Gourmet Italian

photo credit: specialkrb

Cooking gourmet with a simple “spaghetti ajo e ojo” is a simple, but wonderful treat!  AJO is garlic and OJO is oil.  You will sometimes see this dish called “aglio e oilio” – which means the same thing.

This is actually one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest gourmet Italian dishes you could ever prepare!  It is said to have originated in the shanty towns around Rome way back when.  This dish is often enjoyed late at night by the people of Rome when they are craving a little something before bed.

photo credit: Maggie Hoffman

Most Italians love fish soup.  And it really should be no surprise, because Italy has miles upon miles of shoreline and countless lakes and rivers.  There are so many variations on healthy Italian fish soups, but this one seems to be quite special.  It is called Zuppa di Pesce Castagna.  Zuppa is Italian for “soup” and Pesce is Italian for “fish“.  Castagna is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, which many acclaim as the best Italian restaurant in the entire city.

photo credit: stu_spivack

Zabaglione is a wonderful Italian dessert that is rich and custardy and has a taste of “spirits”.  There does not seem to be a consensus of opinion about the origin of this dish.  Some say Florence, some say Venice, but most agree it came about some time in the 1500’s.  The original version is actually thought to have been a drink, rather than something eaten with a spoon.  It was primarily wine that was thickened by with the addition of egg yolks.

photo credit: dags1974

When creating pasta gourmet recipes, many people think “red sauce” or cream sauce!  Pasta alla Carbonara, however, has no tomatoes or cream.  Although it may look a little dry and “plain Jane”, one bite will tell you that this is sinfully wonderful stuff!

Carbonara comes from the word carbone, which means coal.  Some say that perhaps this was a dish made by coal miners, since the ingredients would spoil too rapidly, since they were often in the woods for weeks at a time.  Others say perhaps it is from the specks of black pepper that look like coal dust!  I also learned that there was some sort of secret society that was instrumental in the unification of Italy called the Carbonari – or “charcoalmen” – and perhaps this dish was a tribute to them.

If you are searching for an authentic Italian food dish to make, you might want to try Osso Buco.  The meat is so tender and the flavor is rich and warm.  If you want the most tender Osso Buco, be sure to use veal shanks, since lamb and beef won’t give you the same result.

Osso Buco literally means “bone hole”.  You see, the are cooked with the bone in and the rich marrow in the center of the bone is part of what makes this dish so special.  The marrow that is scooped out from the center of the bone has a unique, fabulous flavor that is enhanced by the long, slow cooking process.

If you are looking for a quick Italian appetizer, you must try Bagna Cauda!  Craig Claiborne once said that Bagna Cauda is one of the most “Savory, delectable, and unlikely appetizers in the world.”  Although not everyone agrees on the origin of the name, the popular take on it is that it means “hot bath”, meaning the garlic and anchovies melt in a hot bath of butter and olive oil.