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In the first article of this series, we talked about Chinese cuisine. In this one, we’ll talk about perhaps the most popular cuisine on earth: Italian.
Unless you grew up in an Italian or Sicilian household a typical American’s experience of those cuisines rarely goes past things like pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, ravioli, calzone or bruschetta. Even with dessert, not much is known beyond the big “four” of tiramisu, cannoli, biscotti, and gelato. But there are hundreds of dishes that most Americans haven’t tried and if we go regional,
Think about this: if Americans have made those things a part of their lives and in some cases are very passionate about it, what else in Italian and Sicilian cuisine are they missing out on? If those things are so delicious and mouth-watering and only known through popularity, you would do yourself a disservice to not investigate to discover dishes that are just as delicious if not more so.
Italian and Sicilian food has an astounding regional variety and even among nationals, there is an unawareness of dishes. For example, while we in Massachusetts consider cherrystones, coffee milk, and linguica as common as water, there are swaths of America that haven’t a clue what they are.
Having grown up in a Sicilian household I’ve eaten a large number of dishes that my Portuguese, French-Canadian, African-American, Hispanic friends in the community thought were exotic or even downright strange. This is the case for all ethnicities when it comes to their food – what is ubiquitous, normal and every day for one is brand new for another ethnic group.
I don’t know about you, but as a hardcore foodie, I actually get excited when I have the opportunity to try food I’ve never heard of. I have a bucket list of foods that I have heard of but haven’t tried yet, e.g. durian, balut, shark fin soup, bird’s nest soup, Hákarl, Casu Marzu, et al. and I’d love to check off as many as I can before I die.
Anyhow, blah, blah, blah. Let’s talk food.
Arancini with peas, ground beef, tomato. Photo by Catfisheye.
1. Arancini
For those who are only a little adventurous and need some coaxing to try something beyond the standard Italian dishes Arancini is probably the best to start with. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about it to scare anyone away. Arancini is a Sicilian classic that has been mentioned as far back as the 10-the century.
Simply put they are rice balls rolled in bread crumbs with various centers that alternate with mozzarella, sausage or ground beef and tomato sauce, or even peas and tomato sauce. They are then deep-fried until golden brown – crispy on the outside, piping hot on the inside. Serve with some dipping red sauce and you have a great appetizer or starter.
In Italy, they are popular street food and you can find vendors selling large versions place in a protective cardboard or dense paper envelope so you can walk around enjoying the vistas while chomping on one of Italy’s most delicious foods.
2. Cacio e Pepe
If you take a close look at Italian food it is typically a few main ingredients, using the freshest possible ones, and using perfect portions cooked for an exact length of time. Spaghetti Bolognese is as simple as it gets, but guess what? Ask 10 people to cook it and you taste some awful versions and some mind-blowing versions. The difference? The afore-mentioned freshness of ingredients and cooking it just right.
The problem with this is that if you don’t have a lot of experience making the dish, the tiniest mistake will make the difference between bad and great. That’s a dish with core three ingredients.
With Cacio e Pepe this theme is brought to an extreme level. Often, Cacio e Pepe is a benchmark for a chef demonstrating what can be done with a few ingredients. Mess up one step, one ingredient, cook it a few seconds too long or short and it will be forgettable. Do it all right and your face will light up and your belly will sing with joy.
Ready for the ingredients on this one? Un-sauced spaghetti, parmesan, fresh ground black pepper, and butter or extra virgin olive oil. Are you laughing? I hope so because I want you to scoff at the concept of this dish being incredible. I want you to make fun of me as some rube. Then I want you to order it at a restaurant and when you get it at the right place you will think about this article and thing “That Joe was right! He’s still a stupid rube, but he was right!”
Doubt me? Ask yourself how many bad pizzas you’ve had? How many amazing ones? Even with just cheese pizza, the difference between 2 places on the same street can be night and day, right?
3. Osso Buco
If you are a meat lover, especially when it comes to beef and/or steak this is about as umami or savory a dish you will find in any cuisine. Osso Buco is on any serious foodies’ bucket list of “must try” dishes. Osso Buco is cross-cut veal shanks braised in white wine and natural au jus style broth accompanied with cubed potatoes, carrots, celery, parsley, and garlic. You may find some variations that throw in tomatoes and/or onion.
The key here is the temperature and time the dish spends braising. When done right the meat can be attacked using a fork, no knife is needed. Because it is cooked with bone in the shank the richness that comes from that bone and the marrow raises Ossobuco to another level. A life-changing level. I kid, I kid. Ok, I’m not kidding.
I love the idea of trying a really heavy umami flavor in a meat-lovers dish, so the Osso Buco would be perfect. My partner and I are going to try getting more Italian food this year. We love how tasty and healthy a lot of the dishes are.