ITALIAN CUISINE RECIPE & PREPARED STOCK FOOD PHOTOS, STOCK FOOD PICTURES & FOOD PHOTO ART PRINTS

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BC. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines. Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the New World with the introduction of items such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and maize, now central to the cuisine but not introduced in quantity until the 18th century. Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world, with influences abroad.

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 major part of the cuisine, with many variations and Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) (regulated appellation) laws. Coffee, specifically espresso, has become important in Italian cuisine.

Italian cuisine

Italian Cuisine is one of the 5 great cuisine of the world. Its roots go back to ancient time and it has ifluences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines. With its great trading links form its maritime republics like Venice and Genoa, Italian cuisine was also influenced by ingredients and ideas from as far away as China & India. With the discovery of the New World with the introduction of items such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and maize, now central to the cuisine but not introduced in quantity until the 18th century. Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is one of the most popular cuisines in the world.

Influenced by the  culinary traditions from Rome and Athens, a cuisine developed in Sicily that some consider the first real Italian cuisine. Muslims invaded Sicily in the 9th century. The Arabs introduced spinach, almonds, rice and perhaps spaghetti. During the 12th century, a Norman king surveyed Sicily and saw people making long strings made from flour and water called atriya, which eventually became trii, a term still used for spaghetti in southern Italy. Normans also introduced dishes from northern europe like casseroles, salt cod (baccalà) and stockfish which remain popular.

Italian cuisine

has a great variety of different ingredients which are commonly used, ranging from fruits, vegetables, sauces, meats etc. In the North of Italy, fish (such as cod, or baccala), potatoes, rice, maize, corn, sausages, pork and different types of cheeses are the most common ingredients (tomato is virtually absent in most Northern Italian cuisines). Ligurian ingredients are quite different, and include several types of fish and seafood dishes, basil, (found in pesto sauce), nuts and olive oil are very common).

In central Italy (including Emilia-Romagna), common ingredients include ham (Parma ham), sausage (Zampone), different sorts of salami, truffles, lasagna, grana, parmigiano reggiano), tomatoes (Bolognese sauce or ragu), and tortellini are important elements. Finally, in Southern Italy, tomatoes (either used fresh or cooked into tomato sauce), peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, oranges, ricotta cheese, aubergines, courgettes, certain types of fish (anchovies, sardines and tuna), and capers are important components to the local cuisine.

PASTA

Italian cuisine and food is also well known (and well regarded) for its use of a diverse variety of pasta. Pasta include noodles in various lengths, widths and shapes, and varieties that are filled with other ingredients like ravioli and tortellini. The word pasta is also used to refer to dishes in which pasta products are a primary ingredient. It is usually served with sauce. There are hundreds of different shapes of pasta with at least locally recognized names.Examples include spaghetti (thin rods), macaroni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagne (sheets). Two other noodles, gnocchi and spätzle, are sometimes considered pasta. They are both traditional in parts of Italy.

Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Pasta is generally cooked by boiling. Under Italian law, dry pasta (pasta secca) can only be made from durum wheat flour or durum wheat semolina, and is more commonly used in Southern Italy compared to their Northern counterparts, who traditionally prefer the fresh egg variety. Durum flour and durum semolina have a yellow tinge in color. Italian pasta is traditionally cooked al dente (Italian: “firm to the bite”, meaning not too soft). Outside Italy, dry pasta is frequently made from other types of flour (such as wheat flour), but this yields a softer product that cannot be cooked al dente. There are many types of wheat flour with varying gluten and protein depending on variety of grain used.

Particular varieties of pasta may also use other grains and milling methods to make the flour, as specified by law. Some pasta varieties, such as pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour. Fresh pasta may include eggs (pasta all’uovo ‘egg pasta’). Whole wheat pasta has become increasingly popular because of its perceived health benefits. Most whole wheat pastas have a mixture of whole grain and regular grain ingredients.

RISOTTO

Venice and many surrounding parts of Veneto are known for risotto, a dish whose ingredients vary by location, with fish and seafood being added closer to the coast and pumpkin, asparagus, radicchio and frogs’ legs appearing further away from the Adriatic. In other parts of Veneto, polenta is the primary starch. Beans, Peas and other legumes are seen in these areas with pasta e fagioli (beans and pasta) and risi e bisi (rice and peas). Veneto features heavy dishes using exotic spices and sauces. Ingredients such as stockfish or simple marinated anchovies are found here as well. Less fish and more meat is eaten away from the coast. Sausages such as soppressata and garlic salami are common. High quality vegetables are prized, such as red radicchio from Treviso and asparagus from Bassano del Grappa. The most notable dish of Veneto is fegato alla Veneziana, thinly-sliced liver sauteed with onions. Squid and cuttlefish are common ingredients, as is squid ink, called nero di seppia.

PIZZA

Pizzas are covered in depth in our “about Pizzas” web page, but have to have a mention on this page as an iconic Italian dish. Originating in Naples as a classic Neopolitan Pizza it has spread around the world ending up with many exotic toppings ranging from The Hawaiin Pizza with ham and pieapple to pizzas topped with Indian Chicken Tikka. Neither of the latter have anything to do with the Italian classic pizza. Our pizza photo gallery shows classic cheese pizzas to pizzas with pepperoni.

COFFEE

Italian style coffee  also known as espresso is made from a blend of Brazilian coffee beans. Espresso beans are roasted medium to medium dark in the north, and gets darker moving south.

A common misconception is that espresso has more caffeine than other coffee but the opposite is true. The longer roasting period extracts more caffeine. The modern espresso machine, invented in 1937 by Achille Gaggia, uses a pump and pressure system with water heated up to 90-95°C (194-203°F) and forced with high pressure through a few grams of finely ground coffee in 25–30 seconds, resulting in about 25 milliliters (two tablespoons) of liquid.

Expresso is usually served in a demitasse cup. Caffè macchiato is topped with a bit of steamed milk or foam; ristretto is made with less water, and is stronger; cappuccino is mixed or topped with steamed, mostly frothy, milk. It is generally considered a morning beverage; caffelatte is equal parts espresso and steamed milk, similar to café au lait, and is typically served in a large cup. Latte macchiato (spotted milk) is a glass of warm milk with a bit of coffee.

Coffee beans stock photos

The Bicerin is also an Italian coffee, from Turin. It is a mixture of cappucino and traditional hot chocolate, as it consisits of a mix of coffee and drinking chocolate, and with a small addition of milk. It is quite thick, and often whipped cream/foam with chocolate powder and sugar is added on top.

More facts about Coffee and its history can be found in our Coffee fact sheet with pictures and images.

Pieces of cholate, coffee beans and sugar. Stock Photo

Bolognese sauce

Bolognese sauce (ragù alla bolognese in Italian, also known by its French name sauce bolognaise) is a meat-based sauce for pasta originating in Bologna, Italy. Bolognese sauce is sometimes taken to be a tomato sauce, but authentic recipes have only a small amount of tomato concentrate.

Spaghetti alla Bolognese, Spaghetti Bolognese, Esparguete à bolonhesa or Spaghetti Bolognaise in a form popular outside of Italy, consists of a meat sauce served on a bed of spaghetti with a good sprinkling of grated Parmigiano cheese. Although Spaghetti alla Bolognese is very popular outside of Italy it never existed in Bologna, where ragù is served always with the local egg pastas tagliatelle or lasagne. Spaghetti is a durum wheat pasta from Naples, and the Naples Ragù of a meat flavoured thick tomato sauce clings much better to slippery spaghetti than Bologna’s ground beef ragù.

Pesto sauce

Pesto is a sauce originating in Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy (pesto alla genovese). The name is the contracted past participle of the Genoese word pestâ (Italian: pestare) which means “to pound, to crush” in reference to the sauce’s crushed herbs and garlic. This same Latin root through Old French also gave rise to the English word pestle.

Historically, pesto is prepared in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. The basil leaves are washed, dried, placed in the mortar with garlic and coarse salt, and crushed to a creamy consistency. The pine nuts are added and crushed together with the other ingredients. When the nuts are well-incorporated into the “cream”, grated cheese and then olive oil are added and mixed. In a tight jar (or simply in an air-tight plastic container), pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week, and can also be frozen for later use.

Pene Bolognese

Pasta

Pasta is a generic term for foods made from an unleavened dough of wheat or buckwheat flour and water, sometimes with other ingredients such as eggs and vegetable extracts. Pastas include varieties that are filled with other ingredients like ravioli and tortellini. The word pasta is also used to refer to dishes in which pasta products are a primary ingredient. It is usually served with sauce.

There are hundreds of different shapes of pasta with at least locally recognized names. Examples include spaghetti (thin rods), maccheroni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagne (sheets). Gnocchi and spätzle are sometimes considered pasta. They are both traditional in parts of Italy.

Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a few days under refrigeration. Pasta is generally cooked by boiling.

Classic risotto with prawns, mussels and bacon

Risotto

Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-based, fish-based, or vegetable-based; many kinds include parmesan cheese, butter, and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.

Its origins are in northern Italy, specifically Eastern Piedmont, Western Lombardy, and the Veneto, where rice paddies are abundant. Risottos are made using short-grain rice (italian cultivars of Oryza sativa japonica), with the stock being added gradually while the rice is stirred constantly. The cooking technique leads the rice to release its starch, giving the finished dish a creamy texture.

Risotto can be made using many kinds of vegetable, meat, fish, seafood and legumes, and different types of wine and cheese may be used. There is even, exceptionally, an Italian strawberry risotto.

Fresh chopped beefsteak tomato bruschettas

Bruschetta

Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [brusˈketta] is a hearty appetizer from central Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular recipe outside of Italy involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and onion or mozzarella. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. In Italy, Bruschetta is often prepared using a brustolina grill. In the Abruzzo region of Italy a variation of bruschetta called ventricina is served. Raw pork products and spices encased in pig vesicles are aged and the paste spread on open slices of bread which are sometimes grilled. This was a way of salvaging bread that was going stale.

Buffalo mozerella and tomato salad

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is a generic term for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting

Mozzarella di Bufala (buffalo mozzarella), made from domesticated water buffalo milk. It is an essential ingredient in Pizzas so it is hardly a surprise that it is produced in the area around Naples. Another classic use of Mozerella is with tomatoes and basil as a salad.

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