1.
Catania
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Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea. It is the capital of the Metropolitan City of Catania, one of the ten biggest cities in Italy, the population of the city proper is 315,601 while the population of the conurbation is estimated to be 767,003. The metropolitan city has 1,115,310 inhabitants, Catania has had a long and eventful history, having been founded in the 8th century BC. In 1434, the first university in Sicily was founded in the city, in the 14th century and into the Renaissance period, Catania was one of Italys most important cultural, artistic and political centres. The city has a culture and history, hosting many museums, restaurants, churches, parks. Catania is well known for its street food, Catania is located on the east coast of the island of Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna. As observed by Strabo, the location of Catania at the foot of Mount Etna has been both a curse and a blessing, two subterranean rivers run under the city, the Amenano, which surfaces at one single point south of Piazza Duomo, and the Longane. The ancient indigenous population of the Sicels named their villages after geographical attributes of their location, the Sicilian word, katane, means grater, flaying knife, skinning place or a crude tool apt to pare. Other translations of the name are harsh lands, uneven ground, sharp stones, the latter etymologies are easily justifiable since, for many centuries following an eruption, the city has always been rebuilt within its black-lava landscape. Around 729 BC, the ancient village of Katane became the Chalcidian colony of Katánē where the population was rapidly Hellenized. The Naxian founders, coming from the adjacent coast, later used the name for their new settlement along the River Amenano, around 263 BC, the city was variously known as Catĭna and Catăna. The former has been used for its supposed assonance with catina. Catinus has two meanings, a gulf, a basin or a bay and a bowl, a vessel or a trough, around 900, when Catania was part of the emirate of Sicily, it was known in Arabic as Balad al-fīl and Madinat al-fīl. The former means The Village of the Elephant, while the latter means The City of the Elephant, the Elephant is the lava sculpture over the fountain in Piazza Duomo. Another Arab toponym was Qaṭāniyyah, allegedly from the Arabic word for the leguminous plants, pulses like lentils, beans, peas, broad beans, and lupins were chiefly cultivated in the plains around the city well before the arrival of Aghlabids. Afterwards, many Arabic agronomists developed these crops and the orchards in the area around the city. The toponym Wadi Musa, or Valley of Moses, was rarely used, Catania was founded as a Greek colony named Κατάνη, of Chalcidic origin, under the guidance of a leader named Euarchos. The exact date of its foundation is not recorded, but it appears from Thucydides that it came into existence slightly later than Leontini, the only event of its early history that is known about is the legislation of Charondas, The exact date of which is uncertain
2.
Pasta alla Norma
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Pasta alla Norma is a pasta dish in Sicilian cuisine from Catania, an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily. It is made with tomatoes, fried aubergine, grated ricotta salata cheese and it is supposedly named after the opera Norma by the Catania-born composer Vincenzo Bellini. An alternative explanation of the name is that the dish respects norms, List of eggplant dishes List of pasta dishes Food portal
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Italian cuisine
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Italian cuisine is the culinary typical or originating from Italy. It has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots stretching to antiquity, Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients. Italian cooks rely chiefly on the quality of the rather than on elaborate preparation. Ingredients and dishes vary by region, many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Cheese and wine are a part of the cuisine, with many variations. Coffee, specifically espresso, has become important in Italian cuisine, Italian cuisine has developed over the centuries. Although the country known as Italy did not unite until the 19th century, Italian food started to form after the fall of the Roman Empire, when different cities began to separate and form their own traditions. Many different types of bread and pasta were made, and there was a variation in cooking techniques and preparation. For example, the north of Italy is known for its risottos, the central/middle of the country is known for its tortellini, the first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus from Syracuse in the 4th century BCE. He wrote a poem that spoke of using top quality and seasonal ingredients and he said that flavors should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. He placed importance on simple preparation of fish, simplicity was abandoned and replaced by a culture of gastronomy as the Roman Empire developed. By the time De re coquinaria was published in the 1st century CE, it contained 470 recipes calling for heavy use of spices, the Romans employed Greek bakers to produce breads and imported cheeses from Sicily as the Sicilians had a reputation as the best cheesemakers. The Romans reared goats for butchering, and grew artichokes and leeks, with culinary traditions from Rome and Athens, a cuisine developed in Sicily that some consider the first real Italian cuisine. Arabs invaded Sicily in the 9th century, introducing spinach, almonds, Normans also introduced casseroles, salt cod and stockfish, which remain popular. Food preservation was either chemical or physical, as refrigeration did not exist, meats and fish would be smoked, dried or kept on ice. Brine and salt were used to pickle items such as herring, root vegetables were preserved in brine after they had been parboiled. Other means of preservation included oil, vinegar or immersing meat in congealed, rendered fat, for preserving fruits, liquor, honey and sugar were used. The northern Italian regions show a mix of Germanic and Roman culture while the south reflects Arab influence, the oldest Italian book on cuisine is the 13th century Liber de coquina written in Naples
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Ancient Roman cuisine
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Ancient Roman cuisine changed over the long duration of the ancient Roman civilization. In the beginning, dietary differences between Roman social classes were not very great, but disparities developed with the empires growth, traditionally, a breakfast called ientaculum was served at dawn. In the late morning, Romans ate a lunch, and in the evening they ate cena. With the increased importation of foreign foods, the cena grew larger in size and it gradually shifted to the afternoon, while the vesperna, a light supper eaten in the evening was abandoned completely. Prandium, a second breakfast, was introduced around noon, among the lower classes of society, these changes were less pronounced as the traditional routines corresponded closely to the daily rhythms of manual labor. Among the upper classes, who did not engage in manual labor, after the prandium, the last responsibilities would be discharged, and a visit would be made to the baths. Around 2 p. m. the cena would begin and this meal could last until late in the night, especially if guests were invited, and would often be followed by comissatio, a round of alcoholic beverages. In the period of the kings and the early Republic, but also in later periods, the cena essentially consisted of a kind of porridge, the simplest kind would be made from emmer, water, salt and fat. The more sophisticated kind was made with oil, with an accompaniment of assorted vegetables when available. The richer classes ate their puls with eggs, cheese, and honey, over the course of the Republican period, the cena developed into 2 courses, a main course and a dessert with fruit and seafood. By the end of the Republic, it was usual for the meal to be served in 3 parts, one course, main course, and dessert. Originally flat, round loaves made of emmer with a bit of salt were eaten, among the classes, eggs, cheese. In the Imperial period, around the beginning of the Christian era, bread made of wheat was introduced, with time, the bread was sometimes dipped in wine and eaten with olives, cheese, and grapes. At the time of the destruction of Pompeii in AD79, the ancient Roman diet included many items that are staples of modern Italian cooking. Pliny the Elder discussed more than 30 varieties of olive,40 kinds of pear, figs, some of these vegetables are no longer present in the modern world, while others have undergone significant changes. Carrots of different colors were consumed, but not in orange, however, some foods considered characteristic of modern Italian cuisine were not used. There were also few citrus fruits, butchers meat was an uncommon luxury. The most popular meat was pork, including sausages, beef was uncommon in ancient Rome, being more common in ancient Greece - it is not mentioned by Juvenal or Horace
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Regional cuisines of medieval Europe
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The regional cuisines of medieval Europe were the results of differences in climate, seasonal food variations, political administration and religious customs that varied across the continent. Though sweeping generalizations should be avoided, more or less distinct areas where certain foodstuffs dominated can be discerned. In the British Isles, northern France, the Low Countries, the northern German-speaking areas, Scandinavia, in the south, wine was the common drink for both rich and poor alike while beer was the commoners drink in the north and wine an expensive import. Citrus fruits and pomegranates were common around in the Mediterranean, dried figs and dates occurred quite frequently in the north, but were used rather sparingly in cooking. At no time during the Middle Ages was there a completely unified state that all or even a majority of all German-speaking peoples. The map was dotted with minor kingdoms, free cities and, in the High and Late Middle Ages, the controlled by the Hanseatic League. Most of these were under the loosely defined suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, the extensive use of lard and butter for cooking and a diet that was perceived as especially fatty gained Germans a reputation as being the fat Germans. The fasting regulations of the Catholic Church posed particular problems to the German population, olives could not be cultivated and olive oil was an expensive import. Oils made from various nut were available, but in short supply. By far, the most common sources of fat were butter and, above all, mustard was used in other parts of Europe long before the Middle Ages, but seemed to be especially common in Germany. A 14th-century travel account by Eustache Deschamps, a French poet and it was rare that recipes for use in dire situations were included in recipe collections, but one example from a cookbook in Low German has been preserved. The most common grains in Poland were millet and wheat, barley and oats were cultivated, but used mostly as animal feed or for brewing beer. Cabbage, kale, peas, broad beans, and onions were the most common vegetables. Dill and mustard were almost ubiquitous potherbs and parsley was used as a green in stews, as a flavor additive. Beef, pork and poultry were the most common meats, with the appearance of mutton. Game, as elsewhere, was prized, but in short supply and usually limited to the high nobility. Fish was a staple, but unlike Germans, Poles tended only to eat it on fast days when meat was forbidden by the church. Beer was drunk by all classes, and came in many different varieties and made from millet, wheat, barley
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Early modern European cuisine
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The cuisine of early modern Europe was a mix of dishes inherited from medieval cuisine combined with innovations that would persist in the modern era. Fare was naturally dependent on the season, a cookbook by Domenico Romoli called Panunto made a virtue of necessity by including a recipe for each day of the year. There was a great increase in prosperity in Europe during this period, which gradually reached all classes and all areas. Everywhere both doctors and chefs continued to characterize foodstuffs by their effects on the four humours, they were considered to be heating or cooling to the constitution, moistening or drying. Nationalism was first conceived in the modern period, but it was not until the 19th century that the notion of a national cuisine emerged. Class differences were far more important dividing lines, and it was almost always upper-class food that was described in recipe collections and cookbooks. In most parts of Europe two meals per day were eaten, one in the morning to noon and one in the late afternoon or later at night. The exact times varied both by period and region, in Spain and in parts of Italy such as Genoa and Venice the early meal was the lighter one while supper was heavier. In the rest of Europe, the first meal of the day was the more substantial, throughout the period, there was a gradual shift of mealtimes. The first meal, then called dinner in English, moved from before noon to around 2,00 or 3,00 in the afternoon by the 17th century. By the end of the 18th century, it could be held as late as 5,00 or 6,00 and this necessitated a midday meal, luncheon, later shortened to lunch, which was established by the late 18th century. Breakfast does not receive attention in any sources. Breakfast, when it began to be fashionable, was usually just a coffee, tea or chocolate, there is no doubt that working people since medieval times ate some sort of morning meal, but it is unclear exactly at what time and what it consisted of. The three-meal-regimen so common today did not become a standard until well into the modern era, as in the Middle Ages, breakfast in the sense of an early morning meal, is largely absent from the sources. Its unclear if this meant it was universally avoided or that it simply was not fashionable enough to be mentioned, as most sources were written by, for, and about the upper class. For most of Europe, the varieties of grain were the most important crop. The differentiation was in the varieties, its quality and how it was prepared, the lower classes ate bread that was coarse and of considerably higher bran content while the upper classes enjoyed the finely ground, white wheat flour that most modern Europeans are used to. Wheat was considerably more expensive than other grains, and rarely eaten by many, most bread was made with a mixture of wheat and other grains
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Lombard cuisine
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The regional cuisine of Lombardy is heavily based upon ingredients like maize, rice, beef, pork, butter, and lard. In many aspects, Lombard cuisine has much in common with that of Austria, similarly to Italian cuisine, Lombard cuisine has much variety and every city and part of the region offers its own specialities. A characteristic Lombard dish is risotto, most famously risotto alla milanese, similarly to risotto, maize-based dishes such as polenta are also common parts of the regional cuisine. Famous Lombard dishes include cotoletta, cassoeula and ossobuco, the region also offers several delicacies and desserts, amongst which noted ones such as mostarda and panettone. Regional cheeses include Robiola, Crescenza, Taleggio, Gorgonzola and Grana Padano, the various Lombard provinces have their own specialties. The capital of Lombardy is also home to many culinary specialties, one of the best known is risotto alla milanese, flavoured with saffron and typically served with many typical Milanese main courses, such as ossobuco alla milanese and cotoletta alla milanese. Other Milanese specialities include cassoeula and the famous panettone Christmas cake, the cuisine in Como is heavily influenced by its lake. Typical are dishes of fish, like the missultin, agoni salted and sun-dried, there is even a special polenta, called toch, made with equal parts of corn flour, butter and cheese, a very difficult and rich dish. Some villages and valleys around the lake, such as Oliveto Lario, are one of the few parts of northern Italy where olive trees were historically grown, in Canzo, Nocciolini, made with hazelnut flour, and the liqueur Vespetrò are typical. Cremonas Mostarda is known thruought Italy and so is the Torrone which is a dessert from this province. Mantuan cuisine is noted for dishes of medieval origin and for sweet, tortelli di zucca accompanied by melted butter and followed by turkey stuffed with chicken or other stewed meats are one of the best known dishes from this area. Pavia province is divided in an area, the Oltrepo Pavese, which is one of the main winemaking areas of Lombardy, and a plains area to the north, Lomellina. Not surprisingly, local specialties are rice dishes, such as Risotto alla Certosina and Ris e Ran from Pavia and Risotto coi Peperoni, traditional wines from Oltrepo Pavese are Bonarda, Barbera and Pinot Noir. Many of the wines have curious names, like Buttafuoco, Sangue di Giuda. White wines are made from the varieties of Malvasia, Moscato. Oltrepo is becoming known for its sparkling wines, in particular Spumante. Voghera produces Agnolotti containing a filling which are known as Agnolotti di stufato di Voghera and are typically served asciutti. Zuppa alla Pavese was supposedly invented on the spot to feed the captive king Francis I of France after his defeat at the Battle of Pavia on February 24,1525
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Neapolitan cuisine
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Naples has a history that goes back many centuries, the city itself predates many others in that area of the world, including Rome. It has endured the Greeks, Romans, the Plague, and dozens of successions of kings from France and Spain and each left a mark on the way food is prepared in Naples. Finding the connections between modern and Greco-Roman culinary traditions is not always easy, among the traces of classical culinary tastes, plates from the period of Greek rule found in Magna Graecia depict fishes and mollusks, an indication that seafood was appreciated during that period. Frescoes from Pompeii depict fruit baskets filled with, an excavation at Oplontis in the Villa Poppaea shows a fresco of a cake, the ingredients of which are not yet known. The Roman garum is the ancient sauce most similar to that used for the modern Colatura di Alici, typical of Cetara. It can be traced back to the sweet-sour taste typical of the Roman cooking described by Apicius, along with the use of raisins in salty dishes, like the pizza di scarola, the name struffoli, a Christmas cake, comes from the Greek word στρόγγυλος. The Spanish and French sovereignty in Naples initiated the difference between the cuisine of the aristocrats and that of the poorer classes, the former was characterized by elaborate, more cosmopolitan, dishes, and a greater number of expensive ingredients, including meat. The poor used foods that were cheaper and could be grown locally, one of the most famous chefs from the nobles courts in Naples was Vincenzo Corrado. There is a variety of Neapolitan pastas. Pasta was not invented in Naples, but one of the best grades available is found close by, in Gragnano. It was here also that the production of pasta started, with the techniques to dry. The main ingredient is wheat, harder to manipulate than soft wheat, so the industrial production had greater success than in northern Italy. Traditionally in Naples pasta must be cooked al dente, while pasta is not tolerated. Hand-made gnocchi, prepared with flour and potatoes, have become a method of overcoming the Neapolitan disdain for potatoes. In 1949 W. H. Auden wrote Igor Stravinsky from Forio in Ischia, Forio thinks us crazy because we eat potatoes, which are to them a mark of abject poverty. In reporting this, Francis Steegmuller, a resident of Naples, remarks on the French-inspired gattò, in which the potato complement is nearly overwhelmed by cheese, ham. Some of the modern varieties of pasta, like the Scialatelli, are also becoming popular. The industry of preserving tomatoes originated in 19th-century Naples, resulting in the export to all parts of the world of the famous pelati, there are traditionally several ways of preparing home-made tomato preserves, either bottled tomato juice, or chopped into pieces
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Roman cuisine
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Roman cuisine is the cuisine of the Italian city of Rome. Roman cuisine is based on seasonal ingredients mostly from Roman Campagna, among these, the most important are vegetables, meat and cheeses. A typical condiment in Roman cuisine is strutto, pork lard prepared and canned each winter, also used is the fat of prosciutto, while olive oil is used only for raw vegetables and - occasionally - to fry. Specific dishes are often assigned to the days of the week, such as gnocchi on Thursday, baccalà on Fridays, Romes food has evolved through centuries and periods of social, cultural, and political changes. Rome became a major gastronomical center during ancient age, Ancient Roman cuisine was highly influenced by Ancient Greek culture. Subsequently, the enormous expansion exposed Romans to many new, provincial culinary habits. In the beginning, the differences between classes were not very great, but disparities developed with the empires growth. Later, during the Renaissance, Rome became well known as a center of high-cuisine, an example of this could be Bartolomeo Scappi, who was a chef working for Pius IV in the Vatican kitchen, reaching fame with his cookbook Opera dellarte del cucinare, published in 1570. Here he lists approximately 1000 recipes of Renaissance cuisine and describes cooking techniques and tools, the Testaccio rione, Romes trade and slaughterhouse area, is the place where Romes most original and traditional foods can still be found. The area was known as the belly or slaughterhouse of Rome. The most common or ancient Roman cuisine included the fifth quarter, popular foods include pigs trotters, brain, and the genitals of other animals, which were often carefully cooked and richly spiced with different savouries, spices and herbs. The old-fashioned coda alla vaccinara is still one of the citys most popular meals and is part of most of Romes restaurants menus, lamb is also a very popular part of Roman cuisine, and is often roasted with spices and herbs. There is a considerable Jewish influence in Roman cuisine, since they were many in the city, such include the carciofi alla giudia and Jewish courgettes. Pasta is one important element of Roman cuisine, famous pasta sauces include amatriciana, carbonara, cacio e pepe and gricia. Alfredo is famous abroad, but not considered traditional and mostly unheard of in Rome, there is a pasta museum in Rome called the Museo Nazionale della Paste Alimentari. Romes most common shape is spaghetti, but there are many other forms. The city is known as a centre of wine, especially with the warm territory. Frascati and Castelli Romani are the best ones in the city, there are also many other dishes in Roman cuisine, including several desserts and sweets, many of which are made with ricotta cheese
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Cuisine of Veneto
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Cuisine in Veneto may be divided into three main categories, based on geography, the coastal areas, the plains, and the mountains. Each one can have many local cuisines, each city with its own dishes, the most common dish is polenta, which is cooked in various ways within the local cuisines of Veneto. Polenta once was the staple food of the poorer classes. In Veneto, the corns are ground in very more little fragments than the rest of Italy, so, typical of many coastal areas, communities along the coast of the Laguna Veneta serve mainly seafood dishes. In the plains it is popular to serve grilled meat together with grilled polenta. Other popular dishes include risotto, rice cooked with different kinds of food, from vegetables, mushrooms, pumpkin or radicchio to seafood. Cuisine from the areas is mainly made of pork or game meat, with polenta, as well as mushrooms or cheeses. A typical dish is casunziei, hand-made fresh pasta similar to ravioli, among the typical seasoning of Venetian cuisine, you can find butter, olive oil, sunflower oil, vinegar, kren, senape, mostarda, salsa verde. The following are typical of the three subregions of the Veneto. The page for Venetian language provides additional information on writing and pronouncing the dishes names, Bigołi in salsa, bigoli pasta served with an anchovy and onion sauce. Fegato ała venesiana, a high-class Venetian plate of liver, chopped and cooked together with chopped onions, mołeche, small green species crabs, when they arrived at the peak of phase changes and then soft, they are fried. The mołeche are very valuable because the process of changing the water brackish lagoons lasts a few hours, pasta e faxioi, bean soup with noodles. Połenta e schie, small shrimp from the lagoon, fried and perched on a bed of very soft, Rixi e bixi, a poor but tasty dish consisting of a simple risotto with pancetta and peas cooked in a broth. Rixoto de gò, rice prepared with goby, also known as gò, sarde in saor, fried sardines, dipped in partially fried onion in the same oil in which the sardines are fried, raisins and pine nuts, other spices and sprinkled with plenty of vinegar. One leaves everything to marinate at least one night, sepe al nero, cuttlefish cooked with their ink lagoon. Among the many Venetian desserts, the most well-known are, Baicołi, pinza, an Epiphany cake based on cornmeal and mixed dried fruits and nuts. Brasato allAmarone, braised beef meat cooked with Amarone wine, often served together with polenta and it is tradition to eat homemade potato gnocchi on Venerdì Gnocolar, the last Friday of Carnival. Some recipes also add olive oil, grated Parmigiano Reggiano or butter, the sauces name comes from pear, dialect for pepper, hence pearà, peppered
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