The traditional Italian food is generally based on vegetables and fruits and home-made pastas, they generally are healthier than their cross-culture substitutes. Delicious and simple recipe of traditional Italian food is created with eggs, sugar, butter and wine. Traditional Italian food and wine is among the best in the world. Italians take pride in their cuisine which begins with a "primo" usually of pasta. First courses like spaghetti, risotto or gnocchi are very popular as they are light and easy to prepare, and offer virtually unlimited recipes for the creative cook, but the serving size on the whole still remains a cup. This is called an assaggio di primi (a sampling of firsts) and then moves on to the "secondo" which are either meat or fish. In addition, the secret when preparing an Italian meal is to select the freshest of local ingredients, so what you eat will change from month to month.
Dessert is usually some fresh fruit with a demitasse of espresso. On festive occasions there may be puddings, pastries or a cake. Wine is an integral part of Italian food. Relax with your favorite beer or wine and enjoy as the aromas of traditional Italian food.
In the kitchen, you may need a pasta pot, a colander, wooden spoons, and a mezzaluna. The mezzaluna is a crescent-shaped knife with a handle on either end that makes meat-mincing a whole lot easier.
Try this simple but exotic Italian Dessert Recipe - Hazelnut cake:
Ingredients
Toasted hazelnuts -10 ounces (250 g)
Oro Saiwa Cookies -4 ounces (100 g)
Unsalted butter -4 ounces (100 g)
Sugar -6 ounces (150 g, 3/4 cup)
Eggs, separated -3
Baking chocolate (crumbled) -6 ounces (150 g)
Method
- Grind together the nuts and cookies in a blender until it becomes a fine powder.
- Combine it with the crumbled chocolate.
- Cream the egg yolks sugar and butter until the mixture is pale yellow.
- Whip the egg whites until it forms firm peaks.
- Combine the nut and cookie mixture with the butter mixture, and then fold in the whites.
- Pour into a cake pan of size sufficient for it to be about an inch deep, and bake it a preheated oven (360 F (180 C)) for 30 minutes.