Where and what to eat in Italy for the most authentic food experience. Photo / Heidi Kaden; Unsplash
Where and what to eat in Italy for the most authentic food experience. Photo / Heidi Kaden; Unsplash
Italy is a funfair for the tastebuds and the perfect place for a food-filled adventure, but the origins of its culinary traditions might just surprise you, writes Suzy Pope.
Over the centuries, we’ve tinkered with each traditional pasta dish, pizza and delicate dessert, adding and taking away ingredients until each one is nearly unrecognisable from its Italian original. Taking a trip from Milan to Naples, you’ll learn that cream has no place in a carbonara and spaghetti Bolognese should only be made with four ingredients - and none of them are spaghetti.
Sample risotto in Milan
In the 1930s, Italy’s government promoted rice as a healthy alternative to pasta. This paved the way to put more risotto dishes on the map. Photo / 123rf
You’ll spot Risotto alla Milanese on the menu in Italian restaurants the world over. Golden yellow, it’s a perfectly balanced medley of butter, onion, meat stock and saffron with sausage for flavour. In the 1930s, Italy’s fascist government railed against pasta, blaming the starchy staple for the population’s perceived sluggishness and embarked on a propaganda campaign promoting rice as a healthy alternative. Though the move didn’t curtail the Italians’ love of pasta, it did put more risotto dishes on the map beyond the rice fields of the Po Valley and Lombardy.
Where to try Risotto ala Milanese in Milan: It’s like a timewarp in Trattoria Madonnina, one of Milan’s oldest restaurants. Dark wood and checkered-cloth tablecloths are like the Italian restaurants of the 70s and 80s and the food is just like Nonna makes.
Eat the original spaghetti Bolognese in Bologna
The original dish from Bologna doesn't actually use spaghetti. Instead, it’s made with tagliatelle, beef mince, onion, garlic, and a pinch of spice. Photo / Supplied
The rose-hued ancient city of Bologna is affectionately known to Italians as “The Fat” and heralded as Italy’s foodie capital. In the flat lands of the surrounding Emilia Romagna province, fields and pastures stretch for miles, pumping farm-fresh produce into the open-air markets and restaurants of the city. Wine bars serve towering platters of charcuterie with garlicky mortadella, piquant slices of salami and oozing blobs of mozzarella.
Perhaps the most famous export from Bologna is spaghetti Bolognese. The original dish doesn’t use spaghetti, let alone carrots, celery or mushrooms. In the family-run trattoria of this medieval city, you’ll find Tagliatelle al Ragu. The original spaghetti Bolognese is simply beef mince flavoured with onion, garlic and a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg, tossed through thick ribbons of tagliatelle and often topped with a dusting of parmesan.
Where to eat Tagliatelle al Ragu in Bologna: Founded in 1979 in the university district, Osteria dell’Orsa is a typically buzzy yet laid-back Bologna tavern where you can sample the city’s famous cuisine, including “tagliatelle al Bologna”.
The rose-hued ancient city of Bologna is affectionately known to Italians as "The Fat". Photo / Bianca Ackermann; Unsplash
Slurp gelato in Florence
The Renaissance brought us Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, but it also introduced gelato to the streets of Italy. Frozen desserts were not a new idea in the 14th century, but gelato (i.e. flavoured, frozen milk) was officially developed in Florence by Bernardo Buontalenti. With a warren of ancient, pedestrianised streets in its historic heart, Florence is incredibly walkable. Grab a cone of pale green pistachio gelato, take it for a stroll along the banks of the River Arno and admire the ramshackle shops on the Ponte Vecchio. Or, wander the atmospheric streets to the famous Duomo, slurping as you go.
Where to eat gelato in Florence: Meaning “why not?”, Perche No is right in the heart of Florence’s old centre. It’s been making ice cream the traditional way since 1939, using only milk, cream, eggs and fruit.
Gelato was officially developed in Florence by Bernardo Buontalenti in the 14th century. Photo / 123rf
Devour carbonara in Rome
While Rome is home to some old Italian staples like twice-fried artichokes and pasta cacio e pepe (spaghetti with cheese and pepper), the break-out dish from the city is a little more modern. During World War II, American troops stationed in Italy were given rations of bacon and eggs and asked Italian chefs to turn their US-focused ingredients into a pasta dish. Thus, spaghetti carbonara was born. The original recipe is still the one you’ll find in Rome’s old-school restaurants, and it doesn’t contain cream. The traditional pasta cacio e pepe is topped with pork cheek, usually cooked until crispy.
Where to eat carbonara in Rome: In the vibrant Tu neighbourhood, across the Tiber from central Rome, Antica Trattoria da Carlone has perfected carbonara over the decades.
The breakout dish from Rome is a little more modern: spaghetti carbonara. Photo / Ceyda Çiftci; Unsplash
Grab a slice of the original pizza Margherita in Naples
Legend has it that the Margherita pizza was invented in Naples by Raffaele Esposito, chef at Pizzeria Brandi, to mark the unification of Italy in 1889. Down the narrow alleys of old Naples, where laundry dries on wrought-iron balconies and mopeds zip past inches in front of you, there’s a plaque marking the birthplace of the Margherita pizza. It’s topped with three basic ingredients: passata, mozzarella and fresh basil – red, white and green mirror the colours of the Italian flag. You can still sample a slice of the Italian classic at Pizzeria Brandi.
Where to eat pizza Margherita in Naples: While it’s by no means the most glamorous restaurant, for the most authentic slice, it’s got to be the original Pizzeria Brandi.
The narrow alleys of Naples not only breathe life into the local culture but also mark the birthplace of the Margherita pizza. Photo / 123rf
Checklist
ITALY
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Rome with Emirates via Dubai, Qatar via Doha, or with China Eastern via Shanghai. Flights to other Italian cities are available - check with your travel agent for the best route.
