Traditional italian food?

Question

I need a website that lists traditional italian foods. I'm doing a paper on italy and I need to find the names of traditional italian food. It can't be wikipedia either. Thanks! :)

Answer 1

spaggettti. hahah :p

Answer 2

http://www.annamariavolpi.com/

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/italian-...

Also check your library alot of italian cookbooks have traditional food and explain their origins as well.

Answer 3

You can't go wrong with Nicholas' answer.  It is very thorough and informative and factual.  Italian food is far from being limited to spaghetti and pizza.  The examples for Sardinia are excellent.  From one Italian to another, bravo Nicholas!

Answer 4

Hey there!

Well since I am Italian, I hope I can help you out here...

Traditional foods really depend on the region of Italy, so here goes:

Northern Italy: The food is generally characterized by the less use of Olive Oil, tomato, Pasta, but it is by no means non-existent. Northern Italian cuisine is generally more of a country side cuisine, so you can imagine risotto and polenta! Also game or wild fowl such as rabbit, quail or grouse are popular. Seafood and shellfish are very popular on the coasts and rivers and streams provide carp and trout... A few examples...

Capriolo alla Valdostana is a hearty venison stew made with wine, vegetables and grappa...fonduta, a melted cheese dip of milk, eggs and white truffles (tartufi bianchi). Fine cheeses include Robiola, Caprini and Tumin electric, a white mountain cheese soaked in red peppers. Cardi alla Bagna Cauda is a dish of locally grown chard served with hot sauce, anchovies, garlic and white truffles. Other regional dishes include local game such as rabbit and boiled meat dishes like Vitello Tonnato (veal tongue) and ox tail. Grissino are thin and crispy breadsticks that have become popular throughout the country.

Minestrone alla Milanese, made with vegetables, rice and bacon. Risotto alla Milanese is a creamy dish of braised short-grain rice blended with meat stock, saffron and cheese. Other favorites include ravioli with a pumpkin filling from Montova, small quails with polenta from Bergamo. Osso bucco is a traditional main course of a knuckle of veal with the marrowbone intact and braised with rosemary and sage.

Ok enough about Northern Italy... Lets talk about Central Italy:

Much of what the rest of the world considers Italian food hails from the central regions of Italy. Velvety smooth olive oils, world-famous cheeses, savory cured meats and rich tomato sauces grace the tables of this sun-scorched . Beef dishes can be found more often here and the hills of Tuscan and Umbria are known for their wild boar. Both coasts share their love of locally caught seafood and the rugged interior is known for hearty mountain fare.

A few examples:

The region has a fine gastronomic reputation with stuffed pasta including the Tortellini of Emilia and the Cappelletti of Romagna, served with the famous Bolognese meat sauce (Ragu). The "king of all cheeses" Parmigiano-Reggiano has found its way into recipes around the world but its production is strictly enforced to ensure a continued tradition of quality. Pork products include Parma's famous Prosciutto, Zibello's time-honored Culatello, Bologna's Mortadella and the Zamponi (stuffed trotter sausage) of Modena.

Florence offers its famous "alla fiorentina" steak and specialties that include: Ribollita, a thick vegatable soup, Fagioli all'uccelletto (beans sauted in Garlic and Sage with tomatoes) and Fagioli al Fiasco with oil, onions and herbs cooked in a round bottle (fiasco) on a coal fire. Seafood cooking includes triglie (red mullet) and a delicious fish soup known as Cacciucco alla Livornese. Siena offers Panforte, a cake containing almonds, honey and candied fruit.

Norcia in the Apennine foothills is the home of Italy's best black truffles (tartufo nero), which are served over everything including local pecorino cheese. Many types of hand-made pasta like Strozzapreti (priest stranglers) are offered in a decadent black truffle sauce not easily found outside Umbria. Norcia is also home to excellent pork products such as their Prosciutto and various Salame. Besides delioucs home made fresh pastas made with egg, the region of Umbria is responsible for the production of much of the dried pasta consumed throughout Italy.

As for Southern Italy, where my family is from...

From the Pizza of Naples to the countless types of dried and fresh pasta, the food of the south is the soul of Italy. Here you will find rich and spicy tomato sauces and the almost exclusive use of olive oil in cooking. In fact some of the best olive oil comes from this region, but very little of it is exported. The south is home to citrus fruits, fields of durum wheat for pasta, olive groves and vineyards. The sea is used to its fullest extent with all manner of seafood enjoyed from tuna to anchovies, clams to sea urchins.

Italian food would not be the same without Campania's Spaghetti topped with Pommarola, the famous tomato sauce. Campania is also the birthplace of the modern Pizza, with the world's first Pizzeria (still in business) started on the streets of Naples. The volcanic soils of Campania grow some of the best produce in Italy, including San Marzano tomatoes, peaches, grapes, apricots, figs, oranges and lemons. Campania's most famous cheese is the Mozzarella di Bufalo Campania, made from the milk of local water buffalos. Other popular cheeses include sheep's milk Pecorino, Scamorza, Ricotta (both cow and buffalo versions), and Mascarpone. Parmigiano Reggiano has also found its way into the recipes of Campania, with meat and vegetable dishes served "alla Parmigiana" Seafood is a staple of Campania's coastline with fish fried in olive oil a favorite of Naples, while other specialties make use of local octopus, cuttlefish, squid, clams and mussels. The standout wines of Campania include the reds Taurasi and Vesuvio and white Lacryma Christi and Greco di Tufo.

Sicily -The island is rich in fruit with lemons, blood oranges, tangerines, olives, almonds, and prickly pears in abundance. Caponata is an antipasto made with eggplant, olives, capers and celery. The ceci or chick pea has played an important role in Sicilian history and is well represented in the diet. Panella is a thin paste made of crushed ceci and served fried and Maccu is a creamy soup made from the same bean. Pasta is an everday staple in Sicily and often served with a rich spicy tomato sauce. Sicily also loves their seafood with popular dishes including grilled swordfish or snapper, Finocchio con le Sarde (fennel with sardines) and Sepia (cuttlefish) served in its own black sauce with pasta. The best known Sicilian meat dish Vitello al Marsala (veal marsala) and is just one of many regional meat specialties that can also involve lamb, kid or rabbit. The best-known wine is Marsala which is dark and strong, but Malvasia and the white wines of Etna and Lipari are also delicious.

Sardinia- Sardinia's bread is an excellent antipasto and really good with Sardinian sausages and sweet green olives. Spicy fish soups called Burrida and Cassola along with lobsters, crabs, anchovies, squid, clams and fresh sardines are all very popular along the Sardinian coast. Favorite Sardinian pasta dishes include Spaghetti con Bottarga, with dried gray mullet roe shaved on top, Malloreddus is a gnocchi flavored with saffron and served with a tomato sauce. Culingiones are round ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese. Sardinia is known for its rustic sheep and goat cheeses like Pecorino Sardo and Fiore Sardo, which can either be served fresh or aged. The Sardinian interior produces some of the best lamb in all of Italy and known for being very lean. Sardinians enjoy their meats roasted and Porceddu, (Sardinian version of Porchetta) suckling pig or kid (suckling goat) is a favorite roasted outdoors over aromatic woods. Wines include the red Cannonau and Monica di Cagliari, with the most well known Sardinian white being Vernaccia di Oristano.