water, and your hands can open up worlds of culinary creativity. That said, there are a few recipes which will be made much more easily with the aid of a few simple tools. If you’re going to make fresh tomato sauce, ravioli, gnocchi, pesto sauce, or fresh pasta or bread, be sure to have on hand the items mentioned in this section.
Gathering the tools you need … and then some
Italian cooks are very innovative, and over the course of history they’ve made many substitutions to their list of kitchen equipment. However, I like to keep it as simple as possible — for example, I do not use an immersion blender at home or a pasta maker. I blend my soup and vegetables with a hand-cranked food mill as Italians have done for centuries, and I choose to roll out my pasta by hand with a rolling pin because it is the ancient way of doing it and it provides a more interesting texture. That said, once you have your basic needs covered (pots, pans, sharp knives, a pasta strainer, spatulas, ladles, and a rolling pin), having the following items on hand will make your life in the kitchen easier. Add them to your arsenal as desired, or come up with your own substitutes.
Cannoli molds
Dough scraper
Food mill (for transforming tomatoes into the proper consistency for fresh sauce without the seeds)
Food processor
Immersion blender
Meat hammer
Moka espresso pot and demitasse cups for espresso
Mortar and pestle
Pasta machine
Potato ricer (for prepping potatoes for gnocchi the proper way)
Ravioli cutters
Specific pans including large roasting pans and cake pans
Stocking important pantry items
Pantries are every bit as relevant today as they were 500 years ago. Whether you’re tired at the end of a long day of work, or snowed inside on a stormy day, your access to nutritious and convenient food becomes more limited, just as it was for our ancestors when crops were less abundant. Why turn to fast food and delivery when you can create something better from your own cabinet? Chapter 5 arms you with the tools needed to make luscious and memorable meals right from your own pantry.
Chapter 5 also teaches you how to read Italian labels so you get the most for your money at the store. Ever wondered about the difference between a DOP mozzarella and one without the quality seal? Chapter 5 delves into the distinctions between Italian quality seals and what you need to know. You’ll also boost your vocabulary with a concise Italian culinary glossary.
Keeping courses and food pairings in mind
Anyone embarking on mastering Italian cuisine needs to be able to plan menus, because there is a specific eating pattern that works in terms of flavor, seasonality, and health benefits.
If you’re new to Italian cuisine, you may be overwhelmed, not knowing what to serve or when to serve it, but Chapter 2 explains how the courses are set up and ideas to keep in mind as you decide what foods to serve, and Chapter 4 provides the sample menus and inspiration you need to pair the appetizers, sauces, pasta dishes, other first courses with the second courses, side dishes, fruit/nut/cheese platters, and desserts in this book.
Get Cooking! Eyeing Authentic Italian Recipes
When you’re ready to cook, Chapters 6 through 20 are where to turn. From appetizers to sauces, pasta, risotto, soups, gnocchi, meat, fish, poultry, and eggs, you learn the genuine Italian approach to all ingredients. Whether you’re preparing a fruit and cheese platter, a decadent dessert, a special occasion baked good, bread, pizza, or focaccia, you can find a variety of recipes to take you from morning to night, all year long.
As you embark on your Italian cuisine journey, keep in mind these ideas and traditions:
Take your time, and enjoy the process: One of the biggest secrets to the Italian kitchen is the pleasure that people take in preparing the food. People actually look forward to making cherished recipes for themselves and their loved ones when they can. A new crop, the arrival of the first berries of spring, or foraging mushrooms in the fall can all be excuses to create something sensational. If you head to the kitchen begrudgingly to cook Italian food, you will never be successful. Preparing true Italian food is work, but it is a labor of love. The first step to being a good cook is adopting this mentality.
Read through the recipe, and adjust if needed (to use more seasonal ingredients, for example); Italian recipes aren’t set in stone: In fact, making the proper substitutions is a typically Italian thing to do!
Gather the kitchen tools and ingredients you need ahead of time to help ensure a relaxed experience: No one wants to be harried in the kitchen. Traditionally, Italian kitchens weren’t set up like design studios; they were functioning laboratories with pots hanging from racks and tools out for easy access (like a restaurant). If your equipment is neatly tucked away, locating it, along with your ingredients, prior to cooking will save time and help you to enjoy the cooking process.
Share your labor of love: Getting others involved in the cooking process, eating with others, or sharing your creations helps to make the experience more pleasurable, healthful, and worthwhile.
Chapter 2
Pizza, Pasta, and So Much More: Appreciating Italian Tradition
IN THIS CHAPTER
Much of what the world considers to be “Italian food” is either the food of Italian immigrants in foreign lands (which has been adapted to their new home countries) or regional dishes that Italians themselves would describe as being the food of a particular place in Italy instead of a national cuisine. Even Italy’s most ubiquitous dishes — such as pizza, pasta, and bread — have origins that can be traced to specific towns or regions even though they are now embraced by the nation as a whole. In this chapter, you learn how to master time-honored traditions, discover how menus are structured, familiarize yourself with a bit of Italian culinary history, and discover the role of culture in Italian cuisine.
The Role of Culture in the Italian Kitchen