Avocados: A New Staple of Sicilian Cuisine?
by Brian Alcamo
When you hear the words “mangoes,” “avocados,” and “bananas,” what places come to mind? Costa Rica, with its lush rainforests capable of watering these thirsty fruits? Mexico, where avocados originate? Or even Florida, where plentiful year-round rainfall and high temperatures keep vegetation quenched and satisfied? All of these places are good first thoughts, but there’s another place that climate change has transformed into a new growing zone for these tropical treats: Sicily.
In recent years, Sicily and the rest of Southern Europe have been forced to acclimate to increasingly hot summers. While Sicily has always been prone to high temperatures and scorching hot summers, the thermometer has recently been reading higher than most people can bear. In fact, the island may have just recorded the hottest temperature in Europe ever.
In Floridia, a town near the ancient Sicilian city of Siracusa, a weather monitoring station registered a temperature of 119.84 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 49 degrees Celsius) on Thursday, August 12th. Not only was the day a sure-fire sweat fest, people in the town reportedly felt sick from the heat.
Floridia isn’t the only city in Italy to experience these blisteringly high temperatures. All of Italy has been engulfed in a scorching summer swelter for the past few weeks, with places further south suffering the worst effects. Not only are they uncomfortable, but these increasingly common heat waves are also not-so-slowly reshaping the Italian agricultural ecosystem.
Workers in the agricultural sector have a particularly up-close vantage point for observing how climate change will impact our diets. Floridia’s iconic snail farms have been ruined by the heat, with their livestock being practically cooked before shipping. Citrus groves aren’t faring too well, either. In response to the recent destruction, some farmers have begun planting tropical fruits that are more adept at surviving through high temperatures.
One farmer, Andrea Passasini, replaced his grandfather’s vineyard, which overlooks Sicily’s Mount Etna, with an avocado grove. “Avocados?” you may ask. Yes, the fruit indigenous to Mesoamerica has finally made its way to Europe. While various crops from the Americas moved over to Europe during the centuries-long event known as the Columbian Exchange, the avocado is a newcomer in the game.
Passasini’s farm is located in Giarre, where he has identified a microclimate perfectly suited for tropical fruits. This new climate zone makes growing tropical fruit all the easier, with new growing locations for avocados and mangoes springing up all the time. He produces roughly 1.4 tons of avocados per year, and his success has encouraged other Sicilian farmers to do the same. In addition to growing avocados, Passasini also grows passion fruit, and he thankfully continues to care for decades-old lemon trees.
Vocabulary to Follow Along With Italian Agricultural Happenings
L’agricoltura - Agriculture
Tropicale - Tropical
Prodotti agricoli - Produce
Contadino, agricoltore - Farmer
Cambiamento climatico - Climate change
While a few farmers such as Passasini have benefited from the change in growing zones, the shift has spelled economic disaster for others. Some farmers see this shift as an opportunity, taking advantage of new growth patterns, while those who haven’t changed their tune have unfortunately gone out of business in recent years. Even farmers trying to adapt to new climates have struggled to keep up with increasingly erratic weather patterns. Extreme weather events including hail, heatwaves, and tornadoes have made any kind of agriculture less predictable, regardless of whether the crops in question can withstand the new temperatures. Sicily’s already short winter which used to arrive in late December is now more of a February event. Ettore Prandini, the president of Coldiretti, the Italian farmers’ union, notes that every year brings longer-lasting episodes of sky-high temperatures and tropical weather patterns.
In general, the Mediterranean basin is poised to suffer dramatically from climate change, with countries in both Southern Europe and Northern Africa gearing up for a drastic decline in rainfall. This creates an agricultural conundrum, whereby high temperatures encourage the growth of tropical fruits and vegetables but falling rain estimates prevent their need for lots of water. If Sicilian farmers want to succeed in the future, they’ll have to invest in large irrigation efforts.
Forget the future. Italy’s agricultural regions have already undergone major shifts. Mangoes, avocados, and bananas coexist amongst oranges and lemons in Sicily, and olive trees now thrive in the once-frigid Alpine valleys up North in Lombardy. Particularly sensitive to temperature changes are wine grapes, with the crops being seen as a sort of whistleblower to changes on the whole. Research has shown that a 2 degree C rise in temperature would cause 56 percent of the world’s wine regions to become unusable. This also means that some regions, like Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, have recently been able to step up their viticulture game. Grapes can no longer thrive in the way they need to for sustaining a business. Further up Mount Etna, temperatures drop low enough to continue growing them… for now.
While it may seem strange to some to bring a crop across hemispheres, blockbuster knockouts such as “Tomato” and “Potato” have their original roots in the Americas as well. Imagine Italian food without pomodori or patate, it’d be stange, wouldn’t it? Imagine a future where avocados and mangoes are staples of Italian cuisine, it sounds improbable, but could very well be the case. Sure enough, we bet someday soon restaurants will be serving delicious avocado pestos that they’ll claim to have invented. Imagine what avocado could bring to Italian cuisine. Soon, you’ll be able to say “wow, this Italian mango is delicious!”
Learning Italian will help you navigate these changes with ease so you can stay on top of all the newest and best Italian food products. While climate change is nothing to smile about, at least a few Italian farmers are trying to innovate and thrive with the conditions that they’re facing. Out with the old, in with the new. When life gives you avocados, make toast!
Thanks for Reading!
Excited about the idea of mango-infused Italian dishes? Scared about the perils of climate change? A little bit of both? Comment your thoughts below, and be sure to share this post with a friend!
Pesto: An Ode to Ligurian Basil
What’s lean, green, and filled with garlic?
Photo by Nathalie Jolie
by Brian Alcamo
Pesto! It’s green, it’s garlicky, and it’s delicious to anyone who isn’t allergic to pine nuts. You can put it on pasta, sandwiches, and anything else you deem “pesto-able” (though some hard-core Italians would beg to differ). For anyone interested in learning Italian, an investigation of this sauce is in order.
Where is Pesto From?
Unlike many recipes, the region of origin of pesto is usually agreed upon to be Liguria, specifically the city of Genova. Liguria is a region in northern Italy, sharing a border with the French region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (which includes Nice and other cities that make up the French Riviera) to the West, Piedmont (Turin’s region) to the North, and Emilia-Romagna (the region of Bologna) and Tuscany (the home of Florence) to the East. Liguria is the home of the Italian Riviera, where its capital city Genova and others including Savona, Imperia, and La Spezia form a continuum with its French counterpart.
Liguria is not only gorgeous, it also features a climate and seaside soil rich in minerals that make it the perfect location for cultivating basil, a key ingredient in pesto. The city where a lot of this basil cultivation takes place is Pra’. Ligurian basil is known for its mild, aromatic flavors imbued with sea-like qualities. It’s said that basilico genovese needs to “see the sea” in order to grow. The leaves are plucked when they’re young, and are thus smaller and more delicate than most basil varieties seen in the US. This gives the basil more delicate qualities. If you’re having trouble imagining what these leaves might taste like compared to a larger ‘Merican cousin, think of “baby” varieties of your favorite lettuces: “baby” kale versus mature kale, “baby” arugula versus mature arugula, etc.
The word pesto comes from the Italian verb pestare, which means “to pound” or “to crush.” This etymology most likely stems from the fact that pesto was traditionally with a wooden pestle and marble mortar. Pesto’s history goes way back in time, all the way back to the ancient Romans, who ate something called moretum, which was a green paste made from cheese, garlic, and herbs. By the Middle Ages, moretum had evolved into a new sauce called agliata, which was a sauce made of walnuts and garlic. Garlic has a special place in the hearts of the Genovese, especially as a medicinal agent adored by the city’s seafarers. It was in the 19th century that the recipe for what we now know to be pesto began to appear in Genovese documentation. The 1863 cookbook La Cuciniera Genovese published by Giovanni Battista Ratto features a recipe calling for the following ingredients:
A clove of garlic
Basil (or marjoram or parsley as a substitute)
Grated dutch and parmesan cheese
Pine nuts
A little butter
The ingredients were to be mashed with a pestle and mortar until smooth, then diluted with olive oil. Lasagna and gnocchi were to be dressed with the sauce which could be thinned out to-taste with hot water. Dutch cheese was used instead of pecorino because it was more available due to the Genoveses’ trade relations with the residents of the Netherlands.
In the 1800s, pasta al pesto was considered a dish of the working class. Ligurians still add potatoes, broad beans or French beans, and small pieces of zucchini boiled together with the pasta in this dish. These ingredients are often added to trenette, a type of dried genovese pasta. Some pesto makers add walnuts and even ricotta. These pesto variations prove that no Italian recipe is set in stone, and that culinary innovation is happening all the time.
Vocabulary for your venture into pesto-land
Garlic - aglio
Pine nuts - pinoli
Basil - basilico
To grind - macinare
Sea salt - sale marino
Pesto Today
Pesto began to become a global phenomenon after the Second World War. Over time the ratio of basil to garlic has changed, with older versions of recipes using way more garlic than basil, sometimes even only three or four leaves of basil compared to three or four cloves of garlic. This kind of pesto fit the tastes and culinary fashions of the Genoese, highly influenced by Arab and Persian costumes starting in the Middle Ages and continuing until the 1800s. It also helped to continue the Ligurian tradition of making sure the region’s sailors were well-stocked with garlic. Nowadays, pesto contains much more basil, and has a more balanced flavor.
When preparing a pesto, it would be both elegant and wonderful if you could use the highest quality ingredients as if you were a true Ligurian: Regional extra-virgin olive oil, Vessalico garlic, Italian pine nuts, and salt from the Cervia salt flats. Barring access to all of these authentic ingredients that are hard to find outside of Italy, the best you can do it find your own quality ingredients and follow an original recipe. If you’re looking to grow your own basil for pesto, try ordering from Seeds From Italy to get as authentic a source as possible. If you want your pesto to be as authentic and hand-crafted as possible, opt for a mortar and pestle as opposed to using a food processor. Pestle and pesto go hand in hand!
Not looking to make your own pesto? That’s okay too! Just remember that every bite of your favorite pesto-infused dish carries with it the traditions of a region of proud seafaring Italians.
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Be sure to share this article with a friend, and comment below your favorite things to dress in pesto!
A Food Tour of Italy's Twenty Regions
There’s only one word to sum-up Italian food: variety
As we’ve mentioned before, Italian culture is not the same throughout the country. More often than not, it is defined on the town-level more than anything else. We unfortunately don’t have the resources to talk about the culinary variation of every single Italian paesino, so we’ll be walking you through a food tour of Italy’s regions instead.
Italy has twenty regions, all of which exercise a certain amount of political authority within their borders. Most of these regions have cultures dating back to before Italy was unified, and belonged to various empires and city-states over the course of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Regions like Veneto and Liguria were the home bases of maritime empires, while almost all of southern Italy was once part of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. All of these political differences and slight variations in regional geographies mean that the culinary experience from one region to another can be quite different. Let’s check out some examples!
Northern Italy (Italia Settentrionale)
Piemonte
If you’ve ever heard of Fiat, you should know where Piemonte is. The region, including its largest city Torino, is a hotbed of Italian industry. Located in the northeast along the French-Italian border, Piemonte’s food culture is defined by a more buttery palate. To get a taste of this region, try eating some vitello tonnato. This dish takes surf and turf to a whole new level. It’s veal cutlets covered in a tuna-based sauce that infuses neighboring Ligurian capers and anchovies into a memorable meal.
Valle d’Aosta
This semi-francophone region is an Alpine wonderland. Try the zuppa della valpelline, which is a bread-based soup made with kale, fontina cheese, butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The hearty soup will keep you warm as you endure the chilling temperatures while exploring the breathtaking landscape.
Trentino-Alto Adige
A region with a very Germanic past and present, Trentino-Alto Adige is a bilingual region on the Austrian border. A key dish here is the canederli di fegato, which are croquette-like dough balls cooked with seasonal vegetables.
Lombardia
Lombardia is in central Northern Italy. Home to fashion capital Milan, this region boasts the largest and wealthiest metropolitan area in Italy. To get a taste of what it has to offer, try yourself some risotto alla milanese. It’s made of beef stock, bone marrow, white wine, and parmesan. Its beautiful, signature yellow color comes from saffron.
Veneto
Veneto, in Italy’s northeast, has a bit of an independent streak. Once the site of the maritime Venetian Empire (and modern-day Venice, to boot), the cuisine of Veneto has been influenced by the myriad products bustling in and out of its seaport. Combined with the Austrian influence to the North and the inland cuisine to the west, Veneto’s cuisine is hard to pin down. In order to sample multiple Venetian flavors, order some cicchetti, which are little toasts topped with fish or meat. Enough of these will definitely constitute a meal, all while sampling as much as possible.
Friuli - Venezia Giulia
Friuli - Venezia Giulia’s name is a mouthful. Geographically, the region is positioned north of Veneto and nestled in between both mountains and the sea. Sample some bollito misto for a true taste of the region. It’s a platter of boiled meats that is made all over Northern Italy, but especially famous in Friuli - Venezia Giulia.
Liguria
Other than Genova and beautiful Cinque Terre, Liguria is famous for two things: pesto and focaccia. These two salty, oily treats can go hand-in-hand, or incorporated into other recipes. Pesto making is an art, and the fresh version beats its jarred counterpart every time. Focaccia is delicious at any time of day. Dunk it in your espresso or eat it alongside your dinner. Versatile and delicious, these Ligurian staples should be constantly stocked in your kitchen.
Emilia-Romagna
The southernmost northern Italian region, Emilia-Romagna is led by capital city Bologna, which boasts a large concentration of students. To get in touch with the region’s cuisine, you might be thinking about trying some spaghetti bolognese. To be more authentic about things, you’d be better off trying ragù alla bolognese. It’ll still be a classic bolognese sauce with beef, pork, carrots, celery, and some red wine, but instead of spaghetti, the sauce will be served on top of tagliatelle.
Central Italy (Italia Centrale)
Toscana
Tuscany, birthplace of the Standard Italian language that we all know, love, and study today. Tuscany is quintessential central Italy. Try some bistecca alla fiorentina, which is traditionally a piece of veal. You’ll probably have to travel to Florence to try an authentic version of the meal, since so much of it is about how the cow was raised (and cut). That being said, pair your grilled steak with some chianti and some of that classic unsalted Florentine bread for a taste of this iconic Italian region.
Umbria
Umbria is a tiny, landlocked region that’s known for its truffles. Try a frittata al tartufo (a truffle omelette) to get this delicious flavor in your breakfast (or dinner, if you’re trying to eat like a true Italian).
Marche
Marche is an Italian region with one iconic meal, vincisgrassi, which is a type of lasagna. The dish’s mythology centers around the celebration of Austrian general Alfred von Windisch-Graetz, who fought Napoleon in the name of Ancona. While the recipe is older than this story, the legend is now a key ingredient in its preparation.
Lazio
Lazio, home to Rome, is a region whose culture has stood the test of time. Even though Rome itself is cosmopolitan and international, its surrounding region holds onto a strong culture that has lasted centuries. Lazian cuisine features lots of pasta, artichokes, and pork. In addition to the carbonara, try eating some bucatini all’amatriciana.
Sardegna
A region unto itself, Sardina isn’t like the rest of Italy. Its cuisine is often highlighted by its Catalonian past, seasoned with lots of saffron. Try the aragosta alla catalana, Catalan-style lobster, with a side of risotto to get a taste of the cultural fusion happening on this island.
Southern Italy (Italia Meridionale)
Abruzzo
Abruzzo sits along the Adriatic sea, and is so far north that it is geographically sometimes considered central Italy. That being said, its culture and history ensure that it is almost always categorized as part of the south. In Abruzzo, be sure to try the agnello cacio e uova, which is roasted lamb egg, pepper, cheese, and prosciutto. The dish harks back on the region’s history as a land of sheepherders.
Molise
Molise, historically part of Abruzzo, is known for its use of pepperoncini, or spicy peppers. To experience this region’s spice, try some spaghetti diavolillo. It’s a simple spaghetti topped with a spicy red sauce that will have you reaching for some mozzarella to cool your taste buds.
Campania
Campania is where Naples is. A region fertilized by its nearby volcanoes, its population of flora includes eggplant, tomato, pepper, figs, and lemons. We’d be remiss not to recommend that you eat some pizza while you’re there. It’s the homeland of the modern pie, and the local buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes will have you writing home that you’re never eating American pizza again.
Basilicata
Basilicata is a lesser-known Italian region, nestled between Calabria, Campania, and Puglia. Try the baccalà con i peperoni cruschi (salted cod with crushed bell peppers). The dish highlights both the region’s coastline and its vast fields of red bell peppers.
Puglia
Puglia comprises the “heel” of the Italian boot. Resting on the adriatic sea, the region boasts perfect Mediterranean weather for olive and grain growing. Try the tiella pugliese, which is a dish made of rice, potatoes, and mussels.
Calabria
Calabria, or the “toe” part of Italy’s boot, is another region with toasty climates and “warm-weather” cuisine. A unique dish to try from this region is involtini di pesce spada, or swordfish rolls. Breaded and flavored with red sauce, capers, olives, lemons, oregano, and parsley, they’re everything that makes southern Italian cuisine so delicious, all rolled up into one!
Sicilia
Ah, Sicily, the motherland for many Italian-Americans and the birthplace of many foods that Americans believe to be quintessentially “Italian.” Some foods, like cannoli, are hard to find north of the island, even in other southern regions like Naples. That being said, to get a taste of Sicily that you can’t get elsewhere, try eating some panelle, or chickpea fritters. Douse them in a healthy amount of parsley and lemon juice and have yourself a snack that is a staple of Palermo street-food.
Mangia!
That’s a lot of food to try. We believe in you (and your stomachs). Which Italian cuisine is your favorite? The more buttery and rich flavors of the north or the more Mediterranean flavors of the south? Comment below, and be sure to give this post a heart!
(Thumbnail photo by Cloris Ying)
"What's a muzzadell?" Exploring Italian American Food Vocabulary
Have you ever wondered why the Italian at your deli is different from the Italian in your textbook?
by Brian Alcamo
Let me describe to you a feeling that anyone who appreciates Italian culture has felt.
A few times, my grandpa has brought over “banellis”, a fried chickpea pancake of sorts. They’re delicious, and can be dressed up in a multitude of savory flavorings (or sweet, if you’re looking to go against your nonna’s traditions). They’re the kind of treat that’s hearty enough to trick yourself into thinking they’re healthy.
This summer, my grandpa once again brought us some “banellis” from his favorite deli in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and I was reminded of how delicious they were. After having bought upwards of 10 pounds of chickpeas at the beginning of quarantine out of fear of not being able to go to the grocery store, I wanted to try to make “benellis” on my own.
Naturally, I went to Google. It turns out that “banelli” is the name of a rifle company, not a dense Italian pastry. I searched for “banelli chickpea” and had to scroll a bit before I could find what I was looking for: Panelle. It turns out that panelle (singular: panella) are “chickpea fritters,” and are a popular street food in Palermo, the capital and largest city in Sicily. The word is pronounced in Italian as [panelle]. Happy with my successful search, I still felt the unwelcome sentiment of being an uncultured American(o). Why can’t I just be from Italy? Why is this panelle so different from how my grandpa and other Italian Americans pronounce the word [bəneli]? The answer lies in which Italians came to America, and how their dialects differ from standard Italian.
A Brief History of Italian In the US
From the late 19th to the mid 20th century, the US saw huge numbers of Italians arriving to escape poverty, stake their claim, and try to live out the American dream. Many of these Italians came from Southern Italy and Sicily, bringing with them their non-standard regional varieties of Italian. Standard Italian was derived from the Florentine dialect of central Italy, thus the sounds and vocabulary shipping over to the US were slightly (sometimes drastically) different. For example, Sicilian is considered by many to even be a separate language. In addition to Latin, it has myriad other influences due to its changes in ruling class over the centuries. Some of these influences include Greek, Arabic, French, Catalan, and Spanish. Sicilian isn’t even the only Southern dialect, and many others such as Neapolitan and Calabrese found their way to the US as well.
All of these tiny linguistic differences combined with the influence of American English create a perfect recipe for vast differences in pronunciation across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, these differences were not always viewed with prestige. James Pasto, in his paper “Goombish” says that “Southern Italians came to the United States speaking already stigmatized dialects, developing a short-lived hybrid, Italgish, that was also stigmatized by speakers of both standardized English and Italian.”
Differences Between Italian American and Standard Italian Words
In order to discuss the differences between Italian American and Standard Italian Words, we must start by acknowledging that Italian American words typically come from a Southern Italian dialect. We’re only going to look at a few examples here, but if you want a better overview, start by checking out this blog post over on Mango Languages. To keep things simple, let’s use some vocabulary that we all know and love, food. Food is integral to Italian American culture, and is a major way in which the Italian language lives on in the US. NJ.com even has an article about “How to speak Jersey restaurant Italian.”
(Keep in mind that each person may pronounce these words differently. Even different families in the same community may have slight variations in their pronunciations. These are not strict rules, and should be used as simple guides to help you reconstruct the Standard Italian pronunciation and spelling.)
Take a look at these Italian American words coupled with their standard counterparts:
Brosciutt’ : prosciutto
Gabagool : capacolla
Fajool (think “pasta fajool”) : faggiole
Rigott’ : ricotta
Muzzarell’/muzzadell’ : mozzarella
Ganol’ : cannoli
Mortadell’ : mortadella
Sound Changes
A lot of these pronunciations come from how speakers of Southern dialects pronounce words.
What’s often happening in these differences is that the Italian American version contains the voiced version of many unvoiced Italian consonants. A voiced consonant is a consonant in which your vocal folds (commonly referred to vocal chords) vibrate while you pronounce it.
Take for instance “k” versus “g.” K is unvoiced whereas g is voiced. The process of changing an unvoiced consonant to its voiced counterpart is known as voicing. Voicing happens three times in the example of capocollo (a type of cured pork) turning into gabagool.
There are also many words that get rid of the final vowel: prosciutto becomes brosciutt’.
A Note on Plurals
When discussing Italian food items in the US, people often use the plural noun form to describe a singular quantity of something. In Italian, one cookie is un biscotto, but in English, one crunchy, Italian-style cookie is “a biscotti.” To form the plural in English, you simply add an -s to the end of the once-plural-but-now-singular biscotti. The same holds true for panini, panelle, and cannoli (singular panino, panella, and cannolo, respectively).
Here’s the rule: If the name of your favorite Italian food ends in an -i, it’s singular form will either be an -o or an -e. If the word ends in an -e, it might already be singular, or it will have a singular form that ends in an -a.
Trying it Out on Your Own
Learning Italian is a lifelong process for many. It’s a way that many try to reconnect with their Italian heritage, and to move their vocabulary beyond the names of food and slang terms (I’m looking at you, stunad (stonato)). Try delving into a specific dialect on your own once you’re comfortable enough with your congiuntivo passato prossimo and your consonanti doppie. You won’t regret it. At the very least, you’ll be even more appreciative on your next trip to the deli.
(Thumbnail photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash)
How to Make an Easy and Authentic Italian Risotto
Learn to cook a simple risotto, an Italian favorite!
by Brian Alcamo
Like many of the creamier Italian dishes, risotto’s history resides in the north of Italy. Rice’s life in Italy began in the 14th century CE, during the Middle Ages when Sicily was being ruled by the Arabic caliphate. It was particularly the short-grained rice that fared the best in the Mediterranean climate of Italy. To this day, a true risotto can only be made from an Italian short-grain rice type (like arborio or carnaroli).
The word risotto consists of two parts riso and -otto. Riso is Italian for the word “rice.” The suffix otto can be used to form pejoratives and it can be an alternative to the suffix etto, which is used to form diminutives. While the otto in risotto is fairly idiomatic at this point in the word’s history, it might come from the pejorative sense, being that risotto is cooked for so long that its consistency is something entirely different from typically cooked rice.
Missed our IG Live collab with Time Out New York where we make this delicious recipe? No problem! Find it below on IGTV.
The Recipe:
(For 4 people) A simple, classic risotto, perfect as a base, vegetarian
Ingredients
400g of Rice (Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
1 White Onion, finely chopped
Half a glass of dry white wine
1L of Vegetable or Beef broth (Seasoned with salt, no extra salt will go in this recipe)
A bit of Butter Olive Oil qb ( quanto basta)
100g of Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated Sea salt.
Freshly ground black pepper (a piacere)
Procedure
1.Finely chop the onion
2. keep the broth hot (previously prepared)
3. Gently heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium straight sided pan. You can add a little piece of butter if you prefer. Add the onions finely chopped, and cook until fragrant and beginning to soften, just a couple of minutes.
4. Add the rice and stir until every grain is coated with the oil. Keep at medium heat and continue stirring the rice until the edges have turned translucent, but the center is still opaque, about 2/ 3 minutes.
5. Once the rice is well toasted, add half of dry white wine glass and let the wine evaporate while continuing stirring constantly. Add a little broth, mix well and bring it to a low heat.
6. Slowly add the broth and increments stirring in between. ½ cup or so at time. Wait until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle.
7. Continue adding broth until the rice is al dente and the broth is creamy, risotto shouldn’t be sticky, but it should be fluid like a wave gentle running the shore. It has to be creamy silkiness
8. Once the rice is al dente, shut the flame off and start to mantecare.
9. Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano and add a bit of butter and with the help of a wooden spoon mix energetically. Then cover for a couple of minutes.
10. Serve in a flat plate and tap it down to spread evenly.
11. Enjoy it!
Let’s Practice your Italian!
Now that you made your dish, let’s review some Italian vocab so you can buff up your language skills!
Tagliare= to cut
Tritare= to minced / to chop up
Cuocere= to cook
Rosolare= to brown
Tostare= to toast
Mescolare= to stir
Aggiungere= to add
Spegnere il fuoco= to shut the flame off
Grattuggiare= to grate
Mantecare= whisk
Cipolla= onion
Burro= butter
Olio= oil
Riso= rice
Brodo= broth
Sale= salt
Pepe= pepper
Bicchiere di vino bianco= glass of white wine
That’s all there is to it! Be sure to share this recipe with your friends and comment below how it turned out for you! A presto!
(Thumbnail photo by Julien Pianetti on Unsplash)
How To Make Tiramisu - A Simple & Delicious Recipe
Is it a pudding? Is it an Italian cake? Whatever it is, it’s delicious.
by Brian Alcamo
Ti-ra-mi-su. Four syllables. Six ingredients (on average). The iconic Italian dessert holds a special place in the hearts of many people. It’s a perfectly light treat for the end of a meal, and goes great with an espresso and some post-meal conversation. When you read a recipe for tiramisu, the list of ingredients doesn’t necessarily help to convey what the end result will taste like. For this reason, some have described it as having a “mutant flavor”. One ingredient you won’t need? Liquor. While the flavor might be mutant, that’s exactly why we like it.
Photo by Vika Aleksandrova
Origins of Tiramisu
Tiramisu, like many other cultural staples, has a contested point of origin. While the sources of its beginnings are not as far as salsa’s, they are not entirely agreed upon. The narrowest point of origin that people can agree upon is Italia settentrionale, or Northern Italy. The regions where it most likely came from are Veneto, Friulia Venezia Giulia, or Piemonte.
(the regions Piemonte, Veneto, and Friulia Venezia Giulia are part of the larger Northern Italy)
A Sentence with No Spaces
The origin of the word tiramisu comes from a strung-together Italian sentence. Tirami su.
Tirare means to toss or throw, mi is the direct object pronoun “me,” and su means above or over. Tirare is conjugated in the imperative mood, which allows the speaker to place the direct object pronoun after the verb instead of before it.
The whole sentence (and now word) translates to “Pick me up,” which might have to do with the caffeine content of a key ingredient.
Originally, though, the word wasn’t Italian at all. At least, not the Standard Italian that many of us at JP Linguistics know, love, and study. Many people credit its beginnings to the city of Treviso in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy (Venice’s region). In the Treviso regional language the word was “tireme su.”
Photo by Vika Aleksandrova
Our Simple Tiramisu Recipe
Didn’t get a chance to tune into our Live Workshop with TimeIn New York? That’s okay. We’ve got our recipe right here (certo in inglese e in italiano).
Ingredienti per 4-6 persone (Ingredients for 4-6 people)
4 uova intere (4 whole eggs)
300 gr. di zucchero bianco (1.5 c of white sugar)
500 gr. di mascarpone (2.5 c of mascarpone)
40/45 biscotti savoiardi (40/45 ladyfingers)
300 cc. di caffè amaro e forte lasciato raffreddare (1 ¼ c of chilled, strongly brewed coffee)
100 gr. di spolvero di cacao amaro (½ c of dark chocolate powder)
Procedimento (Instructions)
Preparare preventivamente il caffè e lasciarlo raffreddare.
Prepare the coffee beforehand and let it cool.
Porre in una terrina 3 albumi di uovo e montarli a neve con un pizzico di sale.
Place 3 egg whites in a bowl and beat them stiff with a pinch of salt.
Con una frusta sbattere i 3 tuorli e l’uovo intero assieme allo zucchero quindi, aiutandosi con una spatola, aggiungere il mascarpone e mescolare piano piano dal basso verso l’alto fino a formare una crema.
With a whisk, beat the 3 egg yolks and the whole egg together with the sugar then, with the help of a spatula, add the mascarpone cheese and stir slowly from bottom to top until it forms a cream.
Infine aggiungere gli albumi montati a neve e amalgamare il tutto mescolando sempre molto piano, dal basso verso l’alto, per non smontare la crema.
Finally add the egg whites whipped to stiff peaks and mix everything, stirring always very slowly, from the bottom to the top, so as not to dismantle the cream.
Sul fondo piatto di una terrina o di una pirofila adagiare uno strato di savoiardi, inzuppati nel caffè, sgocciolati e leggermente spremuti con una forchetta per eliminare il liquido in eccesso.
On the flat bottom of a bowl or an ovenproof dish lay a layer of ladyfingers, soaked in coffee, drained and lightly squeezed with a fork to eliminate the excess liquid.
Sullo strato di savoiardi stendere uno strato pari alla metà della crema preparata.
On the layer of ladyfingers spread a layer equal to half of the prepared cream.
Quindi stendere sopra di essa un secondo strato di savoiardi, inzuppati e trattati come i precedenti.
Then spread a second layer of ladyfingers on top of it, soaked and treated like the previous ones.
Spalmare sopra la rimanente crema.
Spread the remaining cream on top.
Riporre il dolce in frigorifero per 12 ore e gustarlo dopo averlo spolverato con il cacao amaro aiutandosi con un colino.
Place the dessert in the refrigerator for 12 hours and enjoy it after sprinkling it with bitter cocoa using a sieve.
That’s all there is too it! Only a few ingredients, but a lot of "wrist work” (whisking, whipping, and sprinkling) and a lot of waiting will get you that delicious flavor that only comes from a properly made tiramisu. Now all you need is the limoncelo…
Grazie!
Make sure you give this blog a heart, and share it with your friends. Tried the recipe? Let us know how it turned out in the comments section.
(Thumbnail Photo by Vika Aleksandrova on Unsplash)
7 Ways to Order Coffee in Italy
Italians love their coffee, and so do New Yorkers! How accurate is your order? Check out our latest post and see if you have been a coffee savant or not this whole time.
7 Ways To Order Coffee in Italy
In Italy, you may frequently find yourself at a bar before noon. Not because you’re getting crunk under the Tuscan sun (no judgement), but because in Italian, the word bar is associated with coffee. If you find yourself at one of these bar italiani, here are seven Italian coffee orders to help you jump right over that language barrier and get your caffeine fix faster than you can say buona mattina.
1. Un caffè macchiato: ALERT for those of you not in the know, this particular turn of phrase will not get you your Starbucks-style macchiato with five pumps of caramel and enough milk to nurse a baby. What it will get you is a cute little espresso cup filled with… espresso, and a little dollop of steamed milk on the top. That’s because in Italian, the verb macchiare means “to stain,” so if you order a caffè macchiato, that’s all you’ll get. A stain. For those of you who would like to drink out of the cute little espresso cups but don’t want the full-force taste of espresso (which can be overwhelming to many a palate), a caffè macchiato is a great foray into tiny-cup culture.
2. Un latte macchiato: Maybe you’re getting the hang of this verb macchiare and can already figure out what a latte macchiato is. If not, un latte macchiato is a nice big cup of steamed milk stained with a shot of espresso. This is more in line with the “lattes” and “macchiatos” in the good ole’ USA and will taste just like home (but probably better because you’re in Italy taking in la dolce vita).
3. Un cappuccino: Like pecorino, gelato, and prosciutto, cappuccino stays the same wherever you go. One note on the difference between un cappuccino and un latte macchiato: un cappuccino has a much higher ratio of milk foam to actual milk. This is reflected in the name, since cappuccino means “little hat.” If the delicious taste doesn’t get you to drink one, the adorable imagery of that name just might.
4. Un caffè ristretto: This is for those of you who love that strong espresso flavor and want it even stronger. Ristretto comes from the verb ristringere which means “to concentrate,” and the flavor of this coffee order is the perfect way to taste the meaning of that verb.
5. Un caffè lungo: If you like the taste of espresso, don’t like milk, and still want a ~shot~ at participating in tiny-cup culture, perhaps un caffè lungo is right for you. To make a lungo, the barista pulls the shot for a longer (lungo = long!) period of time, thus using more water for a less potent shot of espresso.
6. Un caffè americano: At the end of the “how much hot water can we put in a shot of espresso” spectrum is un caffè americano. This is the closest equivalent that many espresso-based bar will have to your regular American drip coffee. It’s one shot of espresso and a nice helping of extra hot water added after the shot is pulled (unlike a lungo which is made entirely by using the espresso machine) to water things down. Nowadays, if you find yourself in a hipper (read: very hip) part of town, you might just be able to swindle yourself un pour-over, which is exactly what you think it is.
What an Americano should look like…
7. Un affogato: This isn’t really a coffee that you might order at breakfast, but it’s definitely the most fun coffee on this list. That’s because un affogato is really just gelato, aka ice cream, with a shot of espresso poured on top for good measure. As magical as it sounds, it’s even more magical to eat. That being said, the word for this particular order comes from the verb affogare which means “to drown,” so if you don’t like the mental image of your ice cream drowning, maybe skip this one.
Italy is the birthplace of espresso, and you should definitely try some while you’re there. Don’t be put off by the beautiful barista in front of you, waiting patiently for you to butcher is mother tongue. Instead, go prepared and use this guide to get exactly what you want. If you want to learn more about this bella lingua be sure to check out the courses offered at JP Linguistics. In bocca al lupo!
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the Italian way of ordering coffee ! Ready to hop on a plane to snag this one of a kind work for yourself? Check out one of our new FREE trial classes today! Our native instructors and culturally immersive group classes are sure to make putting in your bid (ragù alla bolognese) as easy as can be! Click below to learn more.
Health Conscious Italian Cuisine
An Italian restaurant has come up with a new tactic to keep health conscious diners snacking the night away…
Health Conscious Italian Cuisine
An Italian restaurant has come up with a new tactic to keep health conscious diners snacking the night away, and its not quite as simple as substituting the dressing on a side salad. Feva Restaurant in Castelfranco Veneto has perfected the art of fried air.
Yes, air.
Photo: Latestly
Known as 'Aria Fritta' in Italian, the eye-catching dish is designed to capture the essence of being outdoors and of inhaling fresh air. The crispy treats - which are also meant to represent the English expression 'full of hot air' - are actually made of tapioca skin which is boiled to make a batter before being baked and deep fried. After being thoroughly dried to remove the oil, the light batter shapes are then infused with low levels of the gas ozone for 10 minutes.
Nicola Dinato, head chef at Feva Restaurant, said: "Aria Fritta is a simple batter, tapioca and water which is oven-cooked and then deep-fried, Next, “Low levels of ozone are then infused to it and is immediately served on top of a cloud of cotton candy with blue salt powder and a vegan white sesame seed mayo…[and] the aim is to recall the fragrance of fresh air."
The rather unusual snack is offered to the surprise of guests as an appetizer and is completely free of charge.
He added: "Aria Fritta is idiomatic, an expression, the equivalent in english for 'full of hot air' like someone who's talking a lot, especially without saying anything of value or meaning.
Photo: Tellereport
"As we are living in an era in which the core values of life are been progressively replaced by frivolous and shallow contents without real meaning.
Planning to make a visit to try this Health Conscious Italian Cuisine? Our native instructors and culturally immersive group classes can put you on the path to fluency faster than you may think - thus making your order a breeze! Click below to learn more.