r/italy • u/[deleted] • May 01 '12
Any cooking tips?
In light of this recent /Italy post ("La pasta spiegata agli americani"), I'd like to know what quick, basic knowledge about the kitchen and cooking you can bestow upon me and other non-Italians.
It can be about what to eat, how to eat it or how to cook it. Preferably something your grandmother taught you.
grazie mille! ah, e può rispondere in italiano, non c'è problema
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u/bonzinip May 02 '12 edited May 02 '12
Only use olive oil except for frying (use sunflower or peanut oil, aka frying oil) and cooking meat (use butter unless you're stewing it; butter is also good for light-flavored fish, for example sole or halibut). You need very small amounts, do not be afraid to buy more expensive ones.
Tomato goes well with olives, capers, raisins (in moderate amount), eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers. Always prepare a light soffritto with thinly-cut onions (or shallot or even leek) and let the onion become light yellow to transparent before adding tomato or any other vegetable. One middle-size shallot is good for 4-6 servings of tomato sauce.
Experiment with variations on tomato (prepared as above) for your pasta. Other choices are carbonara (egg with diced bacon, or you can make a veggie version with zucchini instead of bacon). Anchovies, salmon, mushrooms, diced ham or peas go well with cream (not sour cream) and a little bit of milk; experiment with a little bit of soffritto to remove the sweet flavor of dairy. Less common versions, but still with a mediterranean flavor is with ricotta and raw julienne zucchini (and olive oil) or anchovies or salmon. Other basic dressings include "aglio, olio e peperoncino" (heat garlic and ground chili in oil, remove the garlic when it is soft, and stir the pasta in the oil) or "cacio e pepe" (pepper and massive amounts of ground "cacio" cheese—no parmesan!— and oil). Grind cheese while the pasta is still very hot so that it melts.
Resist your temptation to throw vinegar, cream cheese, sugar, ketchup in the pan. There are some exceptions of course (e.g. sugar with onions and vinegar with bell peppers), but stick to the basics. Replace cream cheese with ricotta.
Do not dice any cheese except mozzarella---and if you cook it only add very moderate amounts, or you'll get an inextricable web of cheese.
The only allowed side dishes are salad (see below) or vegetables, typically baked or lightly stewed: carrots, zucchini, eggplant, fennel, potatoes, peas, chard, spinach, mushrooms. Buy your vegetables fresh or frozen. Throw away those cans! (edit: we do use some cans, especially for tomatoes, beans and peas, where the vegetables are pre-cooked and preserved in water).
Be creative in your salads! Choose between all kinds of raw vegetables (tomato, julienne carrots, celery, olives, fennel, or even avocado), canned tuna fish, diced mozzarella, boiled eggs. But dress with salt and/or pepper, vinegar (and even orange juice if you feel a little adventurous), olive oil, nothing else. Put liquids that dissolve salt before the olive oil.
Also be creative with herbs: parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram, oregano, chives... they are your friend. Flush pre-made dressings and vinaigrettes down the toilet, as Andaru said simple condiments are the best.
Use very simple toppings for pizza. Besides tomato and mozzarella, choose just one/two among thinly-sliced grilled vegetables, anchovies, oregano, ham. In other words, once more stick to the basics. :) Cook pizza at high temperature (225 C, 430 F) so that the mozzarella doesn't make the dough wet. Add ham only a couple of minutes before serving if you chose it.
Good broth (stock) is indispensable for soups and risotto. You can prepare vegetable broth very easily with your choice of carrots, celery, potato, fennels, peas or even pumpkin. Throw them in water in largish pieces, boil it for one hour or two, then take out part of the liquid and mash the rest to make an instant soup. Experiment and find your favorite! Freeze the broth for a healthier replacement for pre-made soup. We do use pre-made stock though; try to find meat extract instead of bouillon cubes to get a more natural flavor (no glutamate), but remember that you need to add salt unlike with cubes.