Italian Cuisines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Italian Cuisines - Essay ExampleThe first run away (primi or minestra) can be a risotto, a soup, or pasta served in a bloodline or sauced. No matter what is served first, it is served in a bowl, and it always, always precedes the meat, fish, or fowl course.When dining come to the fore in Italy, the choice of a second course is made after youve eaten the first course. This way, a diner can evaluate the experience of the first course and decide on its best counterpoint for the second. one(a) or two vegetable dishes (contorno) often round out this course.For example, fish is the theme of this meal composed by Marcella Hazan. The antipasto is tiny boiled shrimp served warm and seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. Next (primi) comes a squid and clam risotto to make peppery comments. Then (secondi), a turbot baked with potatoes and ail is served. After the turbot, a bitter salad of radicchio and field greens cleanses the palate. The closing course is fresh fruit cut an d served in wine.The Mediterranean diet is all the rage these days - it has a reputation for being sinfully scrumptious while possessing the virtue of being extremely wellnessful. Yet when asked to define it, umpteen folks have dangerous time coming up with a good description. Not surprising. Any country contiguous with the Mediterranean Sea, from Morocco to Greece and from Spain to Israel, can rightly claim that its cuisine qualifies as a form of the Mediterranean diet. Indeed thither ar hundreds perhaps thousands of variations of the Mediterranean diet as micro-cuisines vary from village to village. In Italy alone in that location are subtle nuances that distinguish the cuisines of different regions and villages. Roman, Tuscan, Ligurian, Neapolitan and Sicilian cuisine, to name handful of broad categories, are all variations on the Italian version of the Mediterranean Diet. It is the south/central Italian version of the Mediterranean diet, which we will focus on in this cours e. It is among the healthiest of all Mediterranean cuisines, and we believe is the most delicious. Despite the many variations of the Mediterranean diet, there are some common characteristics that are found in all the healthiest versions. possibly the single most important feature that unites all these cuisines is olive oil. It is a vehicle for the tastes that permeate these cuisines and it is the philosophers stone of health that makes them so beneficial. Olive oil is the source of almost all fat in the health Mediterranean diet, there is very little saturated fat from meat and not many other vegetable oils either. Not only is olive oil a beneficial monounsaturated fat, it carries many important anti-oxidants along with it. But perhaps the most important characteristic is simply that it makes vegetables taste absolutely delicious. This encourages the avid breathing in of vegetables that is so characteristic of the healthy Mediterranean diet. Broccoli, spinach, tomatoes (technic ally a fruit), and scores of other vegetables and plant foods have, individually and collectively, been associated with pass up