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Italian food

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Italian cuisine is probably among the most varied in the world despite the fact that most of us recognise just pasta and pizza as a typical Italian meal. In reality, no country’s dishes probably vary from region to region as much as Italy’s – from the earthy meat based dishes of Rome to the light, herby soul food of Tuscany and the fresh dishes influenced by the sea typical to the Venetian region. Many small villages in the mountainous areas meanwhile grew up in relative isolation from each other so that cooking methods can vary wildly just a few miles apart.

The basics of Italian food – the pasta and sauces – are always different, particular sauces are chosen to match a specific pasta based on the way the pasta shape holds a sauce and those sauces, unlike the sort created in France, change with each new batch, Italian cooking has no hard and fast rules other than good ingredients, cooked with passion.

No other country has probably shared food ideas with the rest of the world like Italy, while the idea for spaghetti is rumoured to have come from China, herbs and spices have been picked up from Africa and other techniques from Greece (with the Romans the greatest explorers of their time this is no great surprise) at the same time the ease and taste of Italian cuisine has made it one of the world’s most popular, although this is adapted to suit foreign palates – for example pizza is served on a thin crust in Rome, unlike those you might find in your local takeaway.

Italians were the first to introduce the idea of courses to the world and to this day an Italian feast can go on for hours with dish after dish presented, a theme running throughout. A meal might start with antipasti to whet the appetite, crostini or oiled vegetables, this will be followed by the primi (this is what we most know as Italian food) the pasta, risotto or soup dish which always precedes the first meat or fish dish of the meal – the secondi – which is joined by vegetable dishes known as contorno. Finally a meal will end with the dolce, a sweet such as tiramisu, fresh fruit or a pastry. The dolce is not always what Italian cuisine is best known for but it is the course that many Italians will take much pride in as many are complex to create.

Despite what you might see on TV table manners are hugely important at an Italian meal – elbows are kept off the table, a spoon is never used when eating spaghetti and the most important woman at the table is served first (often a mother or grandmother). In addition there are many rules as to how and in what order food and drinks are served during a meal…Italian eating is much more than a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese and a side of garlic bread.


Spaghetti All’Amatriciana

This is traditional Italian pasta dish using easy to find ingredients. You can use fresh, dried or homemade pasta depending on how ambitious you’re feeling.

400g spaghetti, cooked
50g pecorino cheese
150g pancetta, diced
300g tomatoes (pref pomodorino), peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
small red chilli finely chopped
dry white wine
extra virgin olive oil

Fry the pancetta in its own fat until crisp before putting to one side.

Gently fry the onion in a tablespoon of oil before adding about half a glass of white wine, allowing to simmer until it has begun to evaporate.

Add the tomatoes, chilli and pancetta to the pan and cook for around fifteen minutes, adding more wine if it begins to look dry.

Toss the spaghetti in the tomato sauce and sprinkle with the grated pecorino cheese and some freshly ground black pepper.
Laura Heaps, MyVillage 25th October




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