Italy, apart from being the centre of fashion, is also known for its immensely varied and relished cuisines throughout the world. Much of the cuisines from Italy have been adopted as regular course meals and snacks by many nations with a varied taste structure that suits the tongues. However, as unique and original as these dishes stand to be, having these in Italy itself is a whole different taste experience. There are an infinite number of Italian cuisines that we all have heard of, right from regional specialities to seasonal cuisines. Following are the three Italian-origin based world-popular cuisines that you would not want to miss in the jam when in Italy.
Lasagna
As much as we know about this cuisine in its own reformed ways, the original Italian lasagna is a wide, flat pasta noodle usually baked in the oven in layers. The origins of this cuisine are largely debated throughout Italy. However, its ancient stronghold lies in the expanse of Emilia-Romagna. It was here that this cuisine came to transform from a poor man’s daily dish to an ultra-rich meal filled with the ragu or meat sauce.
Talking about the traditional Italian ways of making lasagna, tomato sauce was not used in the ancient times. Only ragu (meat sauce), béchamel sauce and cheese, usually mozzarella or Parmigiano Reggiano or a combination of the two, were used initially. Even today, this cuisine as made in Italy does not promote the use of much tomato sauce, which gives a concentrated flavour of the meat. This cuisine should never be underestimated or missed by a foodie traveller when in Italy.
Ribollita
Ribollita is a popular Italian soup with its ancient base in Tuscany. The history of it roots back to the peasant cooking of Tuscany. This hearty delicacy is a mere vegetable soup thickened with bread crumps rather than the usual usage of meat. This was because, in the old times, the peasants were not financially capable of affording meat and hence, replaced it with the use of bread in the soup given that bread was more readily available for hundreds of years in the desperately poor Italian countryside.
This dish has a very natural essence to it. In Tuscany, the cuisine is considered to be a special treaty glory during the autumn when the harvested vegetables have a vibrant taste to it. The soup hence, explodes with an immense savouriness despite the absence of meat. This is a perfect go-to cuisine if you are a vegetarian travelling in Italy as it abundantly showcases the power withheld by a good autumn produce.
Pizza
It would be no new of a name for a cuisine, given that Pizza has today become a world-popular dish served in almost all countries with a pinch of their own flavour. However, the ancient base of it is rooted in Italy, where it is savoured and glorified even today. Pizza, for an ancient manner definition, was a flat bread crust served with oil and spices long before the unification of Italy. Even today, the cuisine stands to be a commonly global representative of Italy and Italian culture.
To trace it back down, when the Italian queen Margherita ame through Naples on a tour for her kingdom in 1889, a local entrepreneur served her the now legendary combination of tomato- sauce, mozzarella and basil, having created and branded the Margherita pizza that we all know of.
This dish in Italy would serve itself to you at a very cheap and affordable price. It is a common snack or meal, especially in the region of Naples, where the tomato sauce was first added to the pizza. Today, travellers will essentially find two types of Pizzas in Italy-
- The Neopolitan style with a thick and fluffy crust and
- The Roman style with the paper thin crust and the slightest of crunch.
These are the three Italian cuisines you would never want to miss if you are a newbie traveller visiting Italy for the very first time. Cuisines are a portrayal of the culture of a nation and Italy has, since forever, maintained its taste culture at the top of the world for us to savour and relish the beauty of Italian cuisines.
