Food
Traditional dishes
The Italian food is famous worldwide and is known for its olive oil based dishes and for its "Pasta".
Appetizers:
Antipasti: It is the traditional appetizer with vegetables that are kept in olive oil (artichokes, egg plants, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers, dried tomatoes, etc.).
The typical dishes:
Marinaded eggplants
Parmigiana Eggplant (Melanzane alla parmigiana): roasted eggplants with mozzarella on the top.
Asparaguses in Parmigiano Reggiano
Broccoli alla romana
Scalopina alla milanese
Pizzas
Risotto alla milanese: the risotto can be served either as a starter or as a main dish. It is a long grain rice, flavoured with saffron.
Pastas:
Lasagnes
Spaghetti
Ravioli...
Desserts:
Tiramisu: this dessert was invented in the Venetie's region and became a classic Italian cake. They are savoiardi, (also called lady fingers biscuits) staged and stuffed with cheese mascarpone and very strong coffee.
Zabaglione or Zabayon. The recipe was invented in the Reggio Emilia's province and remains a regional specialty but the recipe has been fast passed on with numerous variants.
The Italian ice creams
There is furthermore in Italy a big variety of cheeses such as the Gorgonzola , Parmesan, mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta and many others.
Finally, the prodigious variety of Italian wines must be mentionned. The influence of the Mediterranean sun and the flows of water on hill sides favour what seems to be a spontaneous wine culture. Italy counts 20 regions, with their own customs and wine-growing traditions.
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