A Fine Italian Meal
Food has always played a large part in Italian culture. Sharing, enjoying, buying and cooking food are all done with a care and love that is not common in other parts of Europe. In Italy a meal is to be savored, It is a time to take a breather, calm downand enjoy the friendshipof one’s family and friends, and of course, some of the finest gastronomy on earth.
A meal in an Italian restaurant for example a Trattoria habitually has 4 or 5 courses: the antipasto, the primo, the secondo, the contorno and the dulce course. Furthermore coffee and a digestive liqueur will be offered. In more formal situations, for example a wedding (or Easter or Christmas) a meal will have up to nine courses.
A normal Italian night-out begins with what is called an aperitivo. This is an alcoholic drink such as Vermouth, Campari or Prosecco wine, or possibly a non-alcoholic fruit juice. This is often taken at a separate bar with friends, prior to going on to the restaurant. Italian meals are served in a number of courses with each type of food served separately. Thus an Italian meal is really quite different from the equivalent in other countries.
The meal proper more often than not begins with a hot or cold eaten appetizer known as the antipasto.
The first course (the primo) commonly contains something hot like broth, risotto or pasta.
The main plate of an Italian meal is the secondo (second course). This is by and large a cooked meat such as chicken or pork. Veal too is popular.
Grilled vegetables or a salad, the contorno, is served separately or if requested, along with the secondo.
The final course is quite diverse. It might be a sweet dessert (such as panna cotta) or just cheese and fruit.
The meal is rounded-off by one of Italy’s legendary coffees and a liqueur. The liqueur acts as a digestive.
Let’s Not Overlook Pizza
Pizza is the prototypical Italian dish. As a matter of fact it was invented in Naples (Napoli) to commemorate the 1889 visit of Margherita of Savoy the Queen Consort of Italy to that city by chef Raffaele Esposito. His first creation was named ‘Pizza Margherita’. To denote the white, red and green of the Italian flag he used tomato (red), mozzarella cheese (white) and basil (green). Prior to the Margherita there had been versions of food using a basic dough which was much favored by the locals.
Pasta
One more food category Italy is famed for is pasta. Pasta is a all-purpose phrase for an assortment of foods made from a wheat based dough and sometimes with vegetable extracts and eggs. Pasta comes in a huge range of shapes, sizes, lengths, textures and colors. Accordingly pasta can be used in a lot of different ways. Some of the most common types are spaghetti (thin sticks), lasagne (sheets), macaroni (small tubes) and fusilli (small swirls of pasta).
About Wine
Wine of course plays an essential role in Italian culture and the Italian economy. Italy is famed for its wine and produces and exports more wine than anywhere else in the world. Vino cotto is a form of wine created in central Italy, made for private consumption and not for sale commercially. The wine is heated in a copper vessel until the volume is reduced to approximately half. This wine is allowed to mature for a some years, every year a a small amount of wine is added to compensate for evaporation.
