Italian Recipes Food Cooking International Guide
Italian Recipes Reflecting Regional Origins
By Frank Russelton
It’s interesting how thoroughly an idea can take hold, even if
historically speaking it’s relatively new. When people think of
Italian recipes for pasta, they almost always think of something
with a rich tomato sauce on it, or at most, a meat sauce that
includes tomatoes, before they remember the more creamy sauces.
Yet while these rich Italian made sauces seem such an integral
part of a pasta meal now, tomatoes were not added to the Italian
pasta mix until quite late in the history of the food.
Recipes With Regional Variations
Different regions of Italy have always produced different types
of food, and this is partly why an Italian recipe can vary so
much when it comes to pasta. Recipes that originate in the northern
regions will reflect early German and Roman cultures, while the
south was more influenced by Arab trade, which carried Mediterranean
influences quite widely.
The northern dishes will consist of more pork recipes, fish,
sausages and cheeses. Foods of central Italy tend more toward
ham, sausage, tomatoes and tortellini. To the south, you’ll also
find tomatoes, with olives, peppers, garlic, artichokes, zucchini
and capers.
Italian Pasta Recipes Online
The E Rcps website (http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/inf/regions.shtml),
which features Italian recipes with some Middle Eastern recipes
as well, has an entire Italy-related section called "Pasta
Recipes Listed by Region." Here you can see all these differences
illustrated in the recipes you choose for the different areas.
For example, a recipe from Lombardy, a northern area, is "Pasta
with Cheese and Green Cabbage," the cabbage showing early
Roman influences, whereas a typical recipe from Campania to the
south would be "Vermicelli with Hot Pepper and Anchovy."
Italian food isn’t nearly as uniform as North Americans tend to
portray it, and tomatoes are not always the primary ingredient.
Tomato Is Not The Only Fruit In Italian Dishes
The first thing most people think of when contemplating Italian
recipes is tomatoes. Yet that’s not entirely fair to the distinctive
cuisine of this country. Italian food was rich in variety and
regional tradition long before the tomato entered the picture
in the early 1800s.
People interested in Italian pasta might find it interesting
to explore beyond the tomato-laden dishes, and learn some of the
other food traditions that have existed throughout Italy’s history.
About the Author:
Frank Russelton has written a number of articles on food and cooking
including Steak
House, Cooking
Recipes, New
Recipes, Cookbooks,
Cooking Tips.
Keep a lookout for more articles on this website.
Did You Know?
Did you know that your body can naturally crave carbohydrates
at certain times? It is true. That is why many athletes will consume
huge loads of pasta dishes before workouts or games because those
carbohydrates provide immediate fuel.
So when you are feeling run down maybe you need a nice dish of
pasta to pick your mood back up. If you think that the only way
to get this is through spaghetti and canned sauce you are wrong.
You can make any number of great dishes with the right cook book.
So stop with the boring and get some great recipes.
RECOMMENDED READING
|
