Italian Food – What You Should Know About Italian Food

If you love food of any kind, there is no doubt that you have experienced the delightful combination of flavors that only Italian food can give. Not to mention that in almost every home, folks enjoy lasagna and macaroni and cheese as favorite comfort food. However, it wouldn’t be right to think that Italian food ends with polenta and spaghetti and a few cups of beer. There is so much more beyond those simple food groups to Italian cooking. Let’s take a look at just a few of the many wonderful types of Italian meals and discover the pleasures of this great cuisine.

Any time you find a Polenta dish being served, you are sure to also discover the delight of the Polenta itself and the delicious Polenta sauce. A Polenta dish cooked with fresh vegetables, as is the case in this dish, makes a wonderful healthy alternative to pasta. It also tends to be a better source of dietary fiber. For example, it can help reduce cholesterol while also helping to prevent heart disease.

Feta is another great way to enjoy the Italian food experience. Feta is a type of pastas that often contains egg. For some people, the egg may not be a big deal but for others, especially those with intestinal, gastric problems, it’s a big deal. In fact, even though fettuccine is a very popular Italian dish, it is actually derived from the seeds of the feta plant, which are often used in making gelato. Gelato is an ice cream dessert that is made by using several fruits in a recipe.

Tortellini are another Italian comfort food often found in the Italian cuisine that actually originates from the Chinese. In fact, the tortellini is made with thin slices of breaded fish or chicken, topped with olive oil and Italian herbs. Tortellini is served warm along with other Italian dishes like tagliatelle or polenta.

Tomato and olive oil are one of the most prominent ingredients in Italian cooking. You’ll find this flavorful ingredient in a variety of Italian dishes. In fact, marinara is made with tomatoes, olive oil and garlic. Chicken is cooked with it often mixed with it. The chicken is cooked in a variety of ways; often it is marinated in Italian olive oil along with herbs and seasonings then cooked in a variety of Italian ways.

One thing that you will notice throughout all the wonderful flavors in Italian cuisine is the strong influences of Germany and France. Both these countries have strong influence on Italian cooking and Italian food is definitely influenced by the German influence. German influence is more pronounced in Italian cooking than the other way around.

For example, you will often hear about a dish called alla fiorentina, which means spare ribs. This dish consists of spare ribs, usually cut into medium pieces. Most likely the pieces of meat are seasoned with oregano, Rosemary, basil, thyme, parsley, and others before being marinated in olive oil and spices. Then the meat is slow-roasted in a backyard oven to achieve a crunchy texture. After this, it is sliced open and served along with other Italian dishes such as pasta and polenta.

You may also hear about a wonderful dish called bottarga, which is a stuffed pasta. The stuffed pasta is prepared by first cooking the rice and pasta together, then adding tomato paste, egg yolks, salt, pepper, rosewater, and chopped fennel or parsley leaves to the mixture. When the ingredients are completely cooked, it is time for the stuffing, which is made from egg yolks, butter, cheese, and grated cheese. The stuffing is then rubbed over the filling so that the entire dish has a hearty and warm feel to it.