N a t u r a l m e n t e I t a l i a n o

thefoodsofitaly

The Quality of Life

B Y B U R T O N A N D E R S O N
 ITALY ON THE WEB
WWW.ITALIANMADE.COM
a user friendly website, exclusively dedicated
to the wines and foods of Italy
When you ask an Italian, “What is the purpose of food?”
don’t be surprised if the answer is always the same:
“To delight the palate and cheer the spirit.”
Eating well is an art form that has been an essential part of
the Italian way of life for hundreds of years.

An amazing wealth of information about Italian food is

offered at www.italianmade.com, the most comprehensive
database available pertaining to the food products and wines
from every region of Italy.

This extensive website is a valuable educational reference

for menu and event planning, food and wine pairing and for
acquiring the latest and most up to date information about
the wines and foods of Italy.

visit:
www.italianmade.com

Published by the Italian Trade Commission

Sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Resources
© The Italian Trade Commission, New York, 2001
The text was written by Burton Anderson
2nd Edition
 Table of Contents

Introduction 5
Italian Food Through the Ages 7
Italian Specialty Foods 9
DOP, IGP and Organic Foods 13
Eating in Italy 15

The South and Islands 17

Sicily 20
Sardinia 23
Calabria 25
Basilicata 27
Apulia 29
Campania 32

Central Italy 35
Molise 37
Abruzzi 39
Latium 41
Umbria 44
Tuscany 48
Marches 51

Northern Italy 53
Emilia-Romagna 55
Liguria 59
Piedmont 62
Valle d’Aosta 65
Lombardy 67
Veneto 70
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 73
Trentino-Alto Adige 75

Glossary 78
4
 Introduction

a cucina italiana with its appetizing medleys of aromas,

L flavors, colors and textures continues to gain magnitude

as the world’s favorite way of cooking. Italian food is
doubly appealing for its healthful nature, for the olive oil,
grains, vegetables, herbs, fish, cheese, fruit and wine of the
ancient Mediterranean, the elements esteemed as ideal for a
modern diet.
The pleasures of pasta, pizza, prosciutto, risotto,
balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano-Reggiano® and Grana Padano,
mozzarella, gelato and espresso are so popular abroad that
it’s hard to imagine that Italy doesn’t have a stereotyped
national cuisine. Instead, cooks over the ages have created
a monumental repertory of dishes that vary from region to
region and town to town.
What sets the cooking of Italy apart from that of any other
country is the variety of ingredients and the spontaneity of
preparation that makes a recipe not a routine but a point of
reference for a creative experience. The keynote of la cucina
italiana is individual expression.
Fresh produce is essential to Italian cooks, with their
legendary knack for making things look easy. But menus also
rely on specialty foods—cheeses, pastas, cured meats and
fish, baked goods, extra virgin olive oil, vinegars, condiments
and sauces—crafted by artisans following age-old
techniques. Their excellence can’t be duplicated, yet copies
abound. The gap in quality between Italy’s authentic artisan
foods and the widespread fabrications continues to grow.
Italians trace their gastronomic heritage to Romans,
Greeks, Etruscans and other Mediterranean peoples who
elaborated the methods of raising, refining and preserving
foods. But dining customs acquired local accents in a land
divided by mountains and seas into natural enclaves where
independent spirits developed during the repeated shifts of
ruling powers that fragmented Italy from Roman times to the
Risorgimento.
Still, despite the different attitudes about eating
expressed from the Mediterranean isles to the Alps, Italian
foods have points in common. Consider pizza, which
migrated from Naples to become what must rank as Italy’s—
and the world’s—favorite fast food. Every Italian town has a
gelateria making ice cream, sherbet and shaved ice granita.
And every piazza has a bar or two where tiny cups of densely
aromatic espresso are brewed rigorously to command.
Pasta is a national institution, though noodles and the like
come in so many shapes and sizes and carry so many
names that there is no way of documenting them all. Still,

5
 pasta falls into two basic categories: the into 103 provinces that take the names of
dried, made from hard wheat semola meal prominent towns. Each province boasts
and water, and the fresh, made from soft distinctive foods and wines, which,
wheat flour, usually with eggs and often needless to say, have an inherent affinity for
with other ingredients in the dough or one another. Today, in a world of ever more
filling. uniform tastes, Italians retain their
Dried pasta prevailed in the south and customary loyalty to distinctive local foods
fresh pasta in the north, in territories similar and wines.
to those long described as "the Italy of olive A growing number of these authentic
oil and the Italy of butter." But barriers fell food products has been officially protected
as spaghetti and maccheroni gained under European Union regulations for DOP
ground to the Alps and beyond while ravioli (denominazione di origine protetta) and IGP
and tortellini (with their northern partners (indicazione geografica protetta). The
risotto and polenta) won admirers in the program in Italy is modeled after the
Mezzogiorno. Meanwhile, extra virgin olive successul system of wines of controlled
oil has continued to triumph everywhere as origin, which applies to more than 300
the essence of the Mediterranean diet. appellations identified by the initials of DOC
Each province of Italy has its own (denominazione di origine controllata) and
salumi—cured meats, usually from pork DOCG (the G for garantita or guaranteed)
but also from other animals, in the forms of and the recently instituted system of IGT
prosciutto, salame, sausages, mortadella, (for indicazione geografica tipica), which
bresaola and more. Italians produce an applies to about 120 "typical" wines
extraordinary range of cheeses. The best throughout the country.
known are Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Italy is the leading European country for
Padano, used universally for grating but organic or biological foods with some
savored at home in bite-sized chunks. 50,000 farms committed to growing
Gorgonzola, Fontina, Provolone, Caciocavallo, produce by natural methods without the
Pecorino Romano and Sardo also have use of chemicals.
international followings, as does the The following pages provide an account
mozzarella melted over pizza but also eaten of Italian food through the ages, a review of
fresh. Yet most Italian formaggio remains specialty products, an explanation of the
proudly local. DOP and IGP systems and organic
The same can be said for breads, which products and a discussion of dining
range in type from hefty loaves of unsalted customs and the types of eating and
pane toscano to Emilia’s tawny coppiette drinking places to be found in Italy. At the
rolls to Alto Adige’s dark rye Bauernbrot to end is a glossary with definitions of
Turin’s stick-like grissini to Sardinia’s brittle commonly used terms for foods and
"music paper" and on through a nationwide beverages.
assortment of flatbreads or focacce. The The main part of the volume is a region-
inventory of pastries, biscuits, cakes, by-region survey of typical foods and styles
chocolates and other types of sweets is of cooking. It begins in the south, in those
equally awe inspiring. antique Mediterranean lands where the
Italian meals may progress through roots of Italy’s culinary culture took form,
multiple courses, from antipasto to primo and moves up the peninsula past Rome
and secondo, formaggio, frutta and on to and Florence and over the Apennines to
dolce. But even a simple repast would not the Po valley, the nation’s most abundant
be complete without vino in the country source of produce, to conclude at the
that produces more wine than any other in northern border of the Alps. Hundreds of
the greatest variety of types and styles. special foods and dishes are described,
Italy, with a population of about 57 though accounts are by no means
million, consists of 20 regions subdivided exhaustive.

6
 Italian Food Through the Ages

ncient Rome gave western civilization the foundations of

A sophisticated cuisine. Yet, while building their empire, the

Romans gathered as many culinary secrets as they prop-
agated. Other Mediterranean peoples—including Etruscans and
early Italians whose achievements are rarely acknowledged—
already knew the skills of milling cereals and leavening flour for
bread, crushing olives for oil, converting milk to cheese and
grapes to wine and vinegar.
The diets of some contemporaries were more appetizing
than the fare of the early Romans, who subsisted mainly on
millet or spelt porridge called puls, ewe’s milk whey cheeses,
primitive wines and what they could scavenge from woods,
fields and streams. The Greeks ate and drank so well in their
southern Italian colonies of Magna Græcia that Archestratus
became known as the father of gastronomy for his ode to the
foods of Sicily in the third century B.C.
Over time, though, Romans elevated agriculture from a
rudimentary craft to a science, while advancing methods of
preparing, preserving and shipping provisions. They developed
a thriving trade in wine, grains, and salt, so valued as a flavoring
and agent for curing foods (especially pork as salume) that
soldiers were paid salaries with it. What the Romans lacked,
they imported, introducing exotic varieties of poultry, fruits,
vegetables, grains and spices that eventually became standard
Italian fare.
The culinary heritage of Imperial Rome was documented by
Apicius (who may have been more than one person) in De Re
Coquinaria, the original cookbook. It described a remarkable
range of vegetable, meat and seafood dishes, uses of
mushrooms, truffles, fruits, nuts, cheeses, breads, cakes and
wines. Recipes revealed a fondness for herbs and spices, heavy
use of a potent sauce called garum based on rancid fish entrails
and a taste for sweet-sour, which, in the absence of refined
sugar relied in part on honey and grape juice cooked down as
syrup.
Memories of Romans as sybarites and gluttons can be
blamed on the extravagant feasts of certain rulers and the
collective excesses of the bourgeoisie of a declining empire.
Through most of their long history, however, Romans exercised
moderation in a diet based on simple and wholesome
Mediterranean foods.
People of later eras weren’t always so lucky. During the Dark
Ages, most Italians could only dream of feasting while facing the
daily challenge of getting enough to eat. Their homeland was
overrun by barbarians, who had a habit of devouring anything
edible they could pillage. Eventually, though, some foreigners

7
 contributed new foods. The Arabs, who
occupied southern Italy in the 9th century,
brought cane sugar, spices, raisins and
candied fruits that set the lasting styles for
sweets and ices in the Mezzogiorno.
The origins of pasta in Italy had been
credited to sources ranging over time from the
ancient Greeks to Marco Polo, who
supposedly returned to Venice with noodles
from the Orient in the late 13th century. But
documented evidence of a pasta industry was
attributed to Arabs in 12th-century Sicily. From
there the cult spread gradually through the
south (where dried maccheroni and spaghetti
have always prevailed) and on to points north
(where eggs were often used in dough for
fresh pasta noodles and stuffed envelopes).
Before the advent of pasta, generations of
Italians used grains or chestnuts or chickpea
pastes for breads, cakes, dumplings, polenta-
like mush and gruels. Flatbreads acquired
toppings long before Neapolitans came up with
the pizza that went on to conquer the world.
Diets improved in the late Middle Ages, ornamental plant burst forth in the south in
with the growing prosperity of city states the most Italian of sauces.
and the arrival of edibles from other places. Italians have a knack for making plants
Venetian, Genoese and Pisan traders thrive in their Mediterranean climate, but even
distributed choice goods around Italy, while things that don’t grow there have reached new
introducing Mediterranean flavors to heights in their hands. Consider coffee,
northern Europe. With spices from the east imported from the tropics since Venetians
came rice, which proved more productive introduced the raw beans to Italy in the 1600s,
than other grains of the time, though only in but elevated to the sublime in this century
recent eras did Po valley dwellers light upon through the ingenious roasting, blending and
the secrets of risotto. steam pressure processing of espresso.
The Renaissance uplifted the culinary arts, After ages of foreign domination had
evident in the banquets of Rome’s papal court, fragmented Italy, the country pieced itself back
the Venice of the doges and perhaps most together in the Risorgimento with a new spirit
elegantly in the Florence of the Medici. That of unity that inspired notions of a national
family’s epicurean tastes were transferred to cuisine. The chief advocate was Pellegrino
France when Caterina de’ Medici wed King Artusi, whose La scienza in cucina e l’arte di
Henry II, bringing with her the cooks and mangiar bene, first published in 1891,
recipes that reputedly put the haute in cuisine. collected nearly 800 recipes from around the
But perhaps the most significant Italian country. That was no small feat, since Italian
contribution to European cooking, if indirect, cooks have always relied more on personal
was Christopher Columbus’s discovery of tastes and intuition than written recipes with
America. In the centuries that followed, the precise measures and steps. But today,
New World endowed the Old with the potato, despite attempts to standardize cooking from
beans, squash, novel breeds of fowl, chili the Alps to the Mediterranean isles, la cucina
peppers, corn for northern Italy’s massively italiana stands as a model of diversity to be
popular polenta and, above all, the tomato, savored in the proudly traditional dishes of
which after posing for a time as an each region.

8
 Italian Specialty Foods

taly’s wealth of gastronomic treasures attests to the wisdom

Iand skill of generations of artisans who have kept alive their

ancestral heritage of taste. The following specialty foods and
beverages are made following standards of excellence that are
uniquely Italian.

Olio extra vergine di oliva (extra virgin olive oil). Italy,

which produces nearly a third of the world’s olive oil, is
distinguished by the superior class of its extra vergine, made
in all regions of the center and south and in a few places in the
north. The most flavorful and wholesome of comestible oils is
used raw in dressings or sauces for salads, vegetables,
pastas, soups, seafood and meats, though chefs find extra
vergine unmatchable in cooking, despite the higher cost. The
best oils show distinct character due to terrain and climate, the
varieties of olives they come from and methods of harvesting.
Hand picking of under-ripe olives renders oil of deep green
color, fruity aroma and full flavor (sometimes a touch piquant).
Mature olives make oil of paler color and subtler flavor.
Traditional extraction by stone crushing and mat pressing is
practiced mainly in mills in Tuscany and Umbria, where oil is
especially prized, though most is processed by mechanical
mashing and centrifuging. By law, olio extra vergine di oliva
must come from the first pressing of olives by mechanical (not
chemical) means and must contain less than 1 percent of oleic
acid (the key measure: the lower the acidity the better). Olio
vergine di oliva may have a maximum of 2 percent acidity;
what is called simply olio di oliva may be rectified and de-
acidified. Such oils are best within a year of the harvest, since
flavor slowly fades. Italy is also a major producer and exporter
of table olives. Italy has 20 DOP and 1 IGP olive oils listed in
their regions of origin.

Formaggio (cheese). Italians produce some 450 different

types of cheese, some renowned, others local rarities. In the
north, cow’s milk cheeses prevail, led by the grana family of
Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, which together
account for a third of Italy’s formaggio. Those firm cheeses, of
granular texture, are used for grating, though when relatively
young they are eaten in bite-sized morsels. Other popular
northern cheeses are blue-veined Gorgonzola, creamy
Fontina, Taleggio, Asiago, Stracchino and Robiola. In central
and southern Italy, cheese from sheep’s milk is called
pecorino, distinguished as Romano, Sardo (Sardinian) and
Toscano (Tuscan). Southern Italians make a variety of pasta
filata cheeses, worked into strands before taking form. The

9
 spongy mozzarella is best from the milk of pieces), further defined by shape (solid or
water buffalo. Caciocavallo and Provolone hollow) and surface texture (smooth or
are aged and sometimes smoked. Goat’s ribbed). Since dry pasta keeps for months, it
milk cheese made in various places is called is exported worldwide. Pasta fresca (fresh) is
caprino. Popular everywhere are soft cooked usually made from soft wheat flour and eggs,
whey called ricotta and lightly fermented rolled and shaped by hand or using simple
cream called mascarpone. Italy has 30 DOP machines, to be cooked within hours or, at
cheeses listed in their regions of origin. most, a couple of days (vacuum packing or
freezing prolong storage). Pasta ripiena
Pasta. The category of pasta alimentare applies to filled or stuffed types, such as
covers noodles and the like in myriad forms ravioli and tortellini. Although distribution of
and sizes, produced, flavored, dressed and fresh pasta is limited, Italians have exported
served in infinite ways, confused by the fact the methods and the experts to make it
that names of similar types of pasta vary from abroad.
place to place and that different types of
pasta may carry the same name. Pasta secca Riso (rice). As Europe’s leading rice
(dry) is made primarily from coarse durum producer, Italy specializes in varieties of short,
wheat flour and water into dough shaped ovular grains bred expressly for the extended
mechanically by being forced through slots of braising of risotto. Most of the world’s rice is
varying sizes and patterns and cut and dried. the long-grain type suited to boiling or
Pasta secca may be subdivided as lunga steaming. Rice is grown in much of the Po
(long like spaghetti), corta or tagliata (short valley, though the prime risaie lie in
like penne) or as pastina or minestrina (tiny Lombardy’s Lomellina area and in Piedmont

10
around Vercelli and Novara. Italian rice is status in Emilia-Romagna’s provinces of
grouped in four categories according to size Modena and Reggio, is costly because its
and cooking time, ranging from the small singular character is developed over at least
comune or originario to semifino, fino, and 12 years of aging in barrels of different sizes
superfino. Superfino, due to its tenacity, is and types of wood. The Italian government
suited to classical risotto, though cooking has banned the term balsamico from all but
performances vary among a dozen types. the traditional type, but imitation "balsamic
Arborio is popular, though chefs often prefer vinegar" abounds.
Carnaroli, Baldo or the semifino Vialone
Nano. Riso Vialone Nano Veronese is IGP. Tartufi (truffles). Among Europe’s 30 species
of truffles, the most vaunted are the white (or
Salume (salt-cured, air-dried and beige to ocher) Tuber magnatum found mainly
smoked meat). Most salumi is made from in Italy. The hills of Piedmont produce the
pork in two generic types. The first covers splendidly scented tartufi d’Alba, sniffed out by
minced meats known as insaccati (encased dogs and dug up by trifolau, who sell them by
in protective coverings), such as salame, the gram as one of the world’s most expensive
sausage and mortadella. The second covers foods. Italians eat white truffles fresh, exporting
whole cuts, such as prosciutto (ham), spalla only a precious few during the fall-early winter
(shoulder), capocollo (neck) and pancetta season. Italy is also a major source of black
(belly, sometimes smoked as bacon). The truffles, preserved and supplied to markets
salame-sausage category takes in the around the world.
popular cotechino, soppressata, luganiga
and zampone. The whole cut category is led Dolci (sweet baked goods, candies,
by prosciutto crudo of Parma, also prized frozen desserts). Not all of the country’s
from Friuli’s San Daniele and other places. dazzling array of desserts is exported, since
The vaunted culatello is a filet of rump aged in certain ices, custards and pastries are best
lowlands around Parma. Speck is Alto fresh. However, Italians abroad are famous for
Adige’s smoked flank. Sources of salumi making gelato, cakes and confectionery.
range beyond pork to beef (for bresaola), Baked goods that are shipped include cakes
goose, goat, boar, chamois, turkey and more. called panettone, pandoro and colomba, the
Italy has 18 DOP meat products and 7 IGP fruit and nut bread panforte and cookies or
listed in their regions of origin. biscuits, such as amaretti macaroons,
cantucci almond biscuits and savoiardi or
Condimenti (condiments, sauces, ladyfingers. Chocolates take in many types
preserves, seasonings). This field takes in a and brands. Other noted confections are
wide range of preserved foods, such as jams torrone (nougat), marrons glacés (candied
and jellies, dried herbs and spices, canned chestnuts), confetti (sugar-coated almonds)
fruits and vegetables, notably tomatoes, and licorice.
tomato sauce and concentrated paste.
Special sauces are the basil-based pesto or Vino (wine). Italy produces and exports
the candied fruit and mustard seed mostarda more wine than any other country in the
di frutta. Sott’olio (preserved in olive, or other, greatest variety of types and styles. Wine is
oil in jars or cans) applies to sun-dried made in all 20 regions, north and south, from
tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, capers, an enormous range of native vines and also
mushrooms, tuna, sardines, anchovies and from international varieties. Italy is renowned
more. Sottaceti (preserved in vinegar) applies for the noble red wines for aging, which
to pickled vegetables and mushrooms. Olives experts rate among the world’s finest, though
are often preserved in brine and capers in sea youthful types of rosso also enjoy success.
salt. Italy’s unique vinegar, Aceto Balsamico White wines have improved dramatically in
Tradizionale, is also classified as a condiment. both crisp, light styles and in wood-aged
The traditional type, which has exclusive DOP versions of substance and depth. Italy is a

11
 major producer of sparkling wines, made by machines come with a narrow spigot through
the sealed tank method (as in sweet Asti which steam is jetted into milk which mounts
Spumante) or by bottle fermentation in dry to a dense froth as it heats for cappuccino.
spumanti described as metodo classico. Unless otherwise specified, caffè in Italy
Most premium wines originate in the more means espresso, though that may be
than 300 zones officially classified as DOC or distinguished as ristretto or basso (strong),
DOCG (for guaranteed). But a number of lungo or alto (weaker), or doppio (a double
individualistic bottlings go proudly under their dose). Cooled with ice it’s caffè freddo.
own names. Italy is also the world leader in
vermouth, the fortified wine flavored with Liquori (distilled spirits and liqueurs). The
herbs and spices that originated in Turin. distillate most rapidly on the rise abroad is
grappa, made from the pomace of wine,
Caffè (coffee). Italians import beans from though certain types of brandy, distilled from
the tropics to be roasted, blended and wine and aged in wood, are also acclaimed.
exported (along with the machines) to meet Italy’s numerous liqueurs range in flavor from
the world demand for espresso, whose rich very sweet to very bitter with delightful tones in
body and flavor is the result of hotter roasting between. Popular examples are amaretto
than for other coffees. Italy’s choice house (flavored with almonds and bitter fruits),
blends of Arabica or Robusta beans are sambuca (with licorice-like wild elder flowers)
toasted dark and brittle enough to be and maraschino (with marasca cherries). Bitters
pulverized to precise consistency so that may come from blends of distilled spirits with
steam pressure forces soluble substances herbs and spices, as well as quinine (as china),
into the cup to give the espresso green walnuts (as nocino), artichokes or
concentrated texture while emulsifying oils, rhubarb. Some of Italy’s most famous liquori are
which heighten aroma and flavor. Espresso sold under individual brands.

12
 DOP, IGP and Organic Foods

taly has been known for ages for the authentic goodness of

I produce from gardens and orchards and the unique qualities

of foods, such as cheeses and meats, made by artisans fol-
lowing local traditions. A growing number of such foods has
been officially protected under European Union regulations
approved in 1992.
Two categories were created. The first, known by the
initials DOP (for denominazione di origine protetta) applies to
"agricultural and food products whose properties are
essentially or exclusively derived from their geographical
environment, inclusive of natural and human factors, and
whose production, transformation and processing are
effected in the place of origin." All phases of production must
be carried out within a delimited geographical area.
The second category of IGP (for indicazione geografica
protetta) applies to agricultural produce or foodstuffs whose
qualities and properties or reputation are derived from their
geographical origin and whose production and/or
transformation and/or processing occur in the given
geographical area." It is enough that just one phase of
production takes place in the designated area.
By 2000, there were 72 DOP and 31 IGP products
recognized, though more candidates abound in both
categories. The 103 protected foods then included 30
cheeses, 20 types of olive oil, 18 meat-based products and
two traditional balsamic vinegars. Yet the foods approved to
date represent a fraction of the inventory of local products.
Italy has more culinary specialties than any other country.
All of the nation’s 20 regions recently presented lists of
typical foods, arriving at a nationwide total of 2,171
specialties as candidates for eventual protection. The
regional lists take in 376 types of cheeses, plus numerous
olive oils, meat products, breads and pastas, as well as
vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, mushrooms and truffles,
honey, herbs, spices, condiments and preserves, wine and
fruit vinegars, pastries and sweets.
To become eligible for DOP or IGP status, foods must be
grown or processed following rules formulated by producers
and approved by the European Union. Norms and quality
standards are enforced by national commissions. Labels of
producers who comply are guaranteed for authenticity
throughout the EU, though protected foods are also
recognized in other countries.
Italy is the leading European country for organic or biological
farming. Some 50,000 farms or estates cultivate nearly 1 million
hectares (2,470,000 acres) of land without the use of chemicals

13
 and using only organic fertilizers. organic produce. The warm, sunny southern
Organic farming, which began in the climates are obviously well suited to natural
1960s as an isolated phenomenon, has produce. The islands of Sardinia and Sicily
spread to become a major factor in Italian together account for about half of the land
agriculture. Today there are eight regulatory devoted to organic farming.
bodies behind the production of organic Although organic farms accounted for
produce, which includes fruits and 6.5 percent of Italy’s total of cultivated land
vegetables, olives and olive oil, grapes and in 1999, estimates are that growth in the
wine, grains and animal fodder. sector will boom in coming years as demand
Significantly, the six southern regions for natural produce continues to mount in
lead the nation in biological farming, Italy and abroad. In 1999 more than half of
accounting for about 75 percent of Italy’s Italy’s organic produce was exported.

14
 Eating in Italy

talian meals eaten outside of Italy, however delicious, never

I taste quite the same as they do at home. It’s a question of

local produce and the customs of cooking and serving foods
peculiar to each place, tied in with a certain atmosphere—the
smells and sights and sounds of restaurants, trattorie, taverns,
cafés, shops and markets—that can’t be duplicated else-
where.
That might be why visitors come away with fond memories
of dining experiences in a country whose social life has always
focused on the pleasures of the table. Readers not yet
introduced to such pleasures might find this summary of Italian
dining terminology useful.
Pasto is a generic term for meal. Colazione may refer to
lunch or a mid-morning repast or, as prima colazione,
breakfast, which usually runs to "continental" standards with
coffee or tea and bread or pastries. Merenda, more or less
synonymous with spuntino, may refer to a mid-afternoon or
mid-morning snack—or light lunch. Cena signifies an evening
meal or late supper. Pranzo, which in parts of Italy means
lunch (synonymous with colazione) and in other places dinner
or supper (synonymous with cena), also refers to an important
meal, banquet or business dinner. Local expressions can
complicate matters.
Full meals may range through three to six courses (called
portate) or sometimes more. Curiously, though, antipasti don’t
rate a number, even if the range of appetizers offered in some
places would constitute a feast. The first course—primo piatto
(also simply primo) or minestra—may consist of pasta, risotto,
polenta, gnocchi or soup. The second or main course—
secondo piatto or piatto di mezzo—may cover seafood, meat,
poultry, game, omelets or other cooked cheese or vegetable
dishes. The numbering system falls flat when meals include
two or more primi or secondi or when a fish entrée, for
example, precedes a meat course. With the main course or
courses will come a contorno, a side dish or garnish of cooked
vegetables, salad, rice, noodles or polenta. Courses may
continue with formaggio (cheese), frutta (fresh fruit), dolce (also
called dessert), caffè (espresso, of course) and digestivo
(grappa, brandy or liqueurs, such as amaro or sambuca).
Terms for public eating places in Italy follow what would
appear to be a pattern, but since the categories aren’t official,
the names can be deceptive.
Ristorante should be a full-fledged restaurant providing
complete menus (fixed price or à la carte) cooked by a
professional kitchen staff and served by waiters, including a
sommelier, experienced with foods and wines. The term, from

15
 the French restaurant, came into use after
the Risorgimento to describe elegant and
sophisticated dining establishments. But, as
popularity spread, ristorante also came to
apply to pretentious ordinary places.
Trattoria, which suggests familiarity as a
derivative of trattare (to deal with or attend
to), applies to a neighborhood, small town or
rural eating house, often family run, serving
local foods and wines. Though the
surroundings and service are usually
unostentatious, like the price, the classic
trattoria should provide exemplary regional
cooking. Daily menus are often hand written
or chalked on a blackboard or simply recited.
Osteria, from the Latin hospes, originally
defined an inn providing food and lodging.
But the name came to signify a modest wine
house, often serving simple foods—like the
similarly cozy taverna or locanda. Such
locales have faded. Osteria (or hostaria)
suggests simplicity, but the term (like
locanda, taverna or trattoria) may apply to a
sophisticated eating place.
Pizzeria, the pizza parlor popularized in
Naples and the south, provides its specialty
baked by a pizzaiolo in a wood-fired oven to
be eaten on the premises or taken out. As the draught beer made in its own brewery,
most popular type of eatery in Italy, the though it now signifies a tavern or pub that
pizzeria no longer confines choices to pizza, specializes in beer but offers other beverages
but often provides other dishes, usually at and often a menu with hot and cold dishes.
lower prices than a ristorante. Terms for shops where food is sold and
Bar, the English term for a counter or may be eaten on the premises are rosticceria
place serving primarily alcoholic beverages, (specializing in roast meats), tavola calda (hot
has a broader meaning in Italy, where such dishes), tavola fredda (cold foods), paninoteca
establishments abound as gathering places, (sandwiches), gelateria (homemade ice
providing coffee, wine, beer and spirits, soft cream). Enoteca (wine library) usually refers to
drinks, pastries, sandwiches, ice cream, a retail shop, though some enoteche also
candies and more. An "American bar" serve wine and food.
specializes in cocktails and mixed drinks. The Not all eating and drinking places offer
terms snack bar, wine bar and pub often local specialties, since imitation and adoption
remain in English in Italy. of foods from other regions is widespread in
Caffè originally applied to the coffee house Italy. You can find spaghetti alla matriciana on
popularized in the 18th century. Although a menus in Milan and costoletta alla milanese in
modern caffè will specialize in espresso— Rome, peperonata in Verona and polenta in
sometimes from its own torrefazione or Palermo. You can also find what even Italians
roasting plant—the term has become call "fast food" just about everywhere.
synonymous with bar. In Italy, a caffè is not To taste the foods and wines of Italy at
usually a dining place, as a café so often is their genuine best, there’s no substitute for a
elsewhere. But there are exceptions. visit to their regions of origin. If you do make
Birreria was originally a place that served the trip, buon viaggio and buon appetito!

16
 The South and Islands
Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Basilicata, Apulia, Campania

ost of the basic elements—olive oil, wine, cheese,

M grains, fruits and vegetables—originated in other

places, but what came to be known as the
Mediterranean diet assumed its enduring character in Italy’s
south. The Mezzogiorno, as it’s often called, was a garden of
the Greeks and Romans. The most celebrated foods and
wines of the ancient world were produced in these sunny
lands at the heart of the Mediterranean.
Yet it isn’t historically correct to group collectively six
regions that boast distinct cultural heritages. Two are the
Mediterranean’s largest islands, Sicily and Sardinia, whose
natural isolation explains their idiosyncrasies, but Calabria,
Basilicata, Apulia and Campania also follow individual
customs. Certain traits can be traced to ancient peoples: the
Siculi and Sicani of Sicily, the early Sardinians, the Campani,
Apuli, Bruttii, Samnites, Lucani and Messapians of the
southern peninsula. Some were colonized by the Greeks of
Magna Græcia and all were absorbed into the Roman
empire. Southerners shared bonds of unity, if invariably
imposed, under Byzantines and Normans and on and off for
centuries under French and Spanish rulers of what came to
be called the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Sardinia, however,
often went it’s own way, and even today people of the six
regions retain their autonomous spirits.
Most outsiders came to conquer, though some
introduced concepts of cooking that proved useful (Greeks
and Arabs in particular). Yet all eventually surrendered to
local tastes, won over by the flavors, aromas and colors of
things that grow in the meridional sun.
Olive oil is fundamental, but the symbol of southern
cooking, curiously enough, came to be the tomato, which
arrived with peppers, beans and potatoes from America. The
pomodoro found a promised land alongside the eggplant
from Asia, the melanzane that distinguishes the "parmigiana"
classics of Campania and many other dishes. The irresistible
piquancy of southern food comes from herbs and spices,
above all the tangs of garlic and chili peppers.
Italy’s first pasta was almost certainly made in the south,
though noodles were preceded by flatbreads called focacce,
forerunners of pizza, whose spiritual home (if not its place of origin)
is Naples. Baked goods, including pastries, biscuits and cakes,
abound in the Mezzogiorno, though nowhere as evidently as in
Sardinia, where each village has its own styles of bread.
Arabs in Sicily established a pasta industry in the Middle
Ages, using durum wheat for the dried types that still prevail

17
 in the south. Tubes and other forms of which come mainly from cows. The
"short" pasta may be referred to generically exemplar is mozzarella, originally (and best)
as maccheroni, distinguished from "long" from the milk of bufala, water buffalo, but
types such as spaghetti and vermicelli. Also more popular is the cow’s milk fior di latte.
popular are spiral-shaped fusilli, oblique The oldest member of the clan is
tubes called penne and larger tubes called caciocavallo, whose name refers to dual
ziti or zite, though variations make the pasta forms hanging from strings like saddle bags
field as confusing as it is intriguing. Fresh astride a horse (cavallo). Like the similar
pasta is also prized, sometimes made with provolone, caciocavallo may be eaten after
eggs but more often not, in such familiar a few months as dolce (mild and tender) or
forms as lasagne, fettuccine and ravioli, aged for a year or more as piccante (sharp
through there is no shortage of local and hard and suited for grating). Both may
peculiarities. be smoked. In between are the spongy
Southern geography is marked by often provola and scamorza, both eaten young,
sharp contrasts between rambling often cooked or smoked. Burrino is a
seacoasts and masses of mountains and special pasta filata type with a core of butter.
hills that dominate the interior of most No other sector of Italy boasts such a
regions. Coastal dwellers have habitually splendid heritage of sweets and ices. Many
eaten seafood and hill people meat, though desserts bespeak the Arab and Greek
preferences aren’t always clear cut. Deep influences in Sicily, with its almond pastes,
waters of the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas candied fruits, ricotta, honey, raisins and
render tuna and swordfish, shallower waters nuts. But anyone with a sweet tooth will find
mollusks and crustaceans for the delectably delights all over the south.
fresh frutti di mare. Anchovies and sardines The six regions produce about 40
are fixtures through the south, though it’s percent of Italian wines, though only a
also curious to note that all regions have fraction of the classified DOC/DOCG. Still, in
recipes for baccalà or stoccafisso, the dried vineyards that were long sources of
cod apparently introduced by the Normans. anonymous blending wines—Apulia and
Historically, meat had been used thriftily Sicily in the forefront—the emphasis is
in the south, where every part of the animal increasingly on premium quality. The
is still rendered edible. Prime cuts of veal southern wines of greatest historical stature
and beef are rare and prized. Lamb and kid were sweet and fortified. But trends
are the glories of the hill country, grilled, everywhere favor dry, balanced reds, many
roasted, braised or stewed in ragouts to be suited for aging, and fresh, fruity whites and
served with pasta. Poultry is popular, as are rosés.
game birds, boar and hare where available. Few places in the Mezzogiorno are
But the perennial provider has been the pig, known for deluxe restaurants or traditions of
preserved in all manner of sausages and haute cuisine. Feasting is reserved for
salame (often spicy), soppressata, hams, holidays and truly special occasions. The
salt pork and lard that in some places genius of southern cooking lies in the local
substitutes for olive oil in cooking. individuality of everyday fare, the pure and
Cheese, or cacio, is fundamental in simple preparations of foods whose flavors,
southern diets. Sheep provide pecorino, aromas and colors capture the essence of
which may be eaten at early stages of the Mediterranean.
ripeness or aged to be used for grating. Significantly, the six southern regions
Goat’s milk is the source of caprino. Ricotta, lead the nation in biological farming,
preferably from sheep, is eaten fresh or used accounting for about 75 percent of Italy’s
in pasta fillings, pastries and desserts, organic produce. Sardinia and Sicily
though it is also salted and dried to be sliced together accounted for more than half of the
or grated. The most prominent family of 960,000 hectares (2,372,000 acres)
southern cheeses are the pasta filata types, devoted to organic farming in 1999.

18
19
 Sicily (Sicilia)

he culture of fine dining may have been conceived in

T Sicily when Archestratus, a Greek poet born at Gela in

the 4th century B.C., wrote Gastronomia as an ode to
the pleasures of the Sicilian table. Outsiders before and since
have sung the praises of the bountiful seas and fertile volcanic
soils of this island crossroads of the Mediterranean.
The Greeks, among their other contributions to Sicilian
cooking, introduced whole grain and refined flours for
flatbreads that were forerunners to focaccia. They planted
the Malvasia and Moscato vines that are still prominent
today. They also seem to have used the snows of Mount
Etna to make ices based on fruits and honey.
But the strongest outside influences came from Saracens
and other Arabs in the Middle Ages. They brought spices
from the east and introduced cane sugar for the making of
Palermo is the administrative center of sorbets, pastries and cakes, including the elaborate cassata
Sicily, whose provinces include that heralded Sicily’s reputation as a treasure island of
Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, sweets. Arabs founded a pasta industry near Palermo in the
Messina, Ragusa, Siracusa and 12th century, using grain from fields planted earlier by the
Trapani. The largest of Italy’s 20 regions Romans. They introduced methods of fishing tuna and
(25,710 square kilometers), Sicily ranks swordfish in deep Tyrrhenian waters. Curiously, though, what
4th in population (5,098,000).
Sicilians call cùscusu is made with fish, where in North Africa
couscous generally contains lamb.
But then, Sicilians have always had a knack for adapting
foreign customs to their own uses. Perhaps that’s why it’s
sometimes said that the Siclian way of eating tells more
about the original inhabitants, the Siculi and Sicani, than of
Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Aragonese. The
modern diet relies on grains, vegetables, herbs and spices,
olives and olive oil, fruit, nuts, seafood and cheese. But
recipes reveal a miscellany of local tastes
Pasta, usually made from durum wheat semola, takes
many forms, ranging from spaghetti and maccheroni
(maccaruna in dialect) to zite tubes and gnocchi (or
gnocculli). Most celebrated is pasta con le sarde (with
sardines and wild fennel, though versions vary from place to
place).
Sicily is Italy’s second most prominent producer of
organic foods after Sardinia. The island’s year-round supply
of fresh vegetables and herbs triumphs in salads, both raw
and cooked. Tomatoes are omnipresent, though equally
adored are eggplants (which may be fried, baked with
cheeses or stewed and served cold as caponata) and
peppers (which may be grilled, stuffed, baked, or stewed in
peperonata).
Sicilian olive oil is also prized, as are the DOP table olives

20
called Nocellara del Belice. The outlying volume of wine than any other region. The
islands specialize in capers, best known as most renowned of its 17 DOCs is Marsala,
the IGP Capperi di Pantelleria, though the the quintessential cooking wine, though in
Lipari or Aeolian isles are also noted for its toasty vergine or solera versions it
these tasty flower buds preserved in sea makes an excellent aperitif and match for
salt. ripe cheeses. Sicily is noted for sweet
Seafood, led by sardines and anchovies wines, such as Moscato Passito di
that figure in many recipes, is eaten Pantelleria and Malvasia delle Lipari, but its
throughout the region. Along the coasts, the growing reputation is for dry table wines:
features are fresh tuna and swordfish, which reds, rosés and especially fresh, fruity
may be marinated in oil and herbs, stewed whites, which go so well with seafood and
or roasted or cut into steaks and grilled. vegetables.
Meat is prominent in the central hills,
where lamb, kid and pork prevail, though
cooks also make good use of veal, poultry
and rabbit. Sicilians supposedly invented DOP PRODUCTS
meatballs, polpetti or polpettoni, which are
eaten as a main course with tomato sauce, Cheeses: Pecorino Siciliano, Ragusano.
though abroad they often appear with Olive oils: Monti Iblei, Valli Trapanesi.
spaghetti as a caricature of Italo-American Olives: Nocellara del Belice.
cuisine.
Cheeses are dominated by Pecorino
Siciliano DOP, also known as tuma or
tumazzu, whose pungent flavor is
IGP PRODUCTS
sharpened when laced with peppercorns. Produce: Arancia Rossa di Sicilia, Cappero
When aged and hard, Pecorino is used for di Pantelleria, Uva da tavola di Canicattì.
grating. Ragusano DOP is a cow’s milk
cheese, mellow and delicate when young,
though it may also be aged hard and sharp
for grating. Caciocavallo and provola or Specialties of Sicily
provoletta are also popular. Creamy soft
ricotta is used in pasta fillings and pastries, agghiotta di pesce spada swordfish cooked
though it may also be salted and dried. with tomato, pine nuts, raisins, olives and
The region is a major producer of fruit, herbs.
notably oranges and lemons, peaches,
apricots, figs and table grapes, which rate arancini di riso fried rice balls with a core of
an IGP from Canicattì. The region is famous cheese, peas, chopped meats and
for blood oranges, IGP as Arancia Rossa di tomatoes, which give the "little oranges"
Sicilia. A delicious curiosity is the prickly their color.
pear called fico d’India which grows on
cactus. braccioli di pesce spada grilled swordfish
Sun-dried and candied fruits and nuts go fillets wrapped around a cheese-vegetable
into the dazzling array of sweets. Almonds filling.
are the base of marzipan and pasta reale,
which is used for the sculpted candies in the cannoli pastry tubes filled with creamy
form of fruits, a craft begun at Martorana, a paste of ricotta and candied fruit.
monastery near Palermo. The island also
produces pistachio nuts, especially prized caponata eggplant stewed with tomato,
as a base for ice cream. onion, olives and capers and served as a
Sicily has Italy’s greatest expanse of salad or antipasto. (A seafood version of
vineyards and often produces a greater caponata is rarely seen today).

21
 carciofi ripieni artichokes stuffed with
sausage, sardines and cheese and baked.

cassata brick-shaped sponge cake layered

and coated with a frosting of ricotta with
maraschino liqueur and candied fruit and
nuts. Chocolate covered versions and
various ice cream or semifreddo cakes are
called cassate.

crispeddi or fritteddi fritters of dough

flavored with anchovies and wild fennel;
crispeddi may also be sweet, made of fried
dough or rice sprinkled with sugar and
cinnamon.

cùscusu Sicilian couscous based on

seafood—dentex, grouper, cod and eel—
cooked with tomato and herbs and served
on a bed of grainy semolino.

farsumagru large slice of veal or beef,

flattened and rolled around a stuffing of
chopped ham, sausage, pecorino and eggs
and braised in wine with herbs and spices.

fravioli di Carnevale fried sweet ravioli filled

with ricotta and cinnamon.

gnocculli semolino gnocchi with ricotta and coated) shaped in a mound or cone held
meat sauce. together by caramelized sugar with liqueur.

melanzane alla siciliana eggplant fried and polpettone meatball of ground beef,
then baked with mozzarella and tomato breadcrumbs, grated cheese and eggs,
sauce. fried in olive oil and served with tomato
sauce.
pasta con la Norma spaghetti with a sauce
of eggplant and tomato, favored by sarde a beccaficu sardines breaded and
Catania’s Vincenzo Bellini, who wrote the stuffed with various ingredients, such as
opera La Norma. pine nuts and raisins, usually baked but
sometimes fried.
pasta con le sarde pasta tubes with sauce
of fresh sardines, anchovies, onions, scorzette di arance candite candied orange
raisins, pine nuts, almond, saffron and wild peels.
fennel, though ingredients vary.
sfincioni or sfinciuni thick focacce with tomato
peperonata bell peppers stewed with and cheese, specialty of Palermo; sweet fried
onion, tomato and olives, often served cold. rice balls are also called sfuncini.

pignolata or pignulata confection of sweet zite al pomodoro e tonno short pasta tubes
fried dumplings (sometimes chocolate with tomato and tuna sauce.

22
 Sardinia (Sardegna)

requenters of modern Sardinia’s beach resorts consider

F the island a haven for seafood that goes so nicely on

summer days with cool white Vermentino or Nuragus.
And indeed the rugged coasts provide such delights as rock
lobsters, crabs, anchovies, squid, clams and the sardines that
may or may not have taken their name from the island. Spicy
fish soups are called burrida and cassòla. At Oristano they dry
mullet eggs into blocks of delectably pungent bottarga or but-
tariga to slice thin over pasta or salads.
Yet it’s said that the real Sardinian cooking is the rustic
fare of the hills and the hearth: roast meats, sausages and
salame, savory sharp Pecorino Sardo cheese and red wines
of the weight of Cannonau and Monica. Near the town of
Nuoro, in the Barbagia hills, they skewer suckling pig called
porceddu or lamb or kid on poles of aromatic wood to be
turned occasionally as they roast for hours before an open Cagliari is the administrative center of
wood fire. Now rare is the method of roasting a carraxiu, in a Sardinia, whose provinces include
Nuoro, Oristano and Sassari. The
pit lined with branches of juniper, olive and rosemary, over
region ranks 3rd in size (24,090 square
which is lit a bonfire whose falling embers encase the meat kilometers) and 12th in population
and cook it slowly with the juices sealed inside. (1,654,000).
The island bears the marks of outsiders, from
Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans to Genoese, Pisans
and the Savoys who proclaimed the Kingdom of Sardinia.
But Spaniards, who ruled for centuries before, lent the most
pronounced accents to foods and wines. Still, the cooking of
Sardinia remains as wonderfully eccentric as the nuraghe,
the prehistoric stone towers whose origins are an enigma.
The sunny island in mid-Mediterranean boasts ideal
natural conditions for things that grow, as attested by the
fact that Sardinia is Italy’s leading producer of organic
produce, accounting for nearly a third of the nation’s land
cultivated by biological methods. Tomatoes are used
generously in sauces, as are artichokes, fava beans, peas,
eggplant and zucchini. Foods here are redolent of herbs,
including wild fennel, juniper and myrtle, used with hare, boar
and game birds.
Each Sardinian village bakes its own breads, variations on
the large round loaves known as tondus, the doughnut
shaped còzzula or stick-like zicchi, though names vary
almost as much as do styles. Bakers everywhere share a
liking for the flat pane carasau and its crisp variation called
carta da musica (music paper). The island boasts a tempting
range of sweet biscuits, fritters, pastries and cakes, which
often contain almond, ricotta, raisins and elaborate spices.
Sardinians consume quantities of dried pasta, in the familiar
forms of spaghetti and maccheroni, though they also make the

23
 singular ravioli-like culingiones and the gnocchi burrida soup or chowder often based on shark
called is malloreddus, described as the meat, though recipes vary from port to port.
region’s most typical dish.
Sardinia, more than any other region, is a cassòla as many as a dozen types of fish,
land of shepherds, whose Razza Sarda sheep mollusks and crustaceans are cooked with
account for the class of Pecorino Sardo and tomato and spices in this piquant soup.
Fiore Sardo DOP cheeses, whether eaten
fresh or aged for grating. Sardinia is also a culingiones ravioli with a pecorino-chard
major producer of Pecorino Romano DOP. filling dressed with tomato sauce, though
Also notable are goat’s milk cheeses, many variations include a sweet version with
caciocavallo (or casizolu) and provolone. almonds.
Sardinia’s 19 DOC wines are led by the
dry white Vermentino di Gallura, which was favata stew of dried fava beans with
recently elevated to DOCG. A lighter tomato, cardoons, wild fennel, sausage and
version of Vermentino figures among the salt pork.
four regionwide appellations, which also
apply to the red Cannonau and Monica and fregula or succu tundu lumpy semolino is
sweet white Moscato. The most distinctively the base of thick soups that usually include
Sardinian of wines is Vernaccia di Oristano, onions, salt pork and grated pecorino.
aged in small barrels to take on tones
reminiscent of Sherry. Malvasia also shows gallina al mirto boiled hen left to marinate
personality, as do the rare and sweet red for a day or two with myrtle berries and
Girò and white Nasco from near Cagliari. leaves and eaten cold.
Lamb and kid are usually served with
hearty dry Cannonau (which also makes a malloreddus tiny gnocchi of semolino (also
Port-like dessert wine), though a sturdy called maccarones cravaos or ciciones) with
alternative is Carignano del Sulcis. sausage and tomato sauce that includes
Preferred with fish are the full-flavored garlic, basil, a hint of saffron and grated
Vermentino di Gallura, the bone dry pecorino.
Nuragus di Cagliari and the stylish Torbato
under the Alghero DOC. pabassìnas pastries topped with a paste of
raisins and walnuts; papassinus are similar
though the paste also includes aniseed,
DOP PRODUCTS cloves and cinnamon.

pane fratau carta da musica softened in hot

Cheeses: Pecorino Sardo, Fiore Sardo,
water, spread with tomato sauce topped
Pecorino Romano.
with grated caciocavallo and a poached
egg—a summer dish of the Barbagia.

Specialties of sa corda or cordula lamb or kid intestines

stewed with onion, tomatoes, peas; the
Sardinia meat may also be spit roasted or grilled.

agnello con finocchietti baby lamb stewed sebadas or seadas sweet focaccia baked
with onion, tomato and wild fennel. with pecorino and bitter honey from blossoms
of corbezzolo (the strawberry tree).
aragosta arrosto rock lobster split in half
and pan roasted with olive oil, lemon, su farru soup of farro (barley-like grain) cooked
parsley and breadcrumbs. in beef broth with cheese and dried mint.

24
 Calabria

he ancient Greeks lived and dined more lavishly in Calabria

T than in any other part of Magna Græcia. But the mountain-

ous toe of the Italian boot remained isolated and poor for
centuries after, as its cooking took on the tasty integrity of a coun-
try tradition.
Calabrians have an appetite for hefty soups and pastas laden
with vegetables, headed by eggplants, peppers and tomatoes
and ranging on through artichokes, asparagus, potatoes, beans
and peas. The red onions of Tropea, a town on the Tyrrhenian
coast, are renowned for aroma and flavor. The lofty Sila range
between Cosenza and Catanzaro abounds in mushrooms,
including the prized porcini.
Calabria is a major producer of olive oil, accounting for about
25 percent of the nation’s total. The extra virgin oils of Bruzio and
Lamezia have been singled out for DOP status. Beyond its role in
cooking, Calabria’s olive oil is used for preserving vegetables, Catanzaro is the administrative center
mushrooms and fish. of Calabria, whose provinces include
Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio di Calabria
Alongside the familiar maccheroni and spaghetti, Calabrians
and Vibo Valentia. The region ranks
make pasta called làgane (similar to fettuccine), ricci di donna 10th in both size (15,080 square kilo-
(lady’s curls), and capieddi ’e prieviti (priest’s hairs). Some meters) and population (2,064,000).
housewives still make pasta ru ferretto, rolling the dough around
slender iron rods to form tubes.
Pork is the region’s prevalent meat, preserved as ham, salame
and sausages, including the type that includes bits of liver and
lung and is known as ’ndugghia or ’nnuglia (probably from
andouille, introduced by the occupying French). Four types of
Calabrian salumi qualify for DOP: Capocollo (neck roll), Pancetta
(pork belly), Salsiccia (sausage) and Soppressata (a type of
salame). Lamb and goats are prized as sources of both meat and
cheese. Cows grazed in the Sila range around Cosenza render
fine Caciocavallo Silano DOP and butirro, with a core of butter.
The fishing fleet at Bagnara Calabra harpoons swordfish and
tuna in Tyrrhenian waters. Anchovies and sardines are also
prominent in Calabria, though every town has a recipe for dried
cod—baccalà or pesce stocco—often cooked with potatoes,
tomatoes and peppers.
Along with ample loaves of country bread, come an array of
focaccia and pizza, whether in the Neapolitan style or in local
versions: one with ricotta and prosciutto, another with pork
crackling and raisins and another called pitta chicculiata
(described below).
The region is a major producer of citrus fruit, led by the IGP
Clementine di Calabria. A regional glory is dried figs, either
covered or stuffed with chocolate, which is also used to coat
lemon and orange peels. Calabrians make a luscious array of
pastries and sweets for the Christmas and Easter holidays,

25
 though some desserts are available year-round. "thousand things" include cabbage, celery,
Reds dominate the region’s ten DOC wines, mushrooms, fava beans, chickpeas and the
led by Cirò, which traces its origins to Magna similar but stronger flavored cicerchie.
Græcia. It comes from the Gaglioppo grape,
which is also the source of the pale but potent murseddu pie of pork and veal liver with tomato
reds of Savuto, Pollino and Verbicaro. Dry and peppers.
whites, led by the crisply fruity Cirò Bianco,
generally derive from the Greco grape, as do mursiellu stew of tripe and pork innards cooked
the exquisitely sweet Greco di Bianco and with tomato, peppers and wine.
Greco di Gerace, though they are rarely found
away from their sunny vineyards overlooking the mùstica baby anchovies preserved in olive oil,
Ionian Sea. also known as "Calabrian caviar."

perciatelli e lumache pasta tubes with snails in

DOP PRODUCTS a piquant tomato-pepper sauce.

pesce spada alla bagnarese swordfish in the

Cheese: Caciocavallo Silano (in part).
style of Bagnara Calabra, roast in a casserole
Olive oil: Bruzio, Lamezia.
with olive oil, lemon, capers and chopped
Meat products: Capocollo di Calabria,
parsley.
Pancetta di Calabria, Salsiccia di Calabria,
Soppressata di Calabria.
pitta chicculiata a type of pizza with tomatoes,
tuna, anchovies, black olives and capers.

IGP PRODUCTS rigatoni alla pastora pasta tubes with fresh

ricotta, sausage and grated pecorino.
Produce: Clementine di Calabria.
sagna chine festive lasagne laden with ground
pork, peas, mozzarella, mushrooms,
Specialties of artichokes, sliced hard-boiled eggs and other
seasonal ingredients.
Calabria sarde a scapece fried sardines rolled in bread
crumbs and doused with a mixture of hot oil,
alalunga in agrodolce tender young tuna
vinegar, garlic and mint.
cooked in sweet-sour sauce of onion and
vinegar.

cannarìculi Christmas fritters made of flour and

sweet cooked wine coated with honey.

chinulille sweet ravioli stuffed with chocolate,

chestnuts, candied fruit and nougat and fried.

ciambotta stew of eggplant, peppers,

potatoes, onions, tomatoes eaten hot or cold.

licurdia onion soup thickened with bread and

grated pecorino and laced with hot pepper.

millecosedde vegetable soup whose

26
 Basilicata

he food of this sparsely populated region may seem as

T austere as its lonely uplands, yet the cooking emanates

a sunny warmth that often becomes fiery, due to the chili
pepper called diavolicchio that laces many a dish.
The people of Basilicata—which is also known as Lucania
after the ancient Lucani people—share with their southern
neighbors a taste for pasta and vegetables, mountain
cheeses, lamb, mutton and pork. Since meat had always
been used thriftily, the keeping properties of pork were
exploited in fine salumi, led by the sausages known as
luganiga (from Lucania) and salame or soppressata kept in
olive oil or lard.
Minestre cover a range of vegetable and bean soups and
pasta in such forms as the hand-rolled tubes called minuich,
lasagne with beans and the little dumplings called
strangulapreuti (priest stranglers). A substitute for pasta (or Potenza is the administrative center of
risotto) is grano, cooked wheat grains served with a sauce or Basilicata, whose other province is
even as a pudding (as grano dolce). Protected as IGP are Matera. The region ranks 14th in size
beans from the town of Sarconi and bell peppers from (9,992 square kilometers) and 18th in
population (608,000).
Senise.
The region takes pride in its cheeses: pecorino, the goat’s
milk casiddi and caciocavallo from the ancient Podolica
breed of cows. Part of the Caciocavallo Silano DOP is in
Basilicata. Cow’s milk is also used for manteca, a creamy
pasta filata cheese with a filling of butter, and the rare burrino
farcito, filled with butter and salame.
Basilicata, though a modest wine producer in terms of
volume, boasts a grandiose red in Aglianico del Vulture,
which carries the name of a vine introduced by the ancient
Greeks and the volcano on whose slopes they planted it.
When aged it makes a towering match for lamb and
cheeses. Refreshingly tasty are the sweet and often bubbly
Moscato and Malvasia.

DOP PRODUCTS
Cheese: Caciocavallo Silano (in part).

IGP PRODUCTS
Produce: Fagiolo di Sarconi, Peperone di Senise.

27
 Specialties of grano dolce pudding of wheat grains, blended
with chocolate, walnuts, pomegranate seeds
and vin cotto (sweet "cooked wine").
Basilicata
peperonata con carne di porco pepper and
calzone di verdura pizza dough baked folded tomato stew with various pieces of pork.
over a filling of chard, peppers and raisins.
pignata di pecora ewe cooked with potatoes,
cazmarr stew of lamb’s innards, prosciutto, tomatoes, onions, pork and pecorino in a clay
cheese and wine. pot called a pignata.

ciammotta fried eggplant, peppers and pollo alla potentina chicken braised in wine with
potatoes stewed with tomatoes. onion, tomato, peppers and basil.

ciaudedda braised artichokes stuffed with scarcedda Easter tart with ricotta and hard-
potatoes, onions, fava beans, salt pork. boiled eggs.

cotechinata pork rind rolled around a filling of spezzatino di agnello lamb stewed in an
salt pork, garlic and peppers and stewed in earthenware pot with potatoes, onions, bay leaf
tomato sauce. and peppers.

focaccia a brazzud’ flatbread with pork torta di latticini cheesecake based on ricotta,
crackling, lard and oregano. mozzarella and pecorino with pieces of
prosciutto.
grano al ragù wheat grains boiled and served
with a rich ragout made of sausage and salt zuppa di pesce alla Santavenere soup based
pork, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and white wine on grouper, scorpion fish and other Ionian
and topped with grated pecorino. seafood with plenty of garlic and pepper.

28
 Apulia (Puglia)

his long, slender region whose tip, the Salento peninsula,

T forms the heel of the Italian boot, consists of rolling plains

and gentle uplands, sources of grain and the nation’s
largest volumes of wine and olive oil. Apulia has been known for
abundance since Phoenicians and Greeks arrived and found
Oscans and Messapians—some of whom lived in trulli,
dwellings with conical stone roofs—already competent farmers.
Although the Apulian diet draws its sustenance from the land,
fish from the Adriatic and Ionian Seas lends enviable balance.
Vegetables figure prominently in pastas, soups, stews
and salads. Apulia is the domain of the fava (the "queen of
beans"), though artichokes, chicory, turnip greens, the
"rocket" green called ruca or rucola, cabbage, cauliflower,
eggplant and peppers are indispensable. A curiosity are
lampasciuoli, onion-like bulbs of notable nutritive value,
whose bitterness brings a unique tang to Apulian dishes. Bari is the administrative center of
Olive trees thrive nearly everywhere in Apulia, whose Apulia, whose provinces include
Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce and Taranto.
production of more than 200 million liters a year accounts for
The region ranks 7th in both size
nearly half of Italy’s total volume of oil. Four types have been (19,363 square kilometers) and popu-
singled out for DOP: Colline di Brindisi, Dauno, Terra di Bari and lation (4,086,000).
Terra di Otranto. The region is also an important source of organic
produce, accounting for about 10 percent of the nation’s total.
Pasta, from the region’s supplies of durum wheat, range
through variations on maccheroni, spaghetti and lasagne to the
small shells called orecchiette (or strascinati) and cavatieddi,
served mainly with vegetables or tomato sauces, usually with
garlic and peppers. Rice is also esteemed, notably in tiella, which
refers to an earthenware baking dish, though the name may have
derived from the Spanish rice dish of paella. Tortiera is a casserole,
whose various ingredients are gratinéed with pecorino or
caciocavallo or pane grattugiato, breadcrumbs which substitute
for cheese in many southern dishes.
The Adriatic and Ionian seas provide a wealth of seafood and
frutti di mare. Especially prized are oysters and mussels from beds
in the Gulf of Taranto, though the range includes octopus,
cuttlefish, squid, anchovies, sardines and sea urchins.
The Murge plateaux provide grazing land for lamb and kid,
the preferred meats, though the diet is enhanced by beef and
poultry and pork as the base of an ample array of salumi.
Cheeses cover the southern gamut of pecorino and pasta filata
varieties, though among the latter burrata (whose name refers to
the buttery softness of its cream-filled interior) stands out from
the towns of Andria and Martina Franca. The hard cheese called
Canestrato Pugliese, named after the canestre or reed baskets
in which it was formed, is protected by DOP. Part of the
Caciocavallo Silano DOP is in Apulia.

29
 Apulian bakers specialize in the flat cooked rocket greens, tomato and
focaccia (or puddica) and variations of pizza pecorino.
from both wheat flour and potatoes. These
include calzoni, calzuncieddi, panzerotti and ciceri e tria chick peas and noodle soup.
sfogliate, in which the dough is folded over
a filling and fried or baked. Biscuits are also cozze alla leccese mussels baked with oil,
popular, especially the doughnut shaped lemon and parsley.
frisedde and the curly taralli. A rich array of
pastries and sweets is enhanced by such frisedde biscuits softened with water and
ingredients as ricotta, almonds for marzipan, served with olive oil, tomato and oregano.
candied fruit and honey.
As Italy’s most prolific grape producer, gniumerieddi skewers of lamb or kid
Apulia has been a perennial source of potent innards with slices of salt pork, pecorino and
red wines shipped north for blending. But bay leaves grilled over the coals of a wood
lately the quality side of production has come fire.
to the fore, represented by 25 DOCs, the most
of any southern region. Notable among them melanzane alla campagnola eggplant
are the crisp whites of Locorotondo and sliced, grilled and served with olive oil,
Martina Franca, the reds and rosés of Castel chopped garlic, basil and mint.
del Monte and the Salento peninsula, where
such appellations as Salice Salentino, Brindisi, melanzane ripiene baked eggplant
Copertino and Primitivo di Manduria have hollowed and stuffed with its chopped pulp,
been gaining admirers outside of the region. tomatoes, breadcrumbs, capers, olives,
anchovies.

DOP PRODUCTS ’ncapriata thick soup of fava beans mashed

with bitter chicory.
Cheese: Canestrato Pugliese, Caciocavallo
orata alla barese gilt-head bream roasted
Silano (in part).
with potatoes, garlic, grated pecorino.
Olive oils: Colline di Brindisi, Dauno, Terra
di Bari, Terra di Otranto.
orecchiette con cime di rapa ear-shaped
pasta shells with turnip greens, garlic, chili
peppers.
Specialties of
ostriche alla tarantina Taranto oysters
Apulia breaded and baked with olive oil and
parsley.
agnello al cartoccio lamb chops baked in
paper or foil with lampasciuoli and olives. seppie ripiene small cuttlefish baked with a
stuffing of chopped mussels and squid,
bocconotti half-moon shaped pastry shells capers, breadcrumbs, grated pecorino.
flavored with Marsala and filled with cream
and jam and baked. tiella di cozze mussels baked with rice,
potatoes, tomatoes, onions, grated
carteddate ribbons of pastry dough flavored pecorino.
with Marsala rolled and fried in olive oil and
topped with honey and cinnamon; zuppa alla tarantina peppery soup of
purciduzzi are similar. shellfish with grouper, eel, prawns and
cuttlefish simmered with tomatoes and
cavatieddi con la ruca pasta shells with served with toasted garlic bread.

30
31
 Campania

he ancient Romans, who dubbed it Campania Felix,

T marveled at the fertility of its volcanic soils, as did the

Greeks who founded Neapolis on the gulf bounded by
Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii, Sorrento and the islands of Capri
and Ischia. Naples, under the royal houses of Anjou and
Bourbon, long reigned as a capital of haute cuisine. Yet,
almost in spite of the noble resources of sea and country-
side, the city became a sanctuary of street food.
The primadonna of the byways is pizza napoletana, in
authentic versions known as marinara (with tomato, garlic
and oil) and Margherita (with tomato, mozzarella and basil).
Ingredients are rigorously selected by pizzaioli, who work the
dough with a master touch so that when baked in a matter
of moments in a searing hot wood-fired oven the crust puffs
to a bread-like softness with a delectable hint of crunch.
Naples (Napoli) is the administrative There are, of course, many types of pizza baked in Naples,
center of Campania, whose provinces as well as calzoni (pizza dough folded over a filling) and focaccie
include of all description. Street foods extend through a range of fried,
Avellino, Benevento, Caserta and grilled, sautéed, baked and frozen delights sold at shops and
Salerno. The region ranks 12th in size kiosks and from carts that ply the narrow streets and alleyways.
(13,595 square kilometers) and 2nd in The fact that they may be eaten standing up doesn’t detract at
population (5,793,000).
all from their inherent goodness.
Neapolitans are also devoted to pasta: maccheroni,
spaghetti, vermicelli, fusilli, perciatelli and ziti, among others.
The pasta sauce of predilection is pummarola from the rare,
tiny plum-shaped San Marzano tomatoes that are protected
by DOP in the Sarnese-Nocerino area in the fertile valley to
the southeast of Vesuvius in the provinces of Avellino and
Salerno.
Campanians have been known as mangiafoglie (leaf eaters)
because greens and vegetables so dominated the diet. In the
sun-drenched fields around Vesuvius and the gulf, eggplants,
tomatoes, zucchini, various types of peppers, salad greens,
garlic and herbs reach heights of flavor, as do peaches, apricots,
figs, grapes, melons, oranges and lemons.
The large, thick-skinned lemons of Sorrento and the
Amalfi coast are renowned as the source of the liqueur called
limoncello. Chestnuts and hazelnuts from the hills of Avellino
enjoy IGP status. Olive oil from the Cilento and Sorrentine
peninsulas and the hills of Salerno enjoy DOP status.
Seafood is a mainstay of the Neapolitan diet, especially
the compact creatures that go so well in antipasto and pasta
or deep fried in a gran fritto di pesce. The gulf abounds in
little clams called vongole veraci, mussels, tender young
octopus, cuttlefish, squid, prawns, shrimp, anchovies and
the smelt called cecenielli.

32
 City dwellers have never been avid meat
eaters; some smother steaks in tomato DOP PRODUCTS
sauce alla pizzaiola. But country people in
the hills around Benevento and Avellino Cheeses: Mozzarella di Bufala Campana,
prefer lamb and pork, veal poultry and Caciocavallo Silano (in part).
rabbit. Campania’s hill people also make fine Olive oils: Cilento, Colline Salernitane,
salame and prosciutto, along with tangy Penisola Sorrentina.
pecorino cheese. Produce: Pomodoro San Marzano
Water buffalo grazed in marshy lowlands dell’Agro Sarnese Nocerino.
around Capua and Salerno yield the ultimate
in mozzarella di bufala—too fine in its
pristine state, admirers insist, to melt onto
pizza when cow’s milk fiore di latte will do.
IGP PRODUCTS
They prefer it within hours of when its Meat product: Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino
strands are pulled like taffy and formed into Centrale (in part).
rounds like snowballs that do indeed melt in Produce: Castagna di Montella, Nocciola di
the mouth. The DOP of Mozzarella di Bufala Giffoni.
Campana differentiate the cheese from
widespread imitations.
Ricotta and mascarpone from buffalo are
also prized, as are provola and scamorza,
Specialties of
which are sometimes lightly smoked. A
specialty of Sorrento are caprignetti alle Campania
erbe, golf ball-sized goat’s milk cheeses
rolled in herbs. Caciocavallo and provolone baccalà alla napoletana salt cod with
are popular. Part of the Caciocavallo Silano tomato, black olives, raisins, pine nuts,
DOP is in Campania. The prized grating capers, garlic.
cheese is Parmigiano Reggiano, protagonist
in dishes called parmigiana with eggplants, cianfotta peppers, eggplants, zucchini,
zucchini and other vegetables. onions and basil stewed in olive oil and
Naples is justly proud of its pastries and served cold.
sweets, among which sfogliatelle ricce,
pastiera, struffoli and zeppole are legendary. coniglio all’ischitana rabbit braised with
Gelato is often made from fresh fruit and tomatoes, rosemary, basil and white wine
nuts. Icy granita is usually flavored with Ischia style.
lemon or coffee. Some say the secret of
Napoli’s seductively sweet espresso is a coviglie al caffè coffee mousse topped with
pinch of chocolate in the coffee grounds. toasted beans and whipped cream; coviglie
The grandest cru of ancient Rome was al cioccolato is the chocolate version served
Falernum, whose vineyards lie in northern with a candied cherry.
Campania. Today, Falerno, as one of the
region’s 20 DOCs, is respected in its red and mozzarella in carrozza the cheese
white versions, as are wines from around the (sometimes with filet of anchovy) is pressed
Gulf of Naples that carry the names of between slices of white bread, coated with
Ischia, Capri and Vesuvius (as Lacrima batter and deep-fried.
Christi del Vesuvio). But the most vaunted
wines of Campania come from the heights ’mpepata di cozze mussels cooked in their
to the east: the white Greco di Tufo and juice with lemon, parsley and black pepper.
Fiano di Avellino and the red Taurasi, which
was selected as the south’s first DOCG (the parmigiana di melanzane eggplant fried and
G for guaranteed). then baked with onions, tomato, basil,

33
 mozzarella, topped with grated Parmigiano sfogliatelle ricce curly pastry shells with a
Reggiano. sweet filling of ricotta, candied fruit and
spices.
pastiera napoletana Easter pie with a filling
based on ricotta flavored with candied fruit, spaghetti alla puttanesca "strumpet’s style"
lemon and cinnamon. with tomato sauce, black olives, capers,
anchovies, garlic, chili pepper—specialty of
peperoni imbottiti red and yellow bell Ischia.
peppers stuffed with anchovies, black
olives, capers, garlic, breadcrumbs. struffoli sweet fried dumplings massed into
a cone held together with honey and
polpi affogati baby octopus "drowned" in flavored with candied fruit.
boiling salt water, then sautéed with olive oil,
tomatoes and hot peppers. taralli ring-shaped biscuits baked with almonds
and lard, or sometimes fennel seeds; the sweet
ragù napoletano this festive ragout of beef types with vanilla, cinnamon and liqueur are
(or pork) braised to tenderness in an called tarallucci dolci.
earthenware pot with onions, tomatoes,
basil, olive oil and red wine is often served zeppole di San Giuseppe puffy pastry
with maccheroni. fritters sometimes with a creamy filling.

sartù an extravagant mold of rice with beef, ziti ripieni large pasta tubes stuffed with
chicken livers, sausage, peas, mushrooms, chopped pork and salame, onion, raw eggs
tomato, mozzarella and more; the name and caciocavallo cheese.
comes from surtout, as it was described by
French aristocrats. zuppa di cozze mussels in a soup of tomatoes,
white wine, parsley and hot peppers.

34
 Central Italy
Molise, Abruzzi, Latium, Umbria, Tuscany, Marches
rt and literature have emphasized the extravagant ban-

A quets of Renaissance courts, the revelry of Medieval

hunting and harvest feasts, the conspicuous consump-
tion of the ancient Romans. Yet, barring the occasional
episodes of excess, patterns of eating in central Italy have his-
torically upheld the culture of country cooking and the virtues
of simplicity and balance.
The diet in all six regions adheres to Mediterranean
standards in the reliance on olive oil, grains and seasonal
produce. But cooking styles vary markedly in a territory split
into ethnical enclaves by the Apennines, the mountainous
spine of the peninsula. In ancient times, the Adriatic side was
inhabited by Sabellian and Oscan tribes of the Abruzzi and
Molise and Piceni and Senone Gauls of the Marches. On the
Tyrrhenian side, Latium was inhabited by Latins and Sabines,
Umbria by Umbri and Etruscans, who from their base in
Tuscany gained territory up and down the peninsula before
being subdued by the Romans.
Notions of unity were advanced under the Roman empire,
but for centuries after its fall the various states of central Italy
struggled to assert autonomy against the menace of foreign
invaders and the hegemony of papal Rome. Umbria and the
Marches remained largely loyal to the papacy. The Abruzzi, of
which Molise was a province until 1963, maintained historical
ties to southern regimes. Tuscany, despite battles between
Florence and other city states and spells of foreign rule,
upheld a measure of independence.
Historical patterns still reflect in regional diets. As the
national capital, Rome serves as an intermediary between
north and south in political as well as culinary matters.
Abruzzi and Molise show a southern touch in dishes that are
decisively piquant. The Marches shares recipes with central
neighbors, as well as Emilia-Romagna to the north. Tuscany
and Umbria have tastes in common, though throughout the
heartland cooks uphold traditions in local ways.
The ancient grain called farro, the predecessor of hard
wheat, is still used in soups. Until recent times, the chestnut
was the leading staple of the diet in the uplands of the
Apennines. Eaten roasted or boiled, chestnuts were also
dried and ground into flour for polenta, soups, flat breads,
cakes and pastries. They were even used to fatten pigs.
Today, of course, wheat is the base of pasta and most bread,
including the unsalted loaves unique to Tuscany, Umbria and
the Marches.
Over all the use of pasta is about evenly split between
dried and fresh types in the central regions, where rice and

35
 polenta play secondary roles. Abruzzi and Tuscany all claim the origins of porchetta, a
Molise have solid traditions of maccheroni. whole pig boned and stuffed with garlic, wild
In Latium, spaghetti, bucatini and rigatoni fennel, rock salt and peppercorns and
share the spotlight with Rome’s egg-based roasted slowly in wood-burning ovens.
fettuccine. Dried pasta is produced in Pecorino is the dominant cheese in all
quantity in Umbria and the Marches, though regions, though styles range from soft,
cooks still often hand roll the dough for young marzolino (made from milk of sheep
tagliatelle and local delights. Homemade or goats grazed on green grass in early
noodles are also preferred in Tuscany, but spring) to firm and tangy types to aged
that’s one place where bread historically Pecorino Romano, hard and sharp and used
outweighed pasta. mainly for grating.
Fine olive oil is made through the central The six central regions between them
hills, though the paragon of extra vergine produce less than a quarter of Italy’s wines,
comes from Tuscany, Umbria, northern yet they account for more than a third of the
Latium and Abruzzi. Garden produce is DOC/DOCG total. The so-called
rigorously seasonal. Rome is renowned for renaissance in Italian wine gained impetus in
artichokes and peas, Tuscany for white Tuscany, renowned not only for the classics
beans and black cabbage, the uplands of of Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino
Abruzzi, Umbria and the Marches for lentils, Nobile di Montepulciano but also for
chickpeas and potatoes. The central unclassified reds sometimes lauded as
Apennines are a major source of truffles, "Super Tuscans." The red Montepulciano of
both the prized white varieties found in the the Abruzzi has won growing acclaim,
Marches and parts of Tuscany and the black though the best known wines of other
varieties that thrive in Umbria. regions are white: the Marches with
Consumption of fresh seafood was Verdicchio, Umbria with Orvieto and Latium
historically confined to coastal areas. Each with Frascati and other wines of the Castelli
Adriatic port boasts a local recipe for the fish Romani.
soup called brodetto. Along the Tuscan
coast the counterpart is cacciucco. But
even in inland places, such as landlocked
Umbria, cooks made good use of preserved
anchovies, tuna, sardines and salt cod.
Meat plays a key role in regional diets,
with preferences for lamb and kid to the
south and veal and beef to the north,
particularly in Tuscany, whose Chianina
steers provide the legendary bistecca alla
fiorentina. Chianina, like the Marches’
Marchigiana and Romagna’s Romagnola
breeds of white cattle are protected under
the DOP of Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino
Centrale, which extends through the central
part of the Apennines. Poultry and rabbit are
appreciated everywhere, as are game birds,
hare and wild boar in regions where hunting
is still considered more a birthright than a
sport.
Pork is prominent everywhere, in the
salumi made by butchers whose ancient
craft was perfected in the Umbrian town of
Norcia. The Marches, Latium, Umbria and

36
 Molise

his small, sparsely populated region shares a gastro-

T nomic bond with the Abruzzi, its historical partner to

the north, though the proximity of Apulia and
Campania lend its foods a southern accent. It’s also nice
to know that Molise in its unassuming way harbors culinary
secrets of its own.
The region is noted for robust fare of authentically
rustic goodness, specialties of the towns and villages that
grace the hillsides from the short strip of Adriatic coast to
the rugged heights of the Apennines, home of the ancient
Samnite tribes.
In the hills, lamb, kid and mutton are popular, along with
pork for sausages, salame and soppressata, sometimes
preserved in terra-cotta vases under fine local olive oil.
Prosciutto may be salt cured, though it is also smoked—
rare in Italy. Prominent cheeses are caciocavallo from the Campobasso is the administrative cen-
town of Agnone, pecorino and scamorza. Part of the ter of Molise, whose other province is
Caciocavallo Silano DOP is in Molise. Isernia. The region ranks 19th in both
The port of Termoli provides triglie di scoglio (red mullet, size (4,438 square kilometers) and
population (329,000).
base of a tasty soup), fresh anchovies, squid, crabs, clams
and sea snails.
Molise produces quantities of dried pasta, though in
country homes women still often roll the dough by hand.
Specialties include sagne (lasagne), laganelle (tagliatelle),
crejoli (similar to the Abruzzi’s maccheroni alla chitarra) and
recchietelle (orecchiette). Pasta is often served with ragout
of lamb and pork, invariably with diavolillo (chili pepper),
and a grating of sharply flavored pecorino cheese.
The tomato, fresh or preserved, is omnipresent in
Molise, as are beans and artichokes. Campobasso is
noted for giant white celery. The region also produces fine
extra virgin olive oil.
Polenta is as popular as pasta in places. Cornmeal is
cooked in a mush, though the flour may also be used for a
type of pizza. Molise has a tasty array of cakes, biscuits
and pastries, and one of the most bizarre of desserts:
blood sausage with chocolate and pine nuts.
Most of the region’s limited sources of wine are
consumed locally. Two DOCs—Biferno and the rare Pentro
di Isernia—cover red, white and rosé, while the regionwide
Molise DOC applies to a range of types.

37
 DOP PRODUCTS lepre a ciffe e ciaffe hare cooked in a marinade
of vinegar and wine with plenty of herbs.
Cheese: Caciocavallo Silano (in part). panettoncino di mais spongy corn-flour cake
with chocolate.

IGP PRODUCTS pezzata ewe stewed with tomato, onion, rose-

mary and hot peppers.
Meat product: Vitellone Bianco
dell’Appennino Centrale (in part). picellati pastries filled with honey, nuts and
grapes.

Specialties of pizza con le foglie corn flour flatbread baked

with wild greens; pizza e minestra is a soup of
pork broth and field greens with the pizza crum-
Molise bled into it.

abbuoti or torcinelli involtini (envelopes) of lamb polenta maritata slices of cornmeal fried in oil
intestines filled with chopped liver, sweetbreads, with garlic, layered with a filling of red beans and
hardboiled egg and baked. peperoncini and baked in the oven—a special-
ty of Isernia.
baccalà alla cantalupese salt cod cooked with
peppers, capers, black olives, grapes, garlic. zuppa di ortiche soup of early spring nettle
sprouts cooked with tomato and bacon.
calcioni di ricotta rustici rounds of pasta dough
filled with ricotta, provolone and prosciutto fried
in olive oil—often part of a fritto misto.

38
 Abruzzi (Abruzzo)

he people of this mountainous Adriatic region are known as

T hearty eaters. The maximum expression of gourmandise

was la panarda, a meal of 30 to 40 courses eaten through
a day—an extravaganza no longer in vogue. Today’s menus are
robust and often pungent but rarely complex. Abruzzi is renowned
for its chefs, though many made their reputations abroad.
The Adriatic provides shellfish, anchovies, mullet, octopus,
cuttlefish and the varied makings of brodetto (a peppery soup for
which each port has its own version). Streams and lakes provide
trout, eels and crayfish. Yet what seems to be a healthy majority
of Abruzzesi looks to the land for nourishment.
The basic elements are olive oil, tomatoes and the chili pepper
called diavolicchio (among other local terms), which is used as
generously here as anywhere in the south. The uplands around
the highest peaks of the Apennines produce outstanding
artichokes, cardoons, beans, lentils and potatoes and the nation’s L’Aquila is the administrative center of
main supply of saffron. Some of Italy’s finest olive oil is protected Abruzzi, whose provinces include
by the DOP of Aprutino Pescarese and Colline Teatine. Chieti, Pescara and Teramo. The
The region is renowned for dried pasta from durum wheat, region ranks 13th in size (10,798
square kilometers) and 14th in popula-
exemplified by maccheroni alla chitarra (quadrangular strands
tion (1,277,000).
formed by the strings of what resembles a guitar). In country
kitchens, heaps of pasta or polenta were spread on the
spianatora, a large board at center table from which each guest
helped himself. Abruzzesi are also fond of soups from vegetables
and beans or with the crepes called scrippelle in broth.
Lamb and kid are preferred meats—grilled, roasted or braised in
ragouts served with pasta or polenta. Pork products include the fine
salame called mortadellina from the town of Campotosto, ventricina
(peppery sausages usually spread on bread) and salsicce di fegato
pazzo ("crazy liver" sausages sweetened with honey and spices).
Pecorino and caciocavallo are key cheeses, though local delights are
the goat’s milk capruzzo, often preserved in olive oil, and scamorza,
from cows grazed on high plateaux, tasty fresh or grilled.
Alongside an array of fine pastries, biscuits and cakes, the
Abruzzi produces confetti, sugar coated almonds given out at
weddings and other celebrations, and torrone, nougat here often
coated with chocolate.
The region has only three DOC appellations, so they are easy
to remember. The youthful white Trebbiano d’Abruzzo goes well
with fish, though in rare cases it can age to mellow grace.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo covers the cherry pink Cerasuolo, a
robust rosé, and a full-bodied red wine, which is attractively
supple when young, though it can age impressively. The other
DOC is Controguerra, which applies to a range of wines.
Mountain herbs are used to make liqueurs, the best known of
which is Centerbe, drunk as a digestivo.

39
 DOP PRODUCTS scapece di Vasto pieces of raw fish—such as
ray and smooth hound shark—preserved in
earthenware vases with salt, chili peppers and
Olive oils: Aprutino Pescarese and Colline saffron.
Teatine.
scrippelle ’mbusse or ’nfusse fried crepes
coated or filled with pecorino and served in
IGP PRODUCTS chicken broth.

Meat product: Vitellone Bianco timballo di crespelle crepes layered with

dell’Appennino Centrale (in part). spinach, artichokes, ground meat, chicken
giblets, mozzarella and grated Parmigiano
Reggiano baked in an elaborate mold.
Specialties of virtù soup of Teramo that according to legend
was made by seven damsels who contributed
Abruzzi various ingredients, including pieces of pork,
beans, peas, greens, herbs, carrots, garlic,
agnello alle olive lamb cooked in an onions, tomato and pasta.
earthenware pot with olive oil, black olives,
lemon, oregano, hot peppers. zuppa di cardi soup of giant cardoons from
L’Aquila with tomatoes and salt pork.
cicoria, cacio e uova soup of wild chicory and
other vegetables with salt pork in chicken broth zuppa di lenticchie e castagne tiny mountain
thickened with eggs and grated pecorino. lentils and fresh chestnuts in a soup with
tomatoes, salt pork and herbs.
coda di rospo alla cacciatora monkfish cooked
with garlic, rosemary, anchovies, peppers.

lasagne abruzzese pasta sheets with a

peppery meat and tomato sauce.

maccheroni alla chitarra noodles are often

served with a ragout of lamb stewed in wine
and olive oil with tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf and
peppers.

mazzarelle d’agnello lamb’s lung and innards

wrapped in beet greens or chard and braised in
white wine.

’ndocca ’ndocca pungent stew of pork ribs,

feet, ears and rind with rosemary, bay leaf,
peppers and vinegar.

pizza rustica pork sausage, mozzarella, eggs

and Parmigiano Reggiano baked in a pie.

polpi in purgatorio octopus cooked with

tomato, garlic, parsley and diavolicchio.

40
 Latium (Lazio)

he Eternal City has been a melting pot for foods from

T other places since the Roman legions began collecting

recipes and provisions—and, in some cases, cooks—
from the far reaches of the empire. As the national capital,
Rome has drawn culinary inspiration from Italian regions north
and south, though most substantially from the home provinces
of Latium.
Today, in a world center of art, religion, politics and trade,
Roman eateries cater to visitors ranging from diplomats and
jet-setters to pilgrims and backpackers. This compulsory
cosmopolitanism may explain why precious little has been
preserved of the epicurism of the ancient Romans or of the
papal and princely courts of later eras. Yet what remains of la
cucina romana provides some of the most flavorful foods of
Italy served in some of its liveliest surroundings. For, beyond
purely gastronomic aspects, eating is a social event to Rome (Roma), the national capital, is
Romans, who on Sundays and holidays love to gather family also the administrative center of Latium,
whose provinces include Frosinone,
and friends around tables as plates, glasses and bottles
Latina, Rieti and Viterbo. Latium ranks
multiply with the passing hours. 9th among the regions in size (17,207
Memorable meals begin with arrays of antipasti that alone square kilometers) and 3rd in popula-
would make feasts: platters of frutti di mare, anchovies, tion (5,255,000).
sardines, tuna, fried shrimp, prosciutto, salame, olives,
mushrooms, pickles, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet-sour
onions, peas and beans with pork, pizze, focacce, canapés,
vegetable tarts, frittate with potatoes and onions, stuffed
eggplants, peppers and tomatoes, croquettes of rice,
vegetables or meats, breads grilled and flavored with garlic
and oil as bruschetta or sliced and topped with meat and
vegetable pastes or cheeses as crostini.
Latium’s gardeners, who raise the tastiest of peas,
zucchini and fava beans, specialize in artichokes tender
enough to eat raw—or to fry in the style of Rome’s Jewish
ghetto as carciofi alla giudia. The region’s own species of
rucola (rocket) and the wild ruchetta make splendid salads,
as do puntarelle, spear-like endive dressed with raw garlic
and anchovies.
The hills of northern Latium are noted for extra virgin olive
oils, protected under the DOPs of Canino and Sabina.
Roman menus feature spaghetti alla carbonara and
bucatini all’amatriciana, as well as tubes of rigatoni and
penne. Fresh pasta may be flat as lasagne, rolled as
cannelloni or cut in strips as the celebrated fettuccine al
burro—often identified with a restaurant called Alfredo.
Gnocchi from potatoes or durum wheat semolino are also
popular around the region, as are polenta and rice.
Seafood plays a largely utilitarian role in the daily diet, with

41
 mussels, clams, shrimp, squid, cuttlefish and makes the fresh buffalo milk cheese that
palombo shark fresh from the ports of qualifies under the Mozzarella di Bufala
Fiumicino and Anzio, alongside the Campana DOP, centered in Campania, the
indispensable baccalà. But restaurants cater similar provatura and tasty young marzolino
to expensive tastes with large prawns called from the milk of sheep or goats. Ricotta may
mazzancolle and gamberi, sea bass called be eaten fresh or salted and dried for
spigola, as well as imported oysters and grating.
lobsters. Rome is noted for gelato, lenten raisin
Romans adore abbacchio, milk-fed lamb buns called maritozzi, cream-filled pastries
roasted for Easter feasts though delicious called bignè, rum-soaked fruit and nut cake
year-round. They also eat their share of beef called pan giallo and a custard cake
and veal, whose prime cuts were traditionally drenched with syrupy liqueurs known as
reserved for the bourgeosie and whose other zuppa inglese (though it’s neither soup nor
parts—tripe, brains, entrails, liver, heart, even English). The city’s coffee bars are famous
feet and tails—went into the zestful dishes of for espresso from freshly roasted beans.
the common people. Pork is prized as Meals often end with a glass of sweet
porchetta, roasted by butchers in the Castelli sambuca liqueur, sipped with three coffee
Romani and sliced warm for sandwiches at beans to munch on.
the city’s street markets. Many recipes rely on White wines dominate Latium’s
guanciale, salt pork from the jowl, though the production, whose 23 DOCs are led by the
traditional lard has been steadily replaced as versatile Frascati and Marino from the
a cooking fat by olive oil from the Sabine hills. Castelli Romani and the mythical Est! Est!!
The rustic country bread of Genzano in the Est!!! from Montefiascone to the north. Yet
Castelli Romani rates an IGP. some of the finest wines are reds of
Pecorino Romano DOP prevails among Cerveteri, Velletri, a trio from the Cesanese
cheeses, though some is also produced in vine or unclassified bottles based on
Sardinia and southern Tuscany. Latium also Cabernet and Merlot.

42
DOP PRODUCTS Parmigiano Reggiano.

involtini alla romana veal rolls with chopped

Cheeses: Pecorino Romano, Mozzarella di guanciale and garlic braised with tomatoes.
Bufala Campana (provinces of Latina and
Frosinone). mazzancolle alla griglia large prawns grilled with
Olive oils: Canino, Sabina. a brushing of olive oil and lemon

pasta e ceci soup of chickpeas with garlic,

IGP PRODUCTS rosemary and pasta noodles.

Bread: Pane Casareccio di Genzano. penne all’arrabbiata pasta tubes with a "raging"
Meat product: Vitellone Bianco hot sauce of tomatoes, garlic and chili pepper.
dell’Appennino Centrale (in part).
pollo alla romana young chicken braised in olive
oil and white wine with green peppers,
Specialties of tomatoes and garlic

pomodori ripieni large tomatoes hollowed and

Latium baked with a filling of their pulp, rice, potatoes,
garlic and basil—usually served as antipasto.
abbacchio alla cacciatora baby lamb cooked
with rosemary, garlic, anchovies, vinegar. rigatoni con la pajata squat pasta tubes with
sauce based on milk-fed calf’s intestine cooked
baccalà in guazzetto salt cod in a sauce of olive with tomato, salt pork, garlic, herbs and spices,
oil, onions, tomato, pine nuts, raisins. topped with grated pecorino.

bucatini all’amatriciana slender pasta tubes saltimbocca alla romana veal fillets with
with salt pork, chili pepper and grated prosciutto and sage sautéed in butter and
pecorino—most cooks now include tomato white wine.
and garlic in the sauce.
spaghetti alla carbonara guanciale sautéed in
carciofi alla giudia tender artichokes flattened oil with garlic and chili peppers is mixed in a
flower-like and deep fried; carciofi alla romana bowl with raw eggs, which curdle as they stick
are sautéed in olive oil with garlic and mint. to the hot spaghetti—topped with grated
pecorino and/or Parmigiano Reggiano.
coda alla vaccinara oxtail stewed with onion,
tomato, lots of celery and white wine. spaghetti all’aglio, olio, peperoncino chopped
garlic, chili pepper and parsley heated in extra
coratelle con carciofi lamb or kid liver, heart and virgin olive oil flavor the al dente spaghetti as it
lungs braised in olive oil and white wine with finishes cooking in the pan.
hearts of artichoke.
stracciatella lightly beaten raw eggs form
cozze alla marinara mussels steamed in their stracce (ragged strips) when stirred into hot
juice with garlic, tomato, parsley. beef broth flavored with nutmeg and topped
with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
fagioli con le cotiche stewed white beans with
pork rind, prosciutto, onion, garlic, rosemary. supplì al telefono fried rice balls whose core
of mozzarella stretches like telephone wires
fettuccine al burro feather-light egg when divided; sometimes the filling includes
noodles with butter, cream and grated bits of veal, liver or anchovy.

43
 Umbria

his compact region at the core of the peninsula is known as

T the green heart of Italy. Its attractions include the art and
architecture of its hill towns—Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto,
Spoleto and Todi, among them—and the legends of its many
saints, led by Francis of Assisi. But connoisseurs also know that
nowhere in Italy are the pleasures of country cooking and local
wines offered more graciously than in Umbria.
Since the region has no access to the sea, its peoples—
beginning with the ancient Umbri and Etruscans who inhabited
territories on opposite sides of the Tiber River—have always relied
on the generosity of the land. There are few secrets to Umbrian
cooking, other than the native’s insistence—or obsession, really—
on home-grown produce: fresh vegetables and fruit, dense green
olive oil, roast meats, poultry and game, pecorino cheese and the
herbs, greens and mushrooms that grow spontaneously on
Perugia is the administrative center of wooded hillsides.
Umbria, whose other province is Terni. Add truffles and even the humblest dish becomes divine.
The region ranks 16th in size (8,456 Norcia, a town on the edge of the Apennines, is Italy’s prime
square kilometers) and 17th in popula- source of black truffles, served fresh with pasta, meat and egg
tion (833,000). dishes, or even pounded into paste with anchovies and garlic.
The "black diamonds" are preserved in various ways, including in
cheese known as pecorino tartufato. Even more prized are
Umbria’s white truffles, always eaten fresh.
Norcia as the ancestral home of pork butchers known
everywhere as norcini, produces prosciutto that rates an IGP, as
well as salame and such specialties as mazzafegati (piquant liver
sausages with orange rinds, pine nuts and raisins). Porchetta is
delicious in Umbria, as are Perugia’s Chianina beef, lamb, rabbit,
free-range chickens and wood pigeons. Hare and boar are prized,
as are fish and eels from Lake Trasimeno and the upper reaches
of the Tiber.
Umbria produces a major share of dried pasta for the national
market, though its homemade egg pasta, notably tagliatelle with
ragout, can rival the elite of Emilia. Other hand-rolled types are
ciriole and stringozzi, which resemble rustic spaghetti.
The Umbrian diet relies on salads and cooked vegetables,
notably cardoons (called gobbi) and lentils from the mountain
town of Castelluccio protected by IGP. In the autumn, woods
abound with porcini mushrooms and chestnuts. Olives grown in
the Nera valley near Spoleto and around Lake Trasimeno produce
some of Italy’s finest extra virgin oil, protected under the
regionwide DOP Umbria.
Huge loaves of unsalted pane casereccio are baked in wood
ovens, as are torte—spongy flour and egg breads flavored with
pecorino or pork crackling. Bakers also make sweet buns called
pan nociato (with walnuts, grapes, cloves and pecorino) and pan

44
pepato (with almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, with sage, bay leaf and garlic.
raisins and candied fruit) and cakes called
ciaramicola and torcolo. minestra di farro thick soup of spelt with onion,
Umbria’s 11 DOCs are led in popularity by tomato, celery and grated pecorino.
the white of Orvieto, historically sweet or
abboccato, but now usually dry. Less renowned palombacci alla ghiotta spit-roasted wood
but even more coveted by cognoscenti are two pigeons with an elaborate sauce of wine,
reds—the venerable Torgiano Rosso Riserva lemon, vinegar, sage, garlic, rosemary, juniper
and the voluptuous Sagrantino di Montefalco— berries and chicken livers
both of which have been promoted to DOCG.
spaghetti alla nursina black truffles heated in
olive oil with a hint of garlic and anchovy flavor
DOP PRODUCTS this special pasta from Norcia.

stringozzi al pomodoro handmade noodles

Olive oil: Umbria.
with tomatoes, black olives and garlic.
Meat products: Prosciutto di Norcia.
tegamaccio stew of freshwater fish—pike,
carp, tench, eel—with garlic and peppers.
IGP PRODUCTS
torcolo sponge cake with raisins and candied
Meat products: Vitellone Bianco fruit, specialty of Perugia.
dell’Appennino Centrale (in part).
Produce: Lenticchie di Castelluccio di
Norcia.

Specialties of
Umbria
agnello arrosto baby lamb with rosemary, sage,
garlic and oil cooked to tender perfection in a
covered roasting pan amid the dying embers
after bread is baked in a wood oven.

anguille alle brace freshwater eels marinated in

white wine, pepper and bay leaf and grilled.

ciaramicola eggs, lard, lemon rind and

Alchermes (a spicy liqueur) go into this circular
cake topped with candy-specked meringue.

cipollata onion soup with tomato, salt pork,

basil and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

gobbi alla perugina deep fried cardoons

topped with meat and tomato sauce.

lepre alla cacciatora hare braised in red wine

45
46
47
 Tuscany (Toscana)

lorentines like to relate how their Caterina de’ Medici, on mar-

F rying King Henry II in 1533, introduced the recipes and cooks

that ennobled French cuisine. It’s true that in Renaissance
Florence gastronomy reached heights of refinement among the
aristocracy, yet what has distinguished Tuscan food since the time
of the Etruscans has been its noble simplicity.
Country cooking attests to the seasonal goodness of
garden produce and the perennial splendor of green-gold
extra virgin olive oil. Tuscans are fanatical about freshness:
fava beans, artichokes and asparagus in the spring;
tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini in the summer; all sorts
of greens and mushrooms (especially plump porcini) in the
fall; cabbages and chard in the winter. Herbs, above all
rosemary and sage, are good year-round, as are the fresh or
dried white beans—toscanelli, cannellini, zolfini—that earned
Florence (Firenze) is the administrative Tuscans the epithet of mangiafagioli.
center of Tuscany, whose provinces Bread is the pillar of the diet, giant loaves of salt-free pane
include Arezzo, Grosseto, Livorno, toscano redolent of sourdough and woodsmoke. Thick slices
Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, are grilled, rubbed with garlic and doused with oil as fettunta
Prato and Siena. The region ranks 5th or panunto. When firm, the bread is dampened and
in size (22,997 square kilometers) and crumbled into a salad with tomatoes, onion and basil as
9th in population (3,529,000).
panzanella or spread with chicken liver paté or chopped
tomatoes as crostini. It thickens soups called ribollita, pappa
al pomodoro or simply zuppa di pane. Farro, the ancient
grain that is protected as IGP in the Garfagnana range of the
Apennines, is also the base of a hearty soup. Chestnuts,
especially the prized marrone type protected as IGP in the
Mugello range of the Apennines, are eaten roasted or used
in soups and desserts.
In Tuscany pasta had been historically upstaged by soups,
whether or not they included bread. But pasta is by no means
ignored. No country feast would be complete without tagliatelle
con ragù. Also invariably homemade are the wide-ribbon
pappardelle, served with hare or duck sauce, and pici, rustic
spaghetti. Rice and polenta also play roles in the diet.
Seafood prevails along the coast, where Livorno’s cacciucco
is a piquant soup. Salt cod and tripe bring zest to the diet,
though Tuscan cooking is rarely highly spiced and never boringly
bland. That’s because food is intended to go with wine, above
all the red Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano that are known as vini da arrosto.
The roast meats to flatter them might include rabbit, pigeon,
duck, free-range chicken, thrush, pheasant and guinea hen. Pork
is popular as grilled ribs (rostinciana), roast loin (arista), spit-
roasted livers wrapped in bay leaves (fegatelli) or as porchetta. It
is also used for sausages, prosciutto and salame known as

48
finocchiona (flavored with wild fennel seeds).
Wild boar, a source of salame, sausage and DOP PRODUCTS
prosciutto, may be stewed with sweet-sour
sauce. The glory of Tuscan meats is bistecca
alla fiorentina, a hefty slab of Chianina beef, Cheeses: Pecorino Toscano, Pecorino
seared over wood coals so that the juicy red Romano (in part).
interior is enclosed in a charred crust. Chianina Meat product: Prosciutto Toscano.
beef is included in the IGP of Vitellone Bianco Olive oils: Chianti Classico, Terre di Siena.
dell’Appennino Centrale.
Pecorino Toscano DOP is most savory
from sheep grazed on moors around the town
of Pienza near Siena, though it is also
IGP PRODUCTS
prominent from the Monte Amiata massif and Meat product: Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino
in the province of Grosseto. Mild young, when Centrale (in part).
it may be called marzolino, fresh pecorino is Olive oil: Toscana.
eaten in the spring with raw fava beans. When Produce: Farro della Garfagnana, Marrone
aged in small wheels coated with olive oil, ash del Mugello.
or tomato, it becomes firm with a distinctly
elegant tang. A bit of Pecorino Romano is
produced in the province of Grosseto.
Bakers, beyond their daily loaves, also
Specialties of
make flatbread called schiacciata,
sometimes with rosemary or in a sweet Tuscany
version with grapes. Most Tuscan sweets
are baked. Almonds flavor Prato’s crunchy acquacotta "cooked water," soup of
biscottini or cantucci and the soft ricciarelli vegetables and herbs, often salt pork,
of Siena, a town more renowned for its mushrooms and other ingredients,
chewy fruit and nut cake called panforte. depending on the season.
Chestnuts are the base of castagnaccio, a
flat cake with pine nuts and rosemary, and arista di maiale pork loin roasted with
crepes called necci. Anise flavors wafers rosemary, garlic and wild fennel seeds.
called brigidini and a raisin cake called
buccellato. Fruit jams are used in tarts called baccalà alla fiorentina salt cod fried and
crostate. Florence’s pride is zuccotto, a then stewed with tomatoes, onions, garlic.
dome-shaped sponge cake flavored with
chocolate, nuts and liqueurs. cacciucco alla livornese chowder of
Chianti in its seven zones is the various fish, including mollusks and
archetypal Tuscan wine, though DOCG has crustaceans, with tomato, garlic, onion,
also been granted to Brunello di Montalcino, carrots, celery, wine, hot peppers, though
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the red of individual versions abound.
Carmignano and the white Vernaccia di San
Gimignano. The field of 31 DOCs, which cibreo classic Florentine chicken stew
includes the red and white Pomino and red includes giblets, embryonic eggs and
Morellino di Scansano, was recently cockscombs.
enhanced by Sassicaia, a Cabernet that had
been the monarch of an aristocratic array of cinghiale in dolceforte wild boar stewed
table wines sometimes referred to as "Super with red wine and herbs, augmented at the
Tuscans." Meals often end with Vin Santo, end with sweet-sour sauce of vinegar,
aged in barrels to an amber hue with flavor sugar, nuts, raisins, candied fruit and bitter
that ranges from lusciously sweet to dry and chocolate.
toasty.

49
 fagioli al fiasco white beans stewed with of hare braised with wine, carrots, celery,
olive oil, sage and garlic in a thick glass onions.
wine flask set amid wood coals.
ribollita soup of white beans with carrots,
gramugia soup of fava beans, artichokes, onions, tomato, black cabbage (though
peas and asparagus, an ancient recipe of recipes vary) "reboiled" with bread and
Lucca. served with a dousing of olive oil.

pappa col pomodoro tomato, garlic and trippa alla fiorentina tripe with tomatoes,
basil simmered with broth and thickened broth, wine, herbs and grated Parmigiano
with bread that melds into a tasty pap. Reggiano—served on a slice of bread at
Florence’s markets as lampredotto.
pappardelle alla lepre noodles with sauce

50
 Marches (Marche)

n this gently hilly region between the Adriatic and the

I Apennines, cooks draw from sea and land and with enviable
ease bring the best of both to the table. Fish prevails in the
port of Ancona, whose brodetto calls for exactly 13 types in a
spicy broth with garlic and tomato. The Adriatic provides the
freshest of seafood—sardines, hake, bream, sole, red mullet,
crustaceans and mollusks—but Ancona is also famous for a
dish based on dried cod called stoccafisso or stocco all’an-
conetana.
The Marches fits central Italian stereotypes with its fine
olive oil and pecorino, as well as unsalted bread. But it also
feels the culinary influence of Emilia-Romagna with its fresh
egg pasta and salumi. At Urbino, they vary Romagna’s
cheese-based passatelli by adding meat to the mixture.
Macerata is the home of vincisgrassi, a legendary lasagne
crowned—in season—with white truffles, which flourish in Ancona is the administrative center of
the Marches as nowhere else outside of Piedmont. the Marches, whose provinces include
Ascoli Piceno, Macerata and Pesaro-
Menus cover a thorough mix of meats: quail, pigeon,
Urbino. The region ranks 15th in size
guinea fowl, chicken, rabbit, lamb, pork, beef and veal (9,694 square kilometers) and 13th in
(including the Marchigiana breed of cattle, which is covered population (1,455,000)
under the IGP of Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale).
It’s curious to note that meat and seafood may be cooked
in similar ways. For example, poultry, fresh fish or even dried
cod are often done in potacchio (with onion, tomato, white
wine and rosemary), while duck, rabbit, ham or even sea
snails may be done in porchetta (with wild fennel, garlic and
rosemary).
The region that stakes persuasive claims to the origins of
porchetta, also makes an impressive range of salumi.
Notable are the prosciutto from the town of Carpegna, which
rates a DOP, the salame of Fabriano and the cotechino of
San Leo. Around Macerata they make a sort of sausage
called ciauscolo, soft enough to spread on bread like paté.
At Ascoli Piceno, giant olives are stuffed with a meat-
cheese-bread filling and deep fried. Zucchine and peas are
favored in season, while beans and chickpeas are used year-
round for soups. Greens include ròscani, whose spinach like
leaves have an acidic bite. Lentils grown in the Apennines to
the south of the Marches qualify under the DOP of Lenticchie
di Castelluccio di Norcia, centered in Umbria.
Pecorino is preferred young and mild, sometimes almost
sweet. Casciotta d’Urbino, a DOP made from a blend of
sheep and cow’s milk, has been known since the Middle
Ages. The rare ambra cheese from the town of Talamello is
also made from a mix of sheep and cow’s milk into forms
wrapped in cloth and buried in pits carved out of tufa where

51
 mold forms and accounts for special flavor. muscioli arrosto mussels filled with ham,
Cheese often figures in focaccia and breadcrumbs and parsley roasted in tomato
pizza, as well as in desserts, which are sauce.
usually moderately sweet. Ravioli-like
pastries are Ascoli’s calcioni (made with passatelli di carne ground beef and bone
fresh pecorino) and Macerata’s piconi (with marrow, spinach, cheese, breadcrumbs and
ricotta, rum and cinnamon). Corn flour is eggs worked into paste and forced through
used in Ancona’s beccute (biscuits with slots to form thin dumplings, cooked in
raisins and nuts) and frustenga (cake with broth as soup.
figs, raisins and walnuts).
The region’s 11 DOCs are led by pollo in potacchio spring chicken braised
Verdicchio, the paragon of fish wines, with onion, tomato, white wine, rosemary.
though that white may also have the weight
to accompany poultry, veal and rabbit. quaglie in tegame quails braised in a pot
Ancona’s unsung pride is Rosso Conero, a with white wine, salt pork, tomatoes, peas.
full-bodied red from the Montepulciano
grape. Rosso Piceno, from vineyards to the ravioli ai filetti di sogliola pasta envelopes
south, can also show class. Meals often end with a ricotta-parsley filling dressed with a
with Mistrà, an anise liqueur traditionally sauce of sole with white wine and tomatoes.
drunk in the coffee cup with the remains of
an espresso. stocco all’anconetana dried cod cooked
with olive oil, white wine, milk, tomatoes,
carrots, garlic, rosemary.
DOP PRODUCTS vincisgrassi lasagne layered with a sauce of
chicken giblets, mushrooms, veal brains and
Cheese: Casciotta d’Urbino.
sweetbreads, ham, bechamel, Parmigiano
Meat product: Prosciutto di Carpegna.
Reggiano and, in season, truffles—
preferably white.

IGP PRODUCTS zucchine ripiene small marrows hollowed

and stuffed with ground veal, tomato, onion,
Meat product: Vitellone Bianco parsley and grated Parmigiano Reggiano
dell’Appennino Centrale (in part). and fried.
Produce: Lenticchie di Castelluccio di
Norcia (in part).

Specialties of the
Marches
anatra in porchetta roast duck stuffed with
wild fennel, salt pork, garlic.

minestra di ceci soup of chickpeas with

pork ribs, tomato, herbs and grated
pecorino served over slices of toasted
bread.

52
 Northern Italy
Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta, Lombardy,
Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige

he eight regions of what is loosely defined as north-

T ern Italy boast the nation’s highest standard of living

and its richest diet, in terms of both abundance and
variety. The plains that extend along the Po and lesser
rivers from Piedmont to the northern rim of the Adriatic pro-
liferate with grain, corn, rice, fruit, livestock and dairy prod-
ucts. Vineyards on slopes along the great arc formed by
the Alps and Apennines are Italy’s prime sources of premi-
um wine.
Restaurateurs and recipe collectors abroad acclaim the
common heritage of what they call "northern Italian
cuisine." But menus that mix Bologna’s tagliatelle and
ragout, for example, with Genoa’s trenette noodles and
pesto, Milan’s risotto and braised veal shanks, Venice’s
black rice and soft shell crabs, Trieste’s goulash and
sauerkraut or Turin’s cheese fondue and white truffles
mock historical realities. Even today, despite
standardization of tastes and the invasion of fast food, no
other section of Italy maintains such diversity in regional
cooking.
Roots of local cultures can be traced to early peoples:
the Liguri of the Riviera, the Salassi and Taurani of
Piedmont, the Rhaetians of the Alpine rim from Lombardy
to Friuli, the Veneti of the northern Adriatic basin and the
Etruscans who crossed the Apennines to control the
Padana valley before the conquests of Cisalpine Gauls and
Romans. The unity constructed under the Roman empire
collapsed in the Middle Ages. The northern states,
domineered by foreign forces, continued to switch
loyalties, leaders and borders with dizzying frequency
through the Renaissance and on up to the Risorgimento.
The assortment of local dialects, or in some cases full-
fledged languages (French in Valle d’Aosta, German in Alto
Adige), attests to the historical heterogeneity of Italy’s
north. French influences remain in recipes of Piedmont,
Liguria, Lombardy and Emilia to the northwest, just as
Austro-Hungarian tangs linger in foods of the Tre Venezie
(Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige) to the
northeast. But local tastes rule in this vast territory where
culinary customs vary delectably from province to province
and town to town.
Still, some generalizations might be made about
northern cooking. Meat has prevailed over seafood in most
places where butter and lard are the traditional fats.

53
 Exceptions must be made for Liguria, with based salsa verde to Piedmont’s tomato
its exemplary Mediterranean diet, and the red bagnet ross, Verona’s beef marrow and
Adriatic strip where seafood and olive oil pepper pearà and Cremona’s candied fruit
prevail. In most inland areas, diets have and mustard mostarda. Fritto misto is also
relied on a wholesome mix of grains, eaten in most regions, though
legumes, cheeses, preserved fish and compositions of fried meats, cheeses,
seasonal varieties of vegetables, vegetables, fruits and pastries are never
mushrooms and herbs. A tendency to the same from one place to another.
substitute olive oil for animal fats has Pork plays a prime role in salt-cured
revitalized the balance. meats, whose hallmark is Prosciutto from
Pasta, rice, polenta and gnocchi figure Parma and San Daniele, the salt-cured
in one form or another in each region’s ham described as dolce due to the ripe
diet, though local preferences present a flavor and soft texture that develop over a
study in contrasts. Fresh pasta, usually year or more of maturing. But the delights
made with eggs, prevails south of the Po in of salumi range beyond pork to beef for the
Piedmont, Liguria and, most gloriously, in bresaola of Lombardy’s Valtellina, as well
Emilia-Romagna. Rice dominates in the as goat, goose and chamois for salame
flatlands of Lombardy and Piedmont, and sausages.
where it is usually braised and stirred as Northern Italy is a paradise for cheese
risotto, and in the Veneto, where it is often lovers. They may begin with Parmigiano
simmered in broth in dishes that range Reggiano and Grana Padano, which
tastily between risottos and thick soups. account for a major share of national
Polenta, made from corn or also from production, and nibble their way through
buckwheat or chestnut flour, was the blue-veined Gorgonzola, buttery Fontina,
sustenance of northern country people for tangy Asiago and a vast array of mild,
ages, eaten as a mush or porridge with creamy, ripe and sharp cheeses, mainly
cheese or sauces or sliced and fried or from cows but also from sheep and goats.
grilled to go with meat dishes. Today’s The eight northern regions produce
polenta strongholds are the Tre Venezie about a third of Italian wine, though they
and the Alpine flanks of Lombardy and account for more than half of the
Piedmont. Gnocchi are often based on DOC/DOCG total. The leading region for
potatoes, though dumplings are also made volume of classified wines is Veneto, where
from semolino or ricotta and greens. In Verona’s Soave and Valpolicella head
Trentino-Alto Adige, round bread production. Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-
dumplings are called Knödeln or canederli. Venezia Giulia have sterling reputations for
Perhaps the most popular category of white wines, though they are increasingly
primi—though not only a first course—are admired for reds. Lombardy is noted for
soups, which may include pasta, rice, aged reds from the Alpine Valtellina and
polenta, gnocchi, bread, vegetables, classical sparkling wines from the hills of
beans, meats or seafood. Prominent Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese. The
examples of northern minestre are the north’s most vaunted reds are Barolo and
noodle and bean pasta e fagioli of the Barbaresco of Piedmont, a region that also
Veneto and Friuli, the fish chowders of makes Gattinara, Barbera, Dolcetto and
Liguria and the Adriatic coast, Milan’s sparkling sweet Asti.
tripe-based busecca and Emilia- A byproduct of wine is grappa, which
Romagna’s delicate pasta in brodo (afloat was long considered a common sort of
in broth). spirit. But class has been upgraded
A meat dish eaten nearly everywhere in dramatically in recent times by distillers in
the north is bollito misto. But the mix varies Friuli, Veneto, Trentino and Piedmont,
between beef, veal, pork sausages and whose grappa often comes from select
poultry, while sauces range from parsley- grape varieties and specific vineyards.

54
 Emilia-Romagna

s Italy’s capital of gastronomy, Bologna was known as la

A grassa (the fat), a description less flattering today than it

once was. But the city still gloats over a land of plenty
that extends along the fertile southern flank of the Po. Emilia
(to the west of Bologna) and Romagna (to the east) flaunt their
considerable differences, but together share Italy’s most luxu-
riant tables.
Recipes, like the names of dishes, vary from town to town
in a region that breeds culinary heroes: Ferrara’s Christoforo
di Messisbugo, who cronicled the lavish menus of
Renaissance courts; Parma’s Duchess Marie Louise (wife of
Napoleon), whose tastes inspired generations of dishes;
Modena’s Este dukes, who fostered the cult of aceto
balsamico, the monarch of vinegars; Forlimpopoli’s
Pellegrino Artusi, the author known as the father of modern
Italian cooking. Bologna is the administrative center of
The honor roll of foods is led by pasta—made with fresh Emilia-Romagna, whose provinces
include Ferrara, Forlì, Modena, Parma,
eggs and rolled by hand by a sfoglina to achieve perfect
Piacenza, Ravenna, Rimini and Reggio
texture. The universal primo is tagliatelle con ragù, though nell’Emilia. The region ranks 6th in size
cooks consider the meat sauce personal works of art. (22,124 square kilometers) and 8th in
Bologna, whose specialties include green lasagne and curly population (3,960,000).
gramigna, disputes with Modena the creation of tortellini
(modeled after Venus’s navel). Parma’s prides are large
square envelopes called tortelli and the rounded anolini,
which are also made in Piacenza, home of the bean-shaped
pisarei. Ferrara’s cappellacci (big hats) are stuffed with
squash. Reggio’s cappelletti (little hats) differ from pasta of
the name in Romagna, whose specialties include the rolled
tubes called garganelli and slim dumplings called passatelli.
Pasticcio is pasta with other ingredients baked in a pie,
though interpretations vary.
Polenta, once a staple of the country diet, now plays a
secondary role to pasta in the region, as do rice and gnocchi.
Vegetables, greens and legumes of all sorts are grown here,
though they are often cooked in soups or with pasta.
Romagna has a native species of shallot protected as IGP
Scalogno di Romagna. Mushrooms from the Apennines are
prized, notably from around Borgotaro, where they enjoy IGP
status. Romagna produces a bit of olive oil, protected under
DOP for the town of Brisighella.
Baked nearly everywhere are hard wheat rolls of snow
white interior and tawny crust called coppiette, due to their
shape resembling a "coupled" set of horns. Local versions of
flatbreads abound. Most renowned is Romagna’s circular
piadina or piada, baked on tiles (or griddles) and folded over
prosciutto, cheese or greens. Thicker focaccia is called

55
 spianata or torta salata, though with salt best known meat product, is protected by
pork in the dough it becomes crescentina at DOP, as is the rare but even more prized
Bologna. In Emilia’s hills, paper thin Culatello di Zibello, a filet of rump aged in
borlengo or burleng is cooked like a crêpe, the foggy lowlands along the Po. Bologna is
dressed with salt pork, garlic and rosemary, noted for giant loaves called Mortadella,
folded into quarters and served with grated though the IGP extends through the region
Parmigiano. Similar flavorings are used on and beyond. Modena pig’s foot sausage
the muffin-like tigelle, baked between tile zampone is eaten nationwide at the New
disks. Year with lentils for luck. DOP protects
Crisp fritters are made through Emilia, Zampone di Modena and Prosciutto di
originally fried in lard but now more often in Modena, while IGP applies to Cotechino di
oil, sometimes flavored with pork crackling, Modena, a sausage whose stuffing includes
prosciutto or sausage, though types vary. bits of rind.
Examples are burtleina at Piacenza, torta Piacenza is a center of salume
fritta at Parma, gnocco fritto at Modena, production, with DOP applied to Coppa
chizza at Reggio. Bologna’s renowned fritto Piacentina, the neck roll, elsewhere called
misto combines pastry fritters with fried capocollo, as well as Salame Piacentino and
meats and vegetables. The filling of fried the un-smoked bacon known as Pancetta
cassoni includes spinach and raisins. Piacentina. Ferrara’s salama da sugo blends
In Emilia, the curing of pork is an age-old choice bits of pork in a juicy stuffing with red
master craft. Prosciutto di Parma, Italy’s wine, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

56
Emilians all make lean and mildly seasoned old or more may be sipped from a teaspoon
salame gentile. as a cordial or digestive.
The Romagnola breed of cattle is Emilia-Romagna boasts 18 DOC wines.
covered by the IGP of Vitellone Bianco In Emilia, where most wines are bubbly, the
dell’Appennino Centrale. Other meats perfect foil for luxury fare is vivacious red
appreciated throughout the region are veal, Lambrusco—dry, however, not sweet. In
turkey, capon, chicken and rabbit. Romagna, hearty red Sangiovese goes with
Romagnans have a taste for duck and meats and cheeses and the dry white
grilled and roast pork, lamb and mutton. Trebbiano is preferred with fish. The region’s
Cesenatico is the seafood haven of lone DOCG is the white Albana di Romagna,
Romagna, whose brodetto is among the historically sweet but today mainly dry.
tastiest of the Adriatic’s fish soups. Eels from Emilia’s preferred digestivo is nocino, a
the Comacchio lagoon may be stewed, liqueur made of green walnuts steeped in
roasted or grilled. distilled spirits.
Emilia’s Parmigiano Reggiano, the "king
of cheeses," is firm yet brittle enough to
break into bite-sized chunks of elegantly
DOP PRODUCTS
mellow flavor. Aging makes Parmigiano
Cheeses: Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana
golden and hard for grating. Romagna’s
Padano (in part), Provolone Valpadana
formaggio di fossa from the milk of sheep or
(Piacenza).
cows is ripened in caves for three months.
Meat products: Coppa Piacentina,
Ravaggiolo and squaquarone are tangy
Culatello di Zibello, Pancetta Piacentina,
cream cheeses used mainly in cooking.
Prosciutto di Modena, Prosciutto di Parma,
Sweets seem almost sinful after such
Salame Piacentino.
rich fare. That may explain why fruit,
Olive oil: Brisighella.
especially home grown peaches, cherries,
Vinegars: Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di
strawberries, pears and muskmelons, as
Modena, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di
well as nuts, are prominent in the diet. Of
Reggio Emilia.
special note are the cherries of Vignola and
the pears, peaches and nectarines
protected as IGP in Romagna. Chestnuts
thrive in the Apennines, where the Marrone IGP PRODUCTS
del Castel Rio rates an IGP.
Emilia-Romagna boasts its share of Meat products: Cotechino di Modena,
biscuits, pastries, tarts, sweet ravioli and Mortadella di Bologna, Zampone di Modena
tortelli, sherbets and ices. Traditional and Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino
desserts include Bologna’s certosino (spice Centrale (in part).
cake), Ferrara’s torta di mele (apple cake), Produce: Fungo di Borgotaro, Marrone del
Modena’s bensone (lemon-flavored Castel Rio, Pera dell’Emilia-Romagna,Pesca
crumble), Romagna’s gialetti (cornmeal e Nettarina di Romagna, Scalogno di
biscuits) and piada dei morti (flatbread with Romagna.
nuts and raisins).
Aceto balsamico tradizionale is aged at
least 12 years in barrels of different types of
wood to become dark, dense and almost
Specialties of
too divine to be called vinegar. The
traditional type is protected by a DOP in
Emilia-Romagna
Modena and Reggio, but imitations abound.
anguilla alla comacchiese eel from the
The tradizionale is a unique condiment for
Comacchio marshes cooked in a tomato-
meat, fish, and vegetables or the prime
onion-garlic sauce.
ingredient in sauces. Vinegars of 20 years

57
 prosciutto con melone roseate slices of
anolini alla parmigiana a stracotto of various Parma ham with fresh cantaloupe (or figs).
meats, vegetables and herbs makes a filling
for the envelopes cooked and served in riso con sugo di anatra selvatica risotto of
capon’s broth with a liberal grating of the lowlands around Ravenna and Ferrara
Parmigiano Reggiano. with a sauce from wild duck stewed with
white wine, tomato and herbs.
asparagi alla parmigiana green asparagus
served with melted butter and grated tagliatelle alla duchessa chicken livers
Parmigiano Reggiano. browned in butter flavor noodles dressed
with beaten egg yolks and grated
cappelletti romagnoli the "hats" with a filling Parmigiano Reggiano, as Parma’s Marie
of cheese, pork, turkey breast, sage and Louise liked them.
rosemary are served with a pork ragout or in
broth. tortelli con le erbette envelopes filled with
ricotta and greens are served with drawn
cappone ripieno large capon roast in the butter around Parma.
oven with a stuffing of veal, ham and
Marsala. tortellini in brodo the pasta curls with an
exquisite meat and cheese filling are
erbazzone round tart baked or fried with traditionally served in capon broth with
spinach or chard, salt pork, onions, garlic, grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
sometimes ricotta, typical of Reggio—called
scarpazzone when baked in a crust.

garganelli pasta tubes with ragù alla romagnola

based on chicken livers, veal, prosciutto,
tomatoes, herbs and bechamel

gramigna short, curly pasta tubes often

served with sausage braised in wine.

lasagne verdi Bologna’s spinach green

pasta sheets layered with ragout and
bechamel.

passatelli grated grana, breadcrumbs, eggs

and bone marrow are worked into paste and
forced through slots to form dumplings,
cooked in beef broth as soup in Romagna.

pasticcio di tortellini in Bologna, the cooked

pasta with ragù is baked in a pie crust with
broth, grated cheese, breadcrumbs and, if
available, white truffles.

pisarei e fasò tiny pasta rounds with reddish

borlotti beans, tomato sauce and grated
Parmigiano Reggiano—the pride of
Piacenza.

58
 Liguria

he Mediterranean diet takes on touches of genius along

T the Italian Riviera, which extends from the central port of

Genoa in narrow strips to the east (Levante) and west
(Ponente). Ligurian cooks rely on the sea, yet their skills shine
with produce from the steep hillsides: pale golden olive oil, gar-
den greens, meats and poultry, mushrooms, nuts, herbs, the
ingredients for the sauces they call tocchi (touches), above all
basil and garlic for the glorious green pesto.
Ligurians, whose ancestors once dominated
northwestern Italy and southeastern France, were noted as
seafaring traders long before their famous son Christopher
Columbus opened channels for foods from America. Pasta
tubes called macheronis were cooked in the 13th century by
Genoese, who spread the cult of noodles to other Italian
ports and over the Apennines to Emilia. Ancient Ligurians
made polenta and breads from the flour of dried chickpeas Genoa (Genova) is the administrative
and chestnuts. It’s been speculated that a form of pasta center of Liguria, whose provinces
include Imperia, La Spezia and Savona.
originated there as the lasagnette strips of chestnut flour that
The region ranks 18th in size (5,421
still appear on menus. square kilometers) and 11th in popula-
Liguria remains an active producer of pasta, though tion (1,633,000).
based almost entirely on wheat. Preferred with pesto are
slender trenette noodles or the short, spiraled trofie or
troffiette. The sauce was made by pounding fresh basil in
mortar and pestel with garlic and pine nuts (or walnuts), then
blending in olive oil and grated Pecorino Sardo and
Parmigiano Reggiano in equal parts. Some include potatoes
or green beans with the noodles. Pesto, now often made in
blenders, also flavors minestrone.
A pungent garlic and vinegar sauce called aggiadda or
agliata goes with soups and baccalà. Beyond basil, parsley,
rosemary, marjoram and thyme, cooks use a mix of wild
herbs called preboggion—which includes borage, chervil,
chicory and other greens in season—to flavor pasta and
soup. Other pastas include a type of ravioli called pansòuti,
dumplings called fregamài and testaroli, small, round or
figure-eight stamps known as corzetti, the lasagne-like
picagge and the thinner mandilli de saea (silk handkerchiefs).
Chickpea flour and olive oil make a tasty tart called
farinata—or panissa when made with onions and fried. Here
torta (cake) is rarely sweet. Torta pasqualina and torta verde
are laden with vegetables, torta marinara with fish. Bread
usually comes in rolls or as focaccia with oil, onions or
cheese. The region has its own pizza dell’Andrea (after the
heroic Admiral Andrea Doria) with onions, garlic, tomatoes,
black olives and anchovies—or with sardines as sardenaira.
There’s also a sweet pizza among Liguria’s desserts,

59
 which range through ring-shaped biscuits the wittily ironic name of a monumental salad
called canestrelli, fried pastries called böxìe that contains plenty of fish but no fowl).
(little lies), apple and raisin fritters called Coveted are gianchetti or bianchetti (larval
friscieu, Genoa’s Easter fruitcake pandolce anchovies and sardines available only briefly
and the chestnut-pine nut tart called each year) and datteri (date-shells so rare that
castagnaccio. fishing is banned). Yet housewives rely on
Seafood restaurants along the Riviera offer mussels, squid and other humble fish for
sea bass, prawns, scallops, oysters, lobsters soups called buridda and ciuppin. Recipes
and on occasion cappon magro ("lean capon," abound for anchovies and sardines (fresh or

60
preserved), the dried tuna (or, in the past, ciuppin the humblest of fish stewed with
dolphin) called mosciame and dried cod tomato, garlic, onions, white wine and eaten
baccalà and stoccafisso. as soup thickened with stale bread.
The resourceful use of meat in the diet
relies on the versatility of veal in roasts and coniglio alla carlona rabbit braised in white
stews, the breast loaf called cima ripiena, the wine with black olives, pine nuts, capers,
rolled filets called tomaxelle, fried skewers herbs.
called stecchi and as a source of tripe. Rabbit
is popular, braised or stewed, as are poultry gianchetti all’agro the miniature fish served
and lamb. Liguria produces little cheese, raw or poached with lemon, oil, parsley.
though Parmigiano Reggiano, pecorino, fresh
ricotta and the acidic curds called prescinseua mes-ciua chick-peas, beans, farro and olive
are prominent in cooking. oil blend in an antique soup of La Spezia.
The region’s olive oil known as Riviera
Ligure is protected by a DOP. Ligurians prize pansòuti con la salsa di noci pasta
their limited sources of wine, first among envelopes filled with ricotta and the
them the white from the seaside terraces of preboggion bouquet of herbs, topped with
Cinque Terre, either dry or sweet as walnut sauce and grated Parmigiano
Sciacchetrà. Cinque Terre lies in the Riviera Reggiano.
del Levante to the east of Genoa, where the
Colli di Luni zone is noted for fine white sbira or sbirra tripe with tomatoes, potatoes
Vermentino. The Riviera del Ponente to the and herbs served over slabs of toasted
west offers white Pigato and Vermentino bread with Parmigiano Reggiano, eaten by
and red Rossese di Dolceacqua and Genoa’s stevedores and sbirri (cops) after a
Ormeasco, from the Dolcetto grape. day’s work.

siluri torpedoes, the nickname for totani or

DOP PRODUCTs flying squid, stuffed with cheese,
breadcrumbs and garlic and stewed with
wine and tomatoes.
Olive oil: Riviera Ligure.
stecchi fritti wooden skewers of various
pieces of veal coated with thick batter that
Specialties of includes artichokes, mushrooms and grated
cheese and fried in olive oil.
Liguria
stocchefisce accomodou dried cod cooked
buridda Genoese soup of various fish in a with pine nuts, olives, mushrooms,
stock with plenty of garlic, anchovy, tomato. potatoes, vegetables, herbs and anchovies,
in white wine and tomato sauce.
cappon magro layers of garlic-rubbed sea
biscuits, cooked vegetables, eggs and at tomaxelle veal rolls with a filling of
least a dozen types of fresh fish form a mushrooms, pine nuts, breadcrumbs and
mound crowned by oysters and lobsters. eggs braised in tomato sauce.

capponada the poor man’s cappon magro torta pasqualina Easter tart based on
includes biscuits and mainly preserved fish. artichokes or chard, hard-boiled eggs,
ricotta and herbs, originally baked in 33
cima ripiena veal breast stuffed with layers of dough.
vegetables, eggs, herbs, pistachios and
cheese.

61
 Piedmont (Piemonte)

iedmontese uphold their heritage of food and wine with

P unequaled staunchness. Turin, as the home of the Savoy

dynasty that reigned as Italy’s royal family, shared a culi-
nary savoir faire with neighboring France. But the noblest
examples of the good tastes of the past are to be found in the
substantial cooking of the hill country.
The flavors of Piedmont reach peaks in autumn, when the
harvest is in and wooded slopes from the Alps to the
Apennines supply game, mushrooms and white truffles,
whose magical aromas enhance pastas and risottos, meats
and cheeses. Those foods call for full-bodied red wines such
as Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera.
Piedmont’s range of antipasti is so vast and varied that it
represents a compendium of regional cooking with dishes
that elsewhere might qualify as main courses. Classic
Turin (Torino) is the administrative center openers are fonduta (cheese fondue), insalata di carne cruda
of Piedmont, whose provinces include (marinated raw beef), finanziera (a bizarre meat stew), vitello
Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, tonnato (veal with tuna sauce) and bagna caôda ("hot bath"
Novara, Torino, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
and Vercelli. The region ranks 2nd in
for raw vegetables). Salads may consist of greens,
size (25,399 square kilometers) and asparagus, sweet-sour onions, beans or wild mushrooms.
5th in population (4,288,000). Red and yellow bell peppers are eaten with dressings or, like
other vegetables, blended in flans called sformati. Zucchini
flowers or Savoy cabbage (verza) leaves with meat-cheese
fillings may be called caponet. Rice and cheese are used for
croquettes, cakes and fritters. Eggs may be fried sunny side
up with truffles or cooked with vegetables or peppers as
frittata or in an onion custard called tartrà.
Antipasto lists continue with tongue, tripe, fried pig’s
trotters called batsoa (silk stockings), tonno di coniglio
(marinated rabbit tender as tuna) and stewed snails. Patés
and terrines are made of liver and game birds. Fine pork
salumi include salame alla douja (aged in lard in earthenware
vases) and blood sausages called sanguinacci. Salami is also
made from beef, goose, trout and potatoes. Munched with
virtually everything are grissini, yard-long breadsticks first
baked in Turin in the 17th century.
Pastas are dominated by slender, hand-cut noodles called
tajarin and ravioli-like envelopes called agnolotti, which take to
different forms, fillings and sauces. Flatlands near the Po
around Vercelli and Novara are Europe’s leading suppliers of
rice, notably the prized Carnaroli for risotto cooked with beans
and pork as panissa or paniscia or with frogs, vegetable or
meat sauces or simply with butter and shaved truffles. Polenta
and potato gnocchi are favored in places, as are hearty soups,
such as cisrà, with chickpeas and pork rind, and tôfeja, with
beans, corn flour, vegetables and pork.

62
 The region raises prized beef of the DOCs, including the regionwide appellation
breed known as razza piemontese to be of Piemonte to classify premium wines. The
braised in red wine, roasted, grilled or Nebbiolo grape of Barolo and Barbaresco
simmered as the base of bollito misto. also makes aged reds in the northern towns
Recipes abound for veal, lamb, kid and of Gattinara, Ghemme and Carema. Popular
rabbit, as well as duck, goose, chicken, reds are Barbera and Dolcetto. Notable
capon and pigeon. Pheasant, partridge, whites are the dry Gavi and Arneis and the
hare and venison are favorites among game. sweet, bubbly Asti Spumante and its relative
Meats and other items combine in Italy’s Moscato d’Asti. Turin is the world capital of
most ambitious fritto misto. Fried pork liver vermouth, fortified wine flavored with herbs
is the base of a dish called griva. Tapulone is and spices.
a stew of donkey meat served around
Novara. Anchovies and tuna flavor many a
dish, though fresh fish is secondary in the
diet, with an exception for trout from
DOP PRODUCTS
mountain lakes and streams.
Cheeses: Bra, Castelmagno, Gorgonzola
Piedmont produces quantities of
(province of Novara), Grana Padano (in part),
Gorgonzola from Novara, as well as Taleggio
Murazzano, Raschera, Robiola di
and Grana Padano, DOP cheeses that are
Roccaverano, Toma Piemontese.
also made in neighboring regions. Piedmont
also offers an intricate array of local cheeses
protected by DOP. Notable are the soft
Robiola di Roccaverano (based on sheep’s IGP PRODUCTS
milk) and Murazzano (based on cow’s milk
with some goat or sheep’s milk blended in) Produce: Nocciola del Piemonte.
and the little wheels of Toma Piemontese
from hill towns in the region. Tome or tume
are usually based on cow’s milk, as is the
rare Castelmagno, sharp in flavor and
Specialties of
flecked with blue mold. Bra, named for the
town near Cuneo, may be soft when young
Piedmont
or hard with age. The similar Raschera
agnolotti al burro e salvia pasta envelopes
comes from the heights of the Maritime
with a lean meat-herb filling served with
Alps. A pervasively pungent fermented
fresh sage leaves sautéed in butter and
cheese is known variously as brôs, bruss,
grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
bruz. Fontina, preferably from Valle d’Aosta,
is widely used in cooking.
bagna caôda olive oil, butter, garlic and
Piedmont is a major producer of hazelnuts,
anchovies are the "hot bath" in an
protected under IGP. They are used in
earthenware vessel into which raw
pastries, cakes, chocolates and the nougat
cardoons, carrots, celery, fennel, cauliflower,
called torrone. Chestnuts are roasted or
jerusalem artichokes, spring onions and
candied as marrons glacés. Among a wealth
sliced bell peppers—among other items—
of biscuits, pastries and desserts, standouts
are dipped.
are corn flour (meliga) cookies, the chocolate
or coffee flavored custard cake called bonèt,
brasato al Barolo beef marinated in Barolo
cream cooked with caramel as panna cotta,
with onions, carrots and herbs, braised to
an opulent chocolate cake called torta
exquisite tenderness.
gianduia and fluffy zabaione, which
supposedly originated here.
finanziera stew or sauce of veal brains,
Piedmont boasts the greatest number of
sweetbreads, chicken livers and cockscombs
classified wines, with 8 DOCGs and 43

63
 and mushrooms stewed with garlic, vinegar season, shaved truffles.
and Marsala, though recipes vary.
lepre in civet or sivè hare marinated and
fonduta Fontina cheese melted with butter, milk cooked with its blood, herbs, spices and red
and egg yolks and worked with a whisk into a wine, sometimes confused with lepre in salmì,
creamy mass topped with shaved white truffles. cooked without blood and served with
strained gravy.
fritto misto piemontese or fricia this deep-fried
banquet includes lamb, chicken, veal, liver, panissa risotto tinted with Barbera, braised
brains, sweetbreads, pig’s feet, sausages, with reddish borlotti beans, pork rind and
artichokes, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, salame alla douja, typical of Vercelli; paniscia of
apples, pears, cheese, dumplings, almond nearby Novara is subtly different.
biscuits, though possibilities don’t stop there.
polenta cùnsa cornmeal mixed with Fontina
gnocchi alla bava potato dumplings with and toma, topped with butter and grated
butter, Fontina and grated Grana Padano. grana.

grande bollito misto piemontese various cuts tajarin con i tartufi the noodles boiled in beef
of beef and veal, including tongue and head, broth are flavored with melted butter, grated
simmered with hen, cotechino sausage, grana and a touch of nutmeg and topped with
onions, celery, carrots and served with bagnet shaved truffles.
verde (sauce of parsley, garlic, anchovy,
breadcrumbs) or bagnet ross (peppery hot trota alla salvia brook trout braised in white
and red from tomatoes). wine and vinegar with bay leaf and fresh sage.

insalata di carne cruda finely chopped raw zabaione or zabaglione egg yolks whipped
beef or veal marinated briefly in olive oil, garlic, with sugar and Marsala into a delicious cream,
lemon juice, served with salad greens or, in which also flavors ice cream and semifreddo.

64
 Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste

taly’s smallest region is tucked into the loftiest corner of

I the Alps with borders on France and Switzerland, neigh-

bors who influence the cooking of the French-speaking
population. Still, though Valle d’Aosta shares traditions
with Piedmont (of which it was long a province), the foods
of its Alpine valleys have rarefied character of their own.
Pasta and olive oil are novelties in a robust cuisine
based on cheese and meat, rye bread, potatoes, polenta,
gnocchi, risotto and soups. Cows grazed on Alpine
meadows provide fine butter and cheese called toma,
Robiola and above all Fontina DOP, which figures in many
a dish, including fondua, made with milk as in Piedmont’s
fonduta. Also DOP is Valle d’Aosta Fromadzo, a firm cow’s
milk cheese (sometimes with a bit of ewe’s milk) that has
been made in the valley since the 15th century. Cheese is
also used with polenta, risotto and in thick soups, whose Aosta is the administrative center and
ingredients range beyond the usual vegetables, meat, rice lone province of Valle d’Aosta, which
ranks 20th among the regions in both
and potatoes to include mushrooms, chestnuts and
size (3,264 square kilometers) and
almonds. population (120,000).
Meat specialties are the beef stew called carbonade
and breaded veal cutlets or costolette. Aostans savor the
trout that abounds in mountain streams and game:
partridge, grouse, hare, venison, as well as chamois and
ibex (for which hunting is limited). Noted pork products are
prosciutto called Jambon de Bosses, which rates a DOP,
as does the Lard (salt pork) from the town of Arnad. Spicy
blood sausages called boudins and salame are preserved
in pork fat. Mocetta is the rare prosciutto of chamois or
ibex. A curiosity is tetouns, cow’s udder salt cured with
herbs, cooked, pressed and sliced fine like ham.
The Alpine climate lends flavor to berries and fruit,
especially apples and pears called martin sec that are
cooked with red wine as dessert. The region is noted for
fragrant mountain honey, almond biscuits called tegole and
butter crisps known as torcetti.
The Valle d’Aosta (Vallée d’Aoste in French) regional
DOC covers 23 types of wine and variations. But such
curios as the red Torrette and Enfer d’Arvier and the white
Muscat de Chambave and Blanc de Morgex (from
continental Europe’s highest vineyards) need to be
sampled locally. Meals conclude with the passing of the
grolla, a pot containing caffè valdostana (coffee with red
wine, grappa and lemon peel), which is sipped from
numerous spouts.

65
 DOP PRODUCTS cutlet with melted Fontina and, in season,
truffles.
Cheeses: Fontina, Valle d’Aosta Fromadzo. minestra di castagne e riso thick soup of
Meat products: Jambon de Bosses, Valle rice cooked in milk with chestnuts.
d’Aosta Lard d’Arnad.
polenta alla rascard cornmeal cooked, cooled
and sliced, then baked with layers of Fontina
Specialties of Valle and a ragout of beef and sausage.

d’Aosta risotto alla valdostana Fontina, toma,

Parmigiano Reggiano and butter make this
capriolo alla valdostana venison stewed in one of the creamiest of rice dishes.
red wine with vegetables, herbs, grappa,
cream. seupa à la valpellinentze soup of Savoy
cabbage, rye bread, Fontina, ham, salt pork,
carbonade salt-cured beef cooked with herbs and spices in beef broth.
onions and red wine in a rich stew.
seupa de gri barley soup with potatoes,
costoletta alla valdostana breaded veal onions, seasonal vegetables, salt pork.

66
 Lombardy (Lombardia)

ombardy honors its richly diversified culinary heritage with

L dishes that are often elaborate and esoteric in taste.

Milan’s gastronomic traditions differ—if more in form than
in substance—from the dining customs of the provinces in a
territory that extends from the Alps along the lakes of Garda,
Como and Maggiore across the Po plains to the Apennines.
Provincial cooking merits individual attention, yet regional
patterns of eating do show recurring themes. Risotto and
polenta still surpass pasta in popularity. The habitual use of
butter, cream and lard has only gradually yielded to olive oil
in recipes.
Lombardy’s popular cheeses are firm Grana Padano,
blue-veined Gorgonzola, soft, ripe Taleggio, soft, mild
Quartirolo Lombardo and tangy Provolone Valpadano, all
covered by DOP, as well as creamy Robiola and Stracchino.
Some local cheeses are also protected. Milan (Milano) is the administrative cen-
Lombardians are resolute consumers of meat and poultry ter of Lombardy, whose provinces
include Bergamo, Brescia, Como,
(especially duck, goose and turkey). Beef is the base of
Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Mantova,
bollito misto, eaten everywhere. The many recipes for veal Pavia, Sondrio and Varese. The region
include vitello tonnato, with tuna sauce, shared with ranks 4th in size (23,861 square kilo-
Piedmont. Pork’s customary utility extends through a range meters) and 1st in population
(9,029,000).
of salame, though salume also comes from beef and geese.
The pleasures of eating in old Milan were illustrated by
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a painter who used foods to create
human likenesses. In Italy’s rice capital the saffron-tinted
risotto alla milanese is served with ossobuco (braised veal
shank). Rice (or rîs) is cooked in many ways: with erborinn
(parsley), spàrgitt (asparagus), rape (turnips), rane (frogs) and
coràda (calf’s lung). The city’s soups include robust
minestrone and busecca (based on tripe). Noted meat dishes
are costoletta alla milanese (breaded veal cutlet), casoeûla
(pork stew), fritto misto (of veal brains, liver, lungs and
sweetbreads) and mondeghili (meat croquettes). Milan is
known for fine-grained pork salame, that was traditionally
made in the city, as well as in the nearby Brianza hills, where
it rates a DOP. Panettone, a fluffy fruit cake, is a national
Christmas institution.
To the south lies Pavia and the rice paddies near where
the intricate risotto alla certosina was created at a Carthusian
monastery. Pavia is known for zuppa alla pavese, risòtt rustì
(rice with pork and beans), dishes with frogs, crayfish and
snails, and the original colomba pasquale, the Easter cake in
the form of a dove. Fine salume is made in the hills of Oltrepò
Pavese, notably the Salame di Varzi, which rates a DOP. The
town of Mortara is noted for goose salame and fegato grasso
(foie gras).

67
 Cremona, on the Po, is renowned for desserts include crescent pastries called
mostarda (mustard-flavored candied fruits) offelle and cakes called bussolano (with
served with platters of bollito misto. potatoes and lemon) and the crumbly torta
Although the city may have been the sbrisulona. Pears from Mantova are
birthplace of ravioli, its most noted pasta protected by an IGP. Part of the Parmigiano
today is marubini, disks filled with meat and Reggiano DOP zone is in the province of
cheese and eaten in broth. A local treat is Mantova.
torrone, nougat based on almonds. Although the region produces little olive
Como’s Alpine lake supplies prized oil, two types rate DOP: Laghi Lombardi and
persico (perch), tiny fish called alborelle, Garda, from the shores of the lake. Two
which are fried and eaten whole, and agoni, wines have been distinguished as DOCG:
dried and preserved with bay leaf as Franciacorta, a sparkling wine made by the
missultitt, eaten like sardines. Other classical method of fermentation in bottle,
delicacies are fitascetta (pastry with red and Valtellina Superiore, a red from
onions), polenta vûncia (with garlic, butter Nebbiolo. Notable among Lombardy’s 13
and Grana Padano) and miascia (bread DOCs are those of Oltrepò Pavese, which
pudding with apples, pears, raisins and takes in a range of reds, whites and
rosemary). sparkling wines, and Lugana, a fruity white
The Valtellina, near the Alpine border of from vineyards to the south of Lake Garda.
Switzerland, is the home of bresaola (air
dried beef) and violino (smoked goat
prosciutto). Buckwheat (grano saraceno) is
used for a cheese and grappa fritter called
sciatt, noodles called pizzoccheri, for
polenta in fiur (cooked with milk) and polenta
taragna (with butter and the rare scimudin
cheese). The valley’s legendary cheese is
the rustic Bitto DOP, though Valtellina
Casera is also protected.
The provinces of Bergamo and Brescia
share a ravioli-like pasta called casônsei and
polenta e osei, with little birds cooked crisp
enough to eat bones and all. That dish used
to be so popular that it inspired a cake of the
name with birds sculpted in almond paste.
In the Taleggio valley near Bergamo the
finest cheese of the name is ripened in
caves. Formai de Mut dell’Alta Val
Brembana comes from the Alpine valley
north of Bergamo. Brescia’s menus offer riso
alla pitocca (rice boiled with chicken) and
pike, tench and eel from the lakes of Garda
and Iseo. Bagoss is an artisanal grana
cheese from the village of Bagolino.
Mantua (Mantova) in the eastern flatlands
is noted for pasta called agnolini, cooked
with a rich beef-pork filling and tortelli
envelopes with squash. Vialone Nano rice is
grown locally for risotto alla pilota (with
sausages). Polenta is topped with ground
salt pork as gras pistà. Mantua’s many

68
DOP PRODUCTS braised in wine and herbs and flavored with
gremolada (chopped parsley, garlic, grated
lemon rind).
Cheeses: Bitto, Formai de Mut dell’Alta
Valle Brembana, Gorgonzola (in part), Grana polenta e osei cornmeal shaped in a mound
Padano (in part), Parmigiano Reggiano (in and topped with small birds (larks, thrush,
the province of Mantova), Provolone warblers) spit roasted with sage leaves.
Valpadana (in part), Quartirolo Lombardo,
Taleggio, Valtellina Casera. polenta pasticciata cooked cornmeal,
Olive oils: Laghi Lombardi, Garda (in part). sliced and baked with layers of tomato, pork
Meat products: Salame Brianza, Salame di and mushroom sauce.
Varzi.
rane in guazzetto frogs cooked with butter,
onions, garlic, tomato, white wine.
IGP PRODUCTS risotto alla certosina rice braised with
Meat products: Bresaola della Valtellina. onions, peas, leeks and tomatoes, served
Produce: Pera Mantovana. with froglegs, filets of perch, crayfish and
mushrooms.

Specialties of risotto alla milanese the golden rice flavored

with saffron, butter and grated Parmigiano
Reggiano is traditionally eaten with
Lombardy ossobuco.

busecca or büsêca soup of tripe with salt tacchina ripiena Christmas roast turkey
pork, diced salame, vegetables, herbs, stuffed with chestnuts, apples, pears,
grated grana. walnuts, minced veal, salt pork, brandy and
herbs.
casoeûla cuts of pork, sausage and rind
stewed in wine with cabbage and herbs and torta sbrisulona crisp crumb cake with corn
eaten with polenta. meal, butter and almonds.

casônsei ravioli filled with sausage, bread tortelli di zucca envelopes with a filling of
and cheese in Brescia—and with those yellow squash, mostarda, almond biscuits
ingredients and more around Bergamo— and cheese, served with butter and grated
always dressed with butter and Grana Parmigiano Reggiano.
Padano.
uccelli scappati chunks of veal and pork
costoletta alla milanese large veal cutlet skewered with sage leaves and cooked to
with the bone, breaded, fried in butter and resemble "escaped birds."
served with a sprinkling of lemon.
vitello tonnato thin slices of roast or braised
nervetti in insalata gristle from pig’s foot and veal served cold with a creamy sauce (or
shank cooked tender with onions, carrots mayonnaise) flavored with tuna, capers,
and celery and served as salad with vinegar anchovy and lemon—though recipes vary.
and oil.
zuppa alla pavese fresh eggs atop slices of
ossobuco alla milanese veal shank (cut bread fried in butter are poached and eaten
across the bone to expose the marrow) in beef broth with grated Grana Padano.

69
 Veneto

enetian cooking has known exotic touches since the

V days when crusaders, merchants and adventurers such

as Marco Polo opened trade routes to the east, provid-
ing Europe with coffee, tea and novel grains, herbs and spices.
Still, though foods may be rich, varied and sometimes bizarre,
Veneto boasts an enviably balanced diet from an eclectic
range of sources.
The Adriatic abounds in fish. The plains of the Po, Adige
and Piave rivers supply livestock, rice for risotto and corn for
polenta. The hills that flank the Alps from Lake Garda to
Cortina d’Ampezzo provide game, mushrooms, wine and a
bit of olive oil, along with the climate for aging prosciutto,
salame and cheeses. Gardens everywhere furnish fresh
vegetables, notably the radicchio species of endive of Treviso
and Verona.
Venice (Venezia) is the administrative As a seafood haven, Venice exalts risotto nero (blackened
center of the Veneto, whose provinces with cuttlefish ink), scampi (prawns) and spider crabs called
include Belluno, Padova, Rovigo, granseole—or moleche when males shed their shells in
Treviso, Verona and Vicenza. The spring and fall. Venetians have their own lexicon for creatures
region ranks 8th in size (18,391 square from the lagoon: cannolicchi or cape longhe (razor-shell
kilometers) and 6th in population clams), peoci (mussels), garusoli (spiky murex sea snails),
(4,488,000).
cape sante and the smaller canestrelli (scallops), folpetti
(curled octopus), schile (tiny shrimp) and sardele (sardines).
But Venetians also dine on the earthly likes of risi e bisi (rice
and peas), fegato alla veneziana (calf’s liver and onions) and
Carpaccio. That raw beef dish originated in Venice, as did
the rampantly fashionable dessert called tiramisù.
Cured pork products include variations on salami called
soppressata, as well as cotechino and other types of
sausage. The prosciutto from the Berici and Euganei hills in
the southern Veneto rates a DOP. Protected cheeses take in
Asiago, from Alpine meadows, and Monte Veronese, from
the Lessini hills north of Verona, as well as Grana Padano,
Montasio, Provolone Valpadano and Taleggio, shared with
other regions.
Rice has always found greater favor among Venetians
than pasta. The compact Vialone Nano from Verona’s
lowlands rates an IGP. It excels for risotto, or risoto, usually
made by sautéeing the rice and base ingredients then
simmering them in broth without stirring. Rice dishes, often
substantial, include an endless variety of meat, fish, game,
vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and odd combinations such
as riso con i bruscàndoli (wild hop shoots) and risi in
cavroman (mutton spiced with cinnamon).
Special handmade pastas are the spaghetti-like bigoli, the
ravioli-like cassunziei and the tagliatelle-like paparele.

70
Noodles of all types go with beans in pasta Prosecco is preferred by Venetians for
e fagioli (fasioi in dialect)—the prime frequent sipping of the little glassfuls they
example of a range of soups made with rice, call ombre.
meat, fish and vegetables. The red beans of
Lamon in the valleys around Belluno have
IGP status.
The versatile radicchio rosso is used for
DOP PRODUCTS
salads, cooked in risotto and soups or
Cheeses: Asiago (d’allevo and pressato),
grilled with oil and lemon as a separate dish.
Grana Padano (in part), Montasio (in part),
IGP status has been reserved for Radicchio
Monte Veronese (also d’allevo), Provolone
Rosso di Treviso and Radicchio Variegato di
Valpadana (in part).
Castelfranco. Also prized are tender
Olive oil: Garda (in part).
artichokes and the white asparagus of
Meat product: Prosciutto Veneto Berico-
Bassano del Grappa, eaten with eggs
Euganeo.
beaten with olive oil and vinegar. The olive oil
from the shores of Lake Garda and Verona’s
hills rate the DOP Garda.
Polenta can be a primo, though it’s more IGP PRODUCTS
often part of the main course, as a mush or
grilled with meat dishes such as pastissada, Produce: Fagioli di Lamon della Vallata
stew made with beef or with horsemeat as Bellunese, Radicchio Rosso di Treviso,
pastissada de caval in Verona. There pearà, Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco, Riso
a sauce of beef marrow, grated bread and Nano Veronese.
pepper is served with the ubiquitous bollito
misto. Polenta accompanies duck, goose,
guinea fowl, turkey (sometimes cooked with
pomegranate) and game—such as wood
Specialties of the
pigeon, thrush, duck—dressed with
peverade (sauce of chicken livers, salame,
Veneto
anchovies, oil, garlic, vinegar). Polenta also
baccalà alla vicentina dried cod cooked in
goes with carpione (salmon trout found only
milk with onions, anchovies and Grana
in Lake Garda), with stewed bisati (eels from
Padano.
the river deltas) or with dried cod called
baccalà (but really stoccafisso), renowned
bigoli co l’anara "spaghetti" and sauce of
from Vicenza.
duck liver and innards with vegetables and
The region’s pastries and desserts
herbs.
include baicoli (sugar biscuits), zaleti
(cornmeal-raisin cookies), frìtole (fritters,
Carpaccio the original (named for the
with candied fruit and nuts for Carnival) and
Venetian Renaissance painter) was thin-
crema fritta (fried cream custard). Popular
sliced raw beef dressed with mayonnaise
beyond the region are Verona’s golden
containing mustard and Worcestershire
pandoro Christmas cake, the crumbly torta
sauce, though popularity has inspired
sabbiosa and fregolotta (with almonds) plus,
creations with meat, fish, cheese,
of course, tiramisù.
mushrooms and truffles.
Verona is Italy’s first province for DOC
wines, led by white Soave and red Bardolino
fegato alla veneziana calf’s liver sautéed
and Valpolicella (whose opulent Amarone
with onions, parsley and sage in butter and
version ages splendidly). Vineyards
oil with a hint of vinegar.
elsewhere proliferate in Merlot and
Cabernet, often drunk young, and white
granseola alla veneziana the meat of boiled
Pinots and Chardonnay. Bubbly white

71
 spider crab pounded in a mortar and served risotto primavera diced string beans,
in the hollowed shell with olive oil, pepper, artichokes, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes
lemon, parsley. united with peas and asparagus tips and
braised with rice in the spring.
pasta e fasioi noodles of any type and
beans in a thick minestra, often flavored with sardele in saor sardines fried in oil with
onion, carrot, celery, pork rind, though onions and flavored with vinegar, marinated
recipes vary around the region. with pine nuts, raisins and lemon peel and
eaten as antipasto.
pasticcio di polenta layers of fried polenta
and stew of wood pigeon with mushrooms sopa coada pigeon sautéed with wine,
baked in pie crust. vegetables, herbs, boned and baked in a
casserole with slices of bread laden with
pastissada de caval horsemeat stewed with Grana Padano and enough broth to make it
tomatoes, onions and herbs in red wine. a soup.

risi e bisi fresh peas sautéed in butter with tiramisù coffee-flavored cream of
onion, pork and parsley, then simmered with mascarpone and eggs, layered with
rice in broth to the consistency of a thick savoiardi (ladyfingers) and topped with curls
soup, served with grated Grana Padano. of bitter chocolate.

risotto alla sbirraglia pieces of spring torresani allo spiedo pigeons roasted on the
chicken and lean veal braised with rice and spit with salt pork basted with oil containing
vegetables. mashed bay leaf, rosemary, juniper berries.

72
 Friuli-Venezia Giulia

n this attractively secluded region where the Alps almost touch the

I Adriatic, the homespun cooking of the Friulian hill country pre-

sented historical contrasts with the more refined Venetian-style
fare eaten along the coast. Over time, though, the two cuisines have
reached a happy union in dishes accented—often rather sharply—
by the tastes of Austrian and Slavic neighbors, who remember
Trieste as their gateway to the Mediterranean.
In Alpine Carnia and the vine-draped hills of Udine and Gorizia,
the open hearth fogolar with conical chimney is used for grilling
beef, lamb, kid, poultry, sausages and mushrooms. The
indispensable polenta goes with cheese, meat stews, blood
puddings and game: hare and venison often cooked in salmì (highly
seasoned wine sauce) and a mixed flock of fowl, including
woodcock, duck and little birds called uite.
Friuli’s pride is the exquisite prosciutto of the town of San
Daniele, which rates a DOP, though there are also sausages called Trieste is the administrative center of
lujanie and muset (the local cotechino), the neck cut called Friuli-Venezia Giulia, whose provinces
include Gorizia, Pordenone and Udine.
ossocollo and the smoked ham of Sauris. From mountain
The region ranks 17th in size (7,855
meadows come Montasio DOP cheese (the base of crisp frico) and square kilometers) and 15th in popula-
ricotta called scuete, also smoked and aged for grating. tion (1,184,000).
The ingredients for Friuli’s medley of soups include pork, tripe,
turnips, cabbage, corn, barley, mushrooms and above all fasûj,
small reddish beans that also go with rice or noodles. Pastas
include flakes called flics, tubes called sivilots and the curious
cjalçons, envelopes with sweet-sour fillings for which various
recipes include spinach, ryebread, raisins, candied fruit, potato,
parsley, mint, brandy, chocolate and cinnamon. Breads, beyond the
usual wheat, are made from rye and barley flour as well as pumpkin.
Along the Adriatic between Lignano Sabbiadoro and Trieste
recipes favor seafood: turbot, sardines, prawns, cuttlefish, squid,
scallops, crabs, eels and even turtles cooked in soup. Chowder
from the fishing port of Grado is called boreto alla graisana. There
are several recipes for salt cod baccalà and many for risotto with
fish, vegetables, herbs or frogs.
Trieste harbors eastern traditions in gulasch or gùlas (peppery
beef stew), cevàpcici (grilled patties of minced pork and beef),
rambasici (meat filled cabbage rolls), bòbici (soup with ham, beans,
potatoes, corn kernels), potato gnocchi or gnocs made with plums
or pumpkin. Pastas include lasagne with poppy seeds, the ravioli-
like bauletti (with cheese-ham filling) and offelle (filled with spinach,
veal, pork, onion). Wursts, sauerkraut and horseradish add to the
tangs of Central Europe.
So do desserts, such as presnitz (rolls with raisins, nuts, candied
fruits), strudel (pastry with apples, raisins, pine nuts, cinnamon) and
a local version of the latter called strukli with potatoes in the dough
and ricotta in the filling. Potatoes also go into crescent-shaped

73
 chifeleti biscuits. Other treats are pumpkin fritters onion, celery and herbs.
called fritulis, chestnut cookies called castagnolis
and the fluffy cake roll gubana. frico aged Montasio grated, mixed with
Some of Italy’s most prestigious white wines cornmeal and fried flat and crisp; some recipes
come from the hills of Collio Goriziano and Colli add chopped onions or potatoes.
Orientali del Friuli: Tocai Friulano, Sauvignon,
Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and the granzevola alla triestina spider crab meat baked
sweet Picolit and Verduzzo. Eminently drinkable with breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon, parsley.
are the red Merlot and Cabernet and wines from
such local varieties as Pignolo, Schiopettino and gubana yeast cake rolled around a filling of nuts,
Refosco. Here the tradition of grappa, or sgnape, raisins, candied orange and lemon peels, bits of
is bolstered by production of the Slovenian plum chocolate and cinnamon.
brandy called slivovitz.
gulasch or gùlas beef stewed with onion,
tomato, herbs, chili peppers and paprika.
DOP PRODUCTS jota or jote beans, potatoes and sausages
simmered with broth in an earthenware pot are
Cheese: Montasio.
flavored with sauerkraut and sage sautéed in
Meat product: Prosciutto di San Daniele.
garlic in the Trieste version of the soup.

muset e bruada pork-rind sausage boiled and

Specialties of served with bruada or brovada (turnips pickled in
vinegar), sautéed with onion, garlic, salt pork.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
paparot corn meal with chopped spinach and
boreto alla graisana chowder of fish (preferably garlic in a tasty gruel.
turbot) stewed with olive oil, garlic, vinegar.
risotto di Marano rice boiled in fish stock served
fasûj e uardi bean and barley soup with pork, with sautéed shrimp, squid and mussels.

74
 Trentino-Alto Adige

mid the towering Dolomites of this northernmost region,

A Latin and Teutonic cultures mingle but don’t always mix.

In Alto Adige (or Südtirol, the German-speaking
province of Bolzano), Austro-Tyrolean cooking prevails with
wursts, cabbage, potatoes, rye bread and dumpling soups. In
Trentino (the province of Trento to the south), Italo-Venetian
traditions of polenta and pasta take on Alpine accents with
butter, cheese, game and wild mushrooms.
By now, though, many recipes are shared. South
Tyroleans may dine on pizza or spaghetti as readily as Trentini
eat crauti (sauerkraut) or canederli (the bread dumplings
called Knödeln in German).
Trentino thrives on polenta, usually made from corn but
also from potatoes or buckwheat, which is used in a sort of
cake called smacafam, baked with sausage, salt pork and
sometimes cheese. Beyond conventional ravioli and Trento (Trent) is the administrative cen-
tagliatelle, first courses include bigoi (similar to the Veneto’s ter of Trentino-Alto Adige, whose other
bigoli) and strangolapreti ("priest strangler" gnocchi of province is Bolzano (Bozen). The region
spinach, flour, eggs and cheese). ranks 11th in size (13,607 square kilo-
meters) and 16th in population
Soups contain tripe, pork, various vegetables, potatoes and
(930,000).
turnips. Cornmeal and wheat flour with milk and butter make an
ancient gruel called trisa—or Mus in Alto Adige. Along with
recipes for dried cod stoccafisso, omelets and frittate, comes a
selection of meats: poultry, rabbit. pork, blood sausages called
biroldi and salt-cured beef called carne salata.
Alto Adige’s gastronomic pride is Speck, boned pork
flank smoked and aged by artisans, mainly in the Venosta
valley. Speck dell’Alto Adige, which rates an IGP, is eaten as
an opener or snack sliced or cubed with wedges of dark
Bauernbrot or with crisp rye flatbread.
Knödeln, which often contain bits of liver or Speck, also
come in a dark version with rye bread, buckwheat flour, leeks
and bacon. Both may be served in broth or dry to
accompany meats and vegetables. Popular soups contain
barley and tripe. Sausage called Hauswurst is served with
sauerkraut, pickles and horseradish. Noodles called Spätzli
often go with beef dishes, such as peppery Rindsgulasch
and Sauerbraten, pot roast with onions, wine and vinegar.
From the lofty wilds come brook trout, venison and rare
chamois and mountain goat.
Trento’s prominent cheese is Grana Trentino, though
Grana Padano DOP and Asiago DOP may also be made in
the province. Every Alpine village makes its own version
called nostrano (ours). Alto Adige’s many local cheeses
include the grainy, sharp Graukäse, soft, mild Pusteria and
Pustertaler and goat’s milk Ziegenkäse.

75
 The region is Italy’s leading producer of carne salata beef marinated for a month or
apples, which appear in strudel and the more in brine with juniper berries, pepper
fritters called Apfelküchel. Krapfen are and herbs, eaten either sliced raw or cooked
baked or fried pastries with jam. Zelten is a in butter and served with beans or polenta
rye flour Christmas cake with candied fruit,
nuts, honey, cinnamon and liqueur, though Gemsenfleisch chamois Tyrolean style with
recipes vary between provinces. Trentino’s red wine vinegar, salt pork, herbs and sour
sweet version of buckwheat smacafam cream served over toasted country bread.
contains raisins, nuts and aniseed.
In a region that exports a major share of orzetto or Gerstensuppe barley soup with
its wine to Germany, Austria and onion, garlic, vegetables and herbs
Switzerland, reds prevail in easygoing simmered with Speck—eaten in both
Kalterersee (or Caldaro) and St. Magdalener provinces.
(Santa Maddalena), plucky Marzemino and
opulent Lagrein and Teroldego Rotaliano. Leberknödelsuppe dumplings of bread
Cabernet and Merlot also do well here. But crumbled and mixed with flour, milk and
Trentino-Alto Adige has gained a modern eggs and flavored with chopped calf’s liver
reputation with whites, which reach fragrant and herbs served in broth.
heights in the Alpine air as Gewürztraminer,
Sylvaner, Müller Thurgau, Sauvignon and the minestra di trippa Trento’s tripe soup with
Pinots and Chardonnay that also make first- onion, carrot, celery, garlic, potatoes, grated
rate sparkling wines. bread and tomato sauce.

Sauresuppe Tyrolean tripe soup with onion,

DOP PRODUCTS herbs and nutmeg soured by white wine
vinegar.
Cheeses: Asiago (Trentino in part), Grana
Padano (Tentino in part), Provolone
Valpadano (Trentino in part).
Olive oil: Garda (Trentino in part).

IGP PRODUCTS
Meat product: Speck dell’Alto Adige.

Specialties of
Trentino-Alto Adige
biroldi con crauti blood sausages stuffed
with chestnuts, walnuts and pine nuts,
flavored with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon,
served with sauerkraut.

Blau Forelle trout poached in white wine

with vinegar, lemon, bay leaf and clove,
served with melted butter.

76
77
 Glossary
Commonly used Italian terms for food and beverages are defined here. The names of dishes
and foods often differ from region to region. Local dishes and dialect terms for foods such as
pastas, soups, cheeses, fish, meats, breads and desserts are given in regional chapters.

ACCIUGA or ALICE anchovy. ANGUILLA eel. BEVANDA or BIBITA beverage

or drink.
ACETO vinegar; aceto ANIMELLE sweetbreads.
balsamico tradizionale BIETOLA chard.
traditional balsamic vinegar ANTIPASTO appetizer or pre-
(see in Emilia-Romagna). meal course; antipasti cover a BIGNÈ pastry puff or fritter,
miscellany of raw, cooked or often filled with sweet
ACQUA MINERALE mineral pickled vegetable, meat and creams, sometimes with
water, gassata bubbly, fish dishes, salads, cheeses, cheese.
naturale still. canapés, fritters and tarts.
BIRRA beer. Birreria is a
AFFETTATI sliced salumi APERITIVO aperitif, pre-meal brewery or a place that
(salame, prosciutto, etc.) or drink. serves beer.
other meats, cold cuts.
ARANCIA orange; aranciata BISCOTTI biscuits or cookies;
AFFUMICATO smoke cured, orange-based soft drink. biscottini are tiny types.
as in meat, fish.
ARROSTO roast, normally BISTECCA beef steak,
AGLIO garlic. meat cooked in an oven or though the term also applies
on a spit or grill. to veal or pork chop.
AGNELLO lamb. Milk-fed
lamb is called abbacchio in ASPARAGO asparagus. BITTER English term used
Rome and environs. for beverages of bitter flavor.
ASTICE lobster; aragosta is
AGRODOLCE sweet-sour or spiny Mediterranean rock BOCCONCINI bite-sized
bittersweet. lobster. morsels, as in stews or fried
tidbits of meat or cheese.
ALBICOCCA apricot. BACCALÀ or BACALÀ salt-
dried cod, base of popular BOLLITO boiled; b… misto
AMARETTO liqueur of recipes throughout Italy; mixed simmered meats, also
bittersweet almond flavor often synonymous with called lesso.
used for amaretti biscuits. wind-dried stoccafisso (see).
BOTTARGA or BUTTARIGA
AMARO bitter taste, also BARBABIETOLA beet or eggs of mullet or tuna dried
bitter liqueur, usually based beetroot. firm and sliced over pasta or
on herbs. salad.
BASILICO basil.
ANANAS pineapple. BRACIOLA cutlet or chop of
BESCIAMELLA béchamel, pork, veal, lamb; in southern
ANATRA or ANITRA duck. white sauce based on milk Italy bracciola or brasciola
or cream. may refer to a stuffed roll of

78
79
 meat or fish similar to selvaggina. CARAMELLO caramel or
involtini (see). other candy; caramellizzato
CACCIATORE hunter; alla caramelized or glazed.
BRANDY English term used cacciatora refers to hunter’s
to describe a spirit distilled style stews or sauces. CARCIOFO artichoke.
from aged wine.
CACIO ancient term for CARDO cardoon, a thistle
BRASATO braised, usually cheese, still in use as a similar in taste and texture
beef cooked in red wine. synonym for sheep’s milk to artichoke; also called
pecorino and other gobbo.
BRESAOLA air dried filet of types from goats and cows,
beef, specialty of Alpine such as caciocavallo in the CARNE meat.
Lombardy. south and caciotta in the
center. CAROTE carrots.
BRIOCHE light pastry roll or
bun; various types include CAFFÈ coffee; c… espresso CASSATA Sicilian cake, also
the croissant of French is thick and strong from popularly ice cream covered
origin, also called cornetto. steam pressure forced with a chocolate shell.
through fine grounds;
BROCCOLETTI broccoli, but espresso is the base of c… CASTAGNA chestnut;
curiously broccoli in Italian macchiato (with a dab of marrone is the largest and
refers to various cabbage frothy steamed milk) and most prized version.
family sprouts or leaves, cappuccino or cappuccio
including turnips and with more frothy milk; c… CASTRATO mutton.
cauliflower. latte contains still more milk.
CAVOLFIORE cauliflower.
BRODETTO or BRODETO soup CALAMARI squid;
or chowder, usually made calamaretti are tiny squid CAVOLO cabbage; c… verza
with fish in many versions often confused with seppie Savoy cabbage; cavolini di
along the Adriatic Sea. or cuttlefish. Bruxelles brussel sprouts.

BRODO broth or stock from CALZONE or PIZZA RIPIENO CECI chickpeas.

boiled meats, vegetables or pizza dough folded over a
fish. filling and baked or fried. CENA supper or dinner; see
pranzo.
BUDINO pudding, originally CANNELLA cinnamon.
sweet, though molds or CERVELLO brain, veal and
purées of rice, vegetables or CAPPERI capers. lamb brains may be cooked
meat may use the name. in various ways.
CAPPONE capon, rooster
BUE beef from fully mature castrated to heighten flavor CETRIOLO cucumber.
male cattle or oxen (see of meat.
manzo, vitellone). CHINA quinine, used in
CAPRETTO kid. liqueur called china and to
BURRO butter. flavor beverages described
CAPRINO goat’s milk cheese. as chinato.
CACCIAGIONE game
procured by hunting CAPRIOLO roebuck or CHIOCCIOLE snails, also
(caccia), distinguished as venison; cervo, the once called lumache (see).
c… da pelo (furry) and c… prized stag, is rare.
da penna (feathered). See CHIODI DI GAROFANO cloves.

80
CICORIA chicory, both COSTATA rib steak of beef or DATTERO date; dattero di
cultivated and wild, as well veal, also called tagliata. mare sea date or date-shell
as its relative endive, mollusk.
ranging from white cicoria di COSTOLETTA cutlet or chop
Bruxelles (Belgian endive) to of pork, lamb or veal, (AL) DENTE "to the tooth" for
green-speared catalogna synonymous with cotoletta, pasta cooked to proper
(asparagus endive) to the popular term for firmness.
radicchio. See indivia, breaded veal cutlet.
radicchio. (ALLA) DIAVOLA "devil’s
COTECHINO large pork style" referring to hot
CILIEGIE cherries; amarene sausage traditionally seasoning or cooking over
and marasche are bitter containing rind or cotica, red hot coals, as with grilled
varieties. hence the name. chicken called pollo alla
diavola.
CINGHIALE wild boar. COTTO cooked; ben cotto
well done. DIGESTIVO after dinner drink,
CIOCCOLATO chocolate. such as amaro or liqueurs,
COZZE mussels; also called said to aid digestion.
CIPOLLA onion; cipolline or mitili, muscioli, muscoli,
cipollette small or spring peoci. DOLCE sweet; dolci cover
onions; erbe cipolline chives. pastries, cakes and other
CREMA pastry cream or sweets of the course also
COLAZIONE lunch or morning other viscous substance, known in Italian as dessert.
snack; prima colazione also custard, cream soup.
breakfast; see pranzo. Dairy cream is panna. DRAGONCELLO tarragon or
estragon.
CONCHIGLIE generic term for CRESCIONE cress; crescione
hard-shelled mollusks d’acqua watercress. ERBE herbs; erbe
(clams, mussels, scallops, aromatiche are scented
etc.); conchiglia di San CRESPELLE crepes, types, such as basil,
Giacomo pilgrim scallop, sometimes sweet but rosemary, sage, thyme and
also known as cappasanta usually served with fillings or parsley; erbe selvatiche are
or ventaglio. sauces like pasta. wild.

CONDIMENTI condiments, CROSTA crust; crostata fruit ESPRESSO express; see

from condire (to season or tart; crostino crouton or caffè.
dress); the term covers a toast with a spread.
vast range of sauces and FAGIANO pheasant.
flavorings. CROSTACEI crustaceans,
such as shrimp, lobster, FAGIOLI beans, specifically
CONFETTURA jam, also crabs. shelled varieties—such as
called marmellata, which white cannellini or reddish
originally meant citrus fruit CRUDO raw. borlotti—cooked freshly
marmalade. shelled (sgranati) or often
CUCINA kitchen (also stove dried.
CONIGLIO rabbit. or range); cooking, cookery,
cuisine. FAGIOLINI green (or yellow)
CONTORNO side dish or beans in their pods, notably
garnish, usually vegetables CUOCA/CUOCO cook; in string beans.
or salad. restaurants often known as
lo chef. FARAONA guinea fowl or hen.

81
 FARINA flour, from wheat as FRANTOIO mill where olives potato and flour or
well as other grains, nuts are processed for oil. semolino, usually served
and legumes. dressed as a first course;
FRITTATA eggs mixed with g… verdi are green from
FARRO grain, predecessor vegetables, meat or cheese spinach mixed with ricotta;
of hard wheat, used in and fried like a thick pancake gnocchetti are smaller.
soups, breads, polenta. on both sides. See omeletta.
GRANA hard cow’s milk
FAVA fava or broad bean. FRITTELLE fritters or cheese of grainy texture,
pancakes, often with sweet notably Grana Padano,
FEGATO liver; f… d’oca foie ingredients but also meat or Parmigiano Reggiano.
gras; fegatini di pollo cheese.
chicken livers, fegatelli GRANCHIO crab of various
pieces of pork liver. FRITTO fried; f… misto types; the large granciporro
mixed fried foods. is prized; grancevola or
FICO fig; f… d’India is the granzeola is spider crab.
edible fruit of prickly pear FRUTTA fruit.
cactus. GRANITA slushy gelato
FRUTTI DI MARE assorted made by freezing liquid—
FILETTO fillet or filet of meat, seafood, chiefly mollusks often coffee or lemon
fish. and crustaceans, raw or juice—into crystals of grainy
cooked. texture.
FINOCCHIO fennel;
f…selvatico or finocchiella is FUNGHI mushrooms. GRANO grain; g… duro
wild fennel, whose seeds durum wheat; g… saraceno
and green leaves are used GAMBERO name used for buckwheat; granturco or
as seasoning. various crustaceans; g… maìs corn.
rosso and g… imperiale or
FIORE flower; fiori di zucca mazzancolla are large GRAPPA spirit distilled from
or zucchini squash flowers; Mediterranean prawns, also pomace of grapes
fior di latte cow’s milk called gamberoni; gamberelli previously crushed for wine;
mozzarella. are smaller prawns, usually clear but sometimes
gamberetti tiny shrimp; g… amber from wood aging.
FOCACCIA flat bread made in d’acqua dolce freshwater
many styles, usually salty, crayfish. GRIGLIA grill; terms for
sometimes sweet. grilling over coals include
GASTRONOMIA gastronomy; alla griglia, ai ferri, alla brace;
FONDUTA fondue. gastronomo or buongustaio grigliata mista mixed grill of
gourmet, ghiottone glutton. meats or seafood.
FORMAGGIO cheese. Various
types are described in Italian GELATO frozen dessert, GRISSINI breadsticks.
Specialty Foods and such as ice cream or
regional chapters. sherbet, of wide-ranging GUANCIALE salt pork from
flavors, chiefly fruit, nuts and the cheek or jowl.
FORNO oven or bakery; al chocolate.
forno baked or roasted in GUSTO the sense of taste;
the oven; fornaio baker. GINEPRO juniper, whose gustoso tasty.
berries are used as
FRAGOLA strawberry; f… di seasoning. INDIVIA endive; i… riccia
bosco or selvatica is the and scarola (curly and
wild type. GNOCCHI dumplings from broad-leafed escarole), i…

82
83
 belga (Belgian endive, also covers the range of distilled (ALLA) MARINARA mariner’s
called insalata belga or spirits, such as grappa and style, usually referring to
cicoria di Bruxelles). See brandy, and compositions, dishes with tomato sauce.
cicoria, radicchio. such as amaro, limoncello
and sambuca. MARINATA marinade.
INSACCATI generic term for
salumi (see) encased in LOCANDA inn, ancient term MARZAPANE marzipan,
membrane or other for a simple place with sweet almond paste, used
coverings. rooms, often serving meals; in pastries; also called pasta
today synonymous with reale.
INSALATA salad, popular osteria or trattoria.
examples are i… mista MASCARPONE lightly
(mixed), i… verde (greens LOMBATA loin of beef, veal fermented cream whipped
only); i… russa (mixed or lamb; lombo is pork loin. smooth; unsweetened it
cooked vegetables diced may be used in pasta or
with mayonnaise). LUMACHE snails, risotto, sweetened with fruit
distinguished as l… di terra or desserts.
INVOLTINI envelopes or rolls (land varieties) and l… di
of thinly sliced veal, pork or mare (sea); both are also MAZZANCOLLA large prawn
fish cooked with stuffing. called chiocciole. also called gambero
imperiale.
LAMPONE raspberry. MACCHERONI macaroni; in
parts of southern Italy MELA apple; mela cotogna
LARDO fat cut of pork from maccheroni is a generic quince.
the lower back, salt cured, term for dried pasta, though
sometimes smoked, and elsewhere it usually refers to MELANZANE eggplants or
consumed sliced raw or as short pasta tubes. aubergines.
larding for cooked meats.
Lard is called strutto (see). MACEDONIA mixed fresh MELONE or POPONE
fruits, a dessert. cantaloupe or muskmelon;
LATTE milk; latticini dairy watermelon is cocomero or
products. MACELLERIA butcher shop, anguria.
macellaio butcher.
LATTUGA lettuce, covering a MENTA mint; many species,
range of types. MAGGIORANA marjoram. wild and cultivated, are used
in cooking and beverages;
LAURO laurel or bay, also MAIALE pork. m… piperita peppermint;
called alloro. mentuccia is a tasty variety
MANDARINO mandarin, a popular in Rome.
LENTICCHIE lentils. tangerine like the larger
mandarancio and smaller MERENDA snack, light meal
LEPRE hare. clementina. or picnic, also called
spuntino.
LIMONE lemon; limonata MANDORLA almond;
lemonade; limetta or limone mandorlata means MIELE honey.
bergamotto lime, limoncello containing almonds or their
lemon liqueur. flavor. MINESTRA generic term for
soup and also for first
LINGUA tongue. MANZO beef from adult male course (covering pasta,
or female cattle, though risotto, gnocchi, etc.);
LIQUORI liqueurs; the term younger than bue (see). minestra in brodo broth with

84
pasta or rice; minestrone OCA goose. pancetta affumicata or bacon.
vegetable soup; minestrina
light soup or broth. See OLIO oil, comestible types PANE bread; also written
zuppa. include o… di arachide pan and applied to cakes,
(peanut), girasole such as pan di Spagna
MITILI or MUSCIOLI or (sunflower), mais (corn), (sponge cake).
MUSCOLI mussels, also noce (walnut), semi vari
called cozze. (seeds). PANINO bread roll, also
when split and filled as a
MOLINO flour mill. OLIO DI OLIVA olive oil. See sandwich.
Italian Specialty Foods for
MOLLUSCHI mollusks, an explanation of quality and PANNA dairy cream; p…
including octopus, squid types. Olives are also cured montata is whipped.
and shellfish, such as clams for eating and used in
and mussels. cooking. PARMIGIANO REGGIANO trade
name of the cheese often
MORTADELLA large pork OMELETTA omelet, beaten known abroad as
sausage, originally of eggs cooked thin and Parmesan; alla parmigiana
Bologna. folded, often over a filling of refers to dishes cooked with
vegetables, cheese, meat or the cheese.
MOSTARDA candied fruit fish. See frittata.
flavored with mustard seed, PASTA paste or dough, also
specialty of Cremona. See ORIGANO oregano, herb the generic term for noodles
senape. from dried marjoram leaves. and the like made from flour
and liquid in two basic
MOZZARELLA smooth, soft ORTO vegetable garden; versions: p… secca (dried)
white cheese originally from ortaggi fresh garden and p… fresca (freshly made).
milk of water buffalo (bufala), produce.
though cow’s milk fior di PASTA ASCIUTTA cooked
latte may also use the ORZO barley, used mainly in noodles served dry
name. soups but also toasted and (asciutta), usually with
ground as a coffee sauce, as opposed to pasta
NOCCIOLA hazelnut. substitute. in brodo, cooked in broth or
soup; pastina small pasta
NOCE walnut; the plural noci OSSOBUCO cut of veal shank used in soups; pastificio
is the generic term for nuts; exposing the bone and its pasta factory.
n… di cocco coconut; n… marrow-filled hollow.
moscata nutmeg; noce also PASTA FILATA cheese made
refers to rumpsteak of beef OSTERIA simple tavern by "spinning" or stretching
or veal; noce di burro is a serving local wine and often curds (pasta) into strands
knob of butter. food, though the name molded into spongy forms
sometimes applies to fancier as in mozzarella or aged firm
NOCINO bittersweet liqueur places. as in caciocavallo and
made with green walnuts in provolone.
their husks. OSTRICHE oysters.
PASTICCERIA pastry or
NORCINERIA butcher shop PANCETTA cut of pork or veal pastry shop.
specializing in pork and from the belly or lower rib.
salume; norcino pork The pork is often salt cured PASTICCIO baked
butcher. and eaten sliced raw or composition of various
cooked; when smoked it is ingredients, such as pasta,

85
86
polenta, meat, vegetables, primo p…, secondo p… meatball or croquet of
cheese. See explanation of meal minced fish or vegetables;
terms under Eating in Italy. polpettone may also be
PASTO meal, repast. See meat loaf.
also cena, colazione, PICCANTE piquant or
pranzo. peppery flavor. POLPO or POLIPO octopus;
moscardino is the tiny
PATATA potato. PICCIONE pigeon; wild or curled octopus.
wood pigeons are
PECORINO sheep’s milk colombacci or palombacci. POMODORO tomato.
cheese.
PIGNOLI pine nuts. POMPELMO grapefruit.
PEPE NERO black pepper;
p… bianco (white) and p… PINZIMONIO olive oil with PORCHETTA whole pig,
rosso (red) are also salt, pepper and sometimes boned, stuffed with herbs
common. vinegar into which raw and roasted in a wood-
vegetables are dipped and burning oven; porchetto
PEPERONCINI hot red or eaten as salad or antipasto. (also maialino or porcellino)
green peppers, especially is suckling pig.
chili. PISELLI peas; pisellini are
small or baby peas. PORRO leek.
PEPERONI sweet or bell
peppers, red, yellow or PIZZA Naples’ familiar PRANZO lunch (synonymous
green. flatbread is baked by with colazione) in parts of
pizzaioli in pizzerie Italy, dinner or supper
PERA pear. everywhere, though (synonymous with cena) in
toppings and cooking styles others; pranzo also refers to
PESCA peach; p… noce vary; alla pizzaiola refers to an important meal or
nectarine. tomato-garlic sauce, not banquet: p… d’affare
only for pizza but for pasta business lunch or dinner;
PESCATORE fisherman; alla and meat. p… di nozze wedding
pescatora refers to fish banquet or feast.
sauces, usually on pasta or POLENTA cornmeal boiled
rice. and eaten as a mush with PREZZEMOLO parsley.
sauce, gravy, butter, cheese
PESCE fish. Many species or meat, or cooled and PROSCIUTTO ham, whether
and seafood dishes are sliced to be fried or grilled; salt-cured crudo (raw), cotto
described with regional porridge-like pastes from (cooked) or affumicato
foods. buckwheat, farro (see) or (smoked). The term may
chestnut flour may also be also apply to a leg of wild
PESTO sauce or dressing called polenta. boar, goat, goose or turkey.
whose ingredients are
mashed with a pestel in a POLLAME poultry. PRUGNA plum; p… secca
mortar, notably in p… prune.
genovese (see in Liguria). POLLO chicken, gallo is
cock or rooster, gallina hen; PURÈ or PURÈA purée of
PETTO breast, usually of the free-range variety is p… vegetables or fruit; p… di
poultry. ruspante; pollastro or patate mashed potatoes.
galletto is a young chicken.
PIATTO plate or dish, also a QUAGLIA quail.
course in the meal, such as POLPETTA or POLPETTONE

87
 RABARBARO rhubarb and are for braised rice dishes SALTATA or SALTATO
also the liqueur made from called risotto. See Italian sautéed.
it. Specialty Foods for
descriptions of types. SALUME generic term for
RADICCHIO endive or salt-cured meat, such as
chicory, best known as the RISTORANTE restaurant, salame, salsiccia, prosciutto,
red-leafed varieties of Italy’s top category of dining bresaola. See Salumi under
Treviso and Verona. establishment. Italian Specialty Foods.
Salumeria shop where
RAFANO horseradish, also ROGNONI or ROGNONCINI salumi are sold.
called cren. kidneys, lamb and veal are
preferred. SALVIA sage.
RAGÙ ragout or stewed or
braised meat sauce. ROSMARINO rosemary. SAMBUCA liqueur of anice or
licorice-like flavor based on
RANA frog, usually eaten ROSTICCERIA shop or eating wild elder (sambuco)
fried or in risotto. place specializing in roast flowers.
meats and poultry.
RAPA turnip, whose greens Sometimes called girarrosto, (AL) SANGUE cooked rare,
are called cime di rapa. in reference to the large spit usually beef.
that typifies such places.
RAVANELLO radish. SAPORE flavor or savor;
RUCOLA salad green (Eruca saporito flavorful.
RAZZA ray or skate flatfish. sativa) resembling cress but
with spicy, slightly bitter SARDINE sardines preserved
RIBES currants, black, red flavor. Also called arugula in oil; fresh sardines are
or white. and rocket in English and called sarde.
often confused with sharper
RICCIO DI MARE sea urchin, flavored wild ruchetta, which SCALOGNO shallot.
eaten as frutti di mare and in is prized in salads of field
sauces. greens. SCALOPPINE scallops or
flattened slices of veal—also
RICOTTA reheated, or SALAME salami, covering pork—often breaded and
"recooked" whey molded many types and forms of fried.
into a soft, white mound preserved minced meats.
that may be eaten fresh or SCAMPI prawns or jumbo
used in pasta fillings, SALAMOIA brine or salty shrimp; the term is used
gnocchi and pastries, solution in which foods such loosely in Italy.
though it may also be salted as olives, pickles, cheese,
and dried for grating. fish and meats are SEDANO celery, also called
Traditionally from milk of conserved. accia.
sheep or goats, it also
comes from cows. SALE salt, a fundamental SÉGALE rye, used for bread
flavoring and preserver of and crackers mainly in
RIPIENO stuffing or filling for foods. Alpine areas.
pasta, meat, vegetables.
SALSA sauce, covering a SELLA saddle of lamb, veal,
RISO rice; Italy grows many wide range of dressings and rabbit or venison.
varieties for use in soups, condiments.
salads, puddings, etc., SELVAGGINA game procured
though the prized varieties SALSICCIA sausage. by either hunting or

88
breeding. See cacciagione. tuna, sardines, anchovies,
small cheeses, salami.
SEMIFREDDO "partly frozen"
dessert of soft ice cream or SPALLA shoulder of veal,
custard with meringue, fruit, lamb or pork, or pork
mascarpone, zabaglione or shoulder salt-cured like
cake. prosciutto.

SEMOLA coarse durum SPEZIE spices.

wheat flour used to make
pasta as semola di grano SPEZZATINO meat stew
duro; semolino (called consisting of small pieces.
semolina in English) is the
finer flour used for pasta SPIEDO spit for roasting;
and gnocchi and in soups. spiedino skewer or
brochette of meats or fish.
SENAPE mustard, the
condiment made from SPINACI spinach.
mustard seed, wine and
vinegar, not to be confused SPREMUTA juice of freshly
with mostarda (see). squeezed fruit; succo is the
generic term for juice.
SEPPIA cuttlefish, often
confused with calamari SPUMONE ice cream of
(squid). foamy texture from
mascarpone and beaten
SFORMATO mold of cooked egg yolks.
and minced vegetables, also
dessert similar to custard or SPUNTINO snack or light
flan. lunch—also called snack in
Italian.
SOPPRESSA minced pork
"pressed" into form similar STOCCAFISSO stockfish, cod
to a large salame in Veneto; or other wind dried on
soppressata refers to poles, also called pesce
various types of salumi in stocco or simply stocco or
Italy. stocche; often synonymous
with salt-cured baccalà.
SORBETTO sherbet or sorbet
of soft texture based on STRACOTTO beef braised
fruit, sometimes with wine or long and slowly, similar to
spirits. brasato.

SOTTACETO foods preserved STRUTTO lard, rendered

in vinegar, generally pork fat, not the same as
vegetables or mushrooms, lardo (see).
pickles.
STUFATO meat, usually beef,
SOTT’OLIO foods preserved stewed very long.
in olive (or other) oil, such as
vegetables, mushrooms, SUGO sauce or gravy (also

89
 called intingolo), when TORDI thrush, the choicest VINO wine, v… da tavola
based on cooked meat of the little game birds table wine, vino da arrosto
synonymous with ragù, known collectively as robust aged red wine suited
often used with pasta. uccellini. to roast meats.

TACCHINO turkey. TORRONE nougat, candy VITELLA or VITELLO veal;

from honey and whipped vitellone beef from young
TARTUFO truffle, egg whites with almond and cattle.
subterranean fungus prized hazelnuts.
as white Tuber magnatum VONGOLE small clams used
(shaved raw over special TORTA cake as well as tart mainly in pasta or soups, led
dishes) and black Tuber or pie or focaccia, ranging by the preferred vongola
melanosporum (eaten raw over numerous sweets as verace (the "authentic"
or preserved); t… di well as torte salate, salty Venerupis decussata).
cioccolato chocolate truffle; types with meat, cheese or
t… di mare small clam. vegetables. ZABAIONE or ZABAGLIONE
fluffy amalgam of egg yolks,
TAVERNA tavern, bar or inn TRAMEZZINO bread sliced sugar and wine (usually
serving drinks and and filled as a sandwich (the Marsala), eaten warm like a
sometimes meals. English term is a popular custard or with cake or in
synonym). gelato or semifreddo.
TAVOLA or TAVOLO table;
tavola calda shop or snack TRATTORIA unpretentious ZAFFERANO saffron.
bar serving hot dishes. eatery, often family run,
specializing in local cooking. ZAMPONE sausage encased
TÉ tea, made from dry in the skin of pig’s foot
leaves of the tea shrub and TRIPPA tripe. (zampa).
other plants; tè freddo iced
tea. TROTA trout. ZENZERO ginger, though the
term is used in Tuscany for
TERRINA terrine, ceramic (IN) UMIDO meat cooked in hot pepper.
cooking vessel and the pâté dense liquid, including
or gelatin of meat, fish or brasato, spezzatino, ZUCCA squash, including
vegetables cooked in it, stracotto, stufato. pumpkin, whose pulp is
usually served cool; t… used mainly as pasta filling;
d’anatra ai pistacchi duck UOVO egg; uova is plural. the smaller zucchine are
and pistachio pâté. called zucchini, marrows,
UVA grape; u… da tavola courgettes; flowers of both
TESTA or TESTINA head of table grape; uva passa dried are a fried delicacy.
beef, veal or lamb and its grape to be used for wine;
parts, usually used for uvetta, uva secca or ZUCCHERO sugar.
salumi, though also prized in sultanina are terms for
bollito misto (see). raisin. ZUPPA soup, covering a
range of vegetable, bean,
TIMO thyme. VANIGLIA vanilla. meat and fish-based
recipes, in theory thicker
TONNO tuna, eaten fresh or VERDURA green-leafed than a classical minestra,
more often preserved in oil; vegetables, though the term though the division isn’t
tonnato refers to tuna- refers to garden produce in always clear; z… inglese
flavored sauce. general, including legumes custard cake soaked in
and roots. sweet wine or liqueur.

90
91
 About the Author:
Burton Anderson is the author of Burton Anderson’s Best
Italian Wines; Wines of Italy (pocket guide); The Wine Atlas of
Italy and Traveller’s Guide to the Vineyards; Franciacorta,
Italy’s Sanctuary of Sparkling Wine; Vino, the Wines and
Winemakers of Italy and Treasures of the Italian Table.

Italian Trade Commission

he Italian Trade Commission (Istituto Nazionale per il Commercio Estero) was created

T as an Italian government agency in 1926, with the primary purpose of establishing and
enforcing controls on Italian agricultural exports. Today it is one of the leading
governmental organizations, supporting the Italian companies in their efforts towards
globalization, through trade promotion, development of industrial and financial cooperation,
information and marketing assistance.
The Italian Trade commission is headquartered in Rome and manages a network of over
80 offices worldwide in more than 70 countries, with the mission of enhancing Italian trade
relations and of promoting “Made in Italy” products.
In the United States, the Italian Trade Commission has five offices located in New York,
Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle, each devoted to assisting Italian and American
companies in establishing commercial relationships.
Each office has specific territorial jurisdiction, as well as product category specialization.

For further information on the foods and wines of

Italy, please contact:
Italian Trade Commission
33 East 67th Street
New York, New York 10021
Tel. (212) 980-1500
Fax: (212) 758-1050
E-mail: newyork@newyork.ice.it
Web: http://www.italianmade.com

92