salami or bruschetta
Primo Piatto (first course) usually pasta or gnocchi
Secondo Piatto (Second Course) usually meat or fish
Contour of vegetables or salad to accompany the meat
Dolci (Sweet) Fresh fruit is usually eaten as the preferred option
Bread is also usually always eaten together with food.
north of Italy
Some original and unique types of ingredients and cooking originated in the north; Balsamic vinegar (Modena), pesto (Liguria) and tortellini (Bologna), to name just a few. Another food commonly eaten in the north is polenta, which can be eaten in many different ways, for example fried and even in a polenta cake. Dishes in the north tend to be a bit “heavy” than in the south (think of the ingredients used for Spaghetti Carbonara compared to the healthier and lighter classic tomato sauces of the south!)
central italy
Central Italy is very diverse, and regions like Rome, Florence and have little in common. A few examples found throughout central Italy are Porchetta (rosemary and fennel stuffed pork), pork, lamb, black truffles, and porcini mushrooms.
southern italy
Characterized by the abundant use of fish, aubergines, peppers, olives, the spicy ingredient pepperoncino, and above all the tomato, which has a large industry in Naples. In the Naples and Campania regions, there is some Spanish and French influence in the cuisine. Pizza and pasta are especially popular and traditional, Pizza Margherita having been born in Naples. In Apulia, they have a diet rich in fish (mussels and oysters being a specialty) and vegetables. The orecchiette (little ears) pasta is also from Apulia.
Enjoy your meal!