What is Italian meal structure?

Question

help please.

Answer 1

Antipasti: cold cuts,melons,vegetables/olives in olive oil

Secondo: mainly any kind of pasta or soups

Piatto principale: can be meat/fish normally served with salad and bread

Then cheese,fruits and dolci's (sweets)

Answer 2

The Italian meal structure is (briefly) :

Antipasto (means "before the meal start"). It is normally done with some "affettato" (salame, mortadella, prosciutto, coppa, bresaola) together with olives (black or/and green).

Primo (means "first" dish) : normally is pasta (pastasciutta - pronounce "pastashutta" - if is pasta with a souce) or minestra pronounce "meenestra" if pasta is into a soup)

Secondo (means "second" dish): normally meat or fish

Contorno (is what is represented by salad or cooked vegetables) which are served together with secondo. Never ever other pasta, which happens quite often outside Italy !!!!

Dolce (means "sweet"), which are desserts. It can be replaced by a dish of cheeses (called "formaggi")

Frutta (means "fruits") strictly after Dolce. After, because eating them you wash your mouth.

At the end, caffé (coffee) but NEVER, please, Cappuccino !!! It is used outside Italy to offer cappuccino, but cappuccino is something that Italians drink ONLY for breakfast.

Ciao and Buon appetito

Answer 3

meal after meal after meal ..all in one meal

antipasta. salad. breads. clams, wine

more wine mannacotti , stuffed eggplant, shells

Turkey, meatballs linguinni,

dessert ..go nuts on iltalian pastries , ganache, ..

Answer 4

The Italian meal is a celebration. Tradition dictates that the meal should take at least an hour or two to enjoy. It's a leisurely process, with several distinct courses. The meal, usually eaten at midday, gives families a chance to talk. Eating becomes a communal activity — a time to share news of the day while enjoying the fruits of the cook's labor.

To some extent, modern life has taken its toll on this tradition. Italians compete in a world economy, which means shorter lunches to keep up with developments in New York, Tokyo, or London. And while most Italians are holding fast to their culinary traditions, more and more young Italians are trying things like microwaved dinners and American fast food.

But tradition still remains, especially on weekends and holidays. Even during the week, many people go home for long lunches, and most business comes to a halt in the early afternoon, only to reopen again around three or four.

Five easy pieces

So what's the structure of the traditional Italian meal? There are actually five components. Not every meal contains all five, but many do.

The antipasto: A traditional Italian meal starts with something to nibble on, called an antipasto, which translates into English as "before the meal." The antipasto may consist of a bowl of marinated olives and some fresh fennel for dipping in extra-virgin olive oil, with a wedge of fine Parmigiano-Reggiano and some bread. You can also serve drinks, such as wine, sparkling water, prosecco (the Italian equivalent of champagne), or cocktails (such as Campari and soda). You can serve this part of the meal at the table or, better yet, on the patio or in front of a roaring fire.

The primo: The average American family feeds four from a pound of dried pasta. But in Italy, pasta is a first course, or primo, served as an appetizer, not as the main event. There, a pound of pasta yields six, or even eight, first-course portions. Soup, rice, and polenta are the other main options for the primo.

The secondo: After the plates for the first course have been cleared, it's time for the main course (called il secondo, or second course). Chicken, meat, or fish are the usual choices, and portions are generally small. These main courses are usually fairly simple, especially if a rich pasta or rice dish precedes them. Italian cooks usually serve a grilled steak, a roast loin of pork, or maybe some sautéed fish. Sauces are usually light or nonexistent.

The contorno: A platter of vegetables usually accompanies the main course. This side dish highlights the simple goodness of the vegetable — for example, potatoes roasted with garlic and herbs, peas cooked with bacon and onion, or maybe some oven-roasted asparagus with olive oil and salt. The word contorno loosely translates as "contours" and refers to the fact that the vegetable course helps shape and define the meal. It's how the cook connects with the season. Asparagus, peas, and artichokes herald the arrival of spring. Peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes celebrate summer. Broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms signal the arrival of cooler fall weather. Carrots, winter squash, and Savoy cabbage round out a winter meal.

The dolce: A dolce, or sweet, ends a traditional Italian meal. On most days, the dolce is a bowl of fruit. Some hard Italian cookies, called biscotti, and dessert wine for dunking is another option. Italians serve more elaborate cakes, tortes, and custards on special occasions.

Assembling a menu

The structure of an Italian meal ensures that the meal is well balanced. No single component dominates. (Italians are aghast at the notion of serving each person a 12-ounce steak.) The pacing is leisurely so that you can fully enjoy and digest your food. The five-course meal also allows for a good balance of flavors, textures, and colors.

When assembling a menu, keeping all these things in mind is important. You don't want to serve mushroom toast as an antipasto, mushroom risotto as a primo, and then grilled mushrooms as a contorno, unless, of course, you were preparing a special mushroom harvest menu. The Italian chef thinks seasonally and works with the available ingredients to achieve a varied menu that's still easy to prepare.

A sample menu in fall may look like this:

The antipasto: Mushrooms look wonderful at the market but are very expensive, so maybe you buy just a little and serve on toast.

The primo: You can continue the autumnal theme with squash-filled ravioli.

The secondo: Because the ravioli are fairly rich, serving a simple secondo, maybe a roast loin of pork without any sauce, makes sense.

The contorno: So far, you've served nothing green, so choose a contorno like Swiss chard or spinach that complements the pork but also rounds out the entire menu.

The dolce: If you are choosing a fruit dessert, think apples or pears rather than strawberries. A nut dessert would also work fine in this menu.

Planning a traditional Italian meal is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Start with the facts that you can't change, such as your budget, the number of people coming to dinner, the amount of time you can devote to cooking, or the availability of ingredients. These facts are the corner pieces of the puzzle, the ones you should put into place first. Perhaps you have a great deal of tomatoes sitting on the counter, and they're looking very ripe. Perhaps you want to keep things light and avoid dishes with cream or butter. Next, you can start playing with the other components of the meal, making them fit as necessary. When you've struck the right balance, the result is a culinary mosaic, attractive to both the eye and the palate