by Chris De Santis
photos by Chris De Santis and Kris Hunt
Pasta, pizza … now that’s Italian.
Growing up in New York as the grandson of Italian-born grandparents I was raised on the traditional food culture of the southern regions of Italy. What I affectionately refer to as red-sauce Italian – homemade pasta, ravioli, lasagna, all held together by thick red tomato sauce, referred to by my family as “gravy.” Each Sunday began with the pot on the stove, the aroma of garlic sautéing in olive oil, the browning of pork neck bones and the scent of basil and oregano. The “gravy” would simmer all day until it was time to boil the pasta and sit down with family and friends to enjoy a traditional southern Italian meal.
Most of us identify with this thick rich topping of tomato sauce on our pasta, and the tomato and cheese-topped pizzas that are most familiar to us from the southern Italian influences on the majority of Italian restaurants we’ve dined at.
But this all changed for me more than 20 years ago when I began to research the food culture of the fairly young and unified country of Italy, a country entrenched in centuries of Greek and Roman influence, and that of its neighboring cultures as well. These cultures truly came alive for me with visits to 13 of the 20 regions of Italy that began nearly ten years ago. And I’m not finished yet.
Of course my travels began in the south in the regional birthplaces of my grandparents – the regions of Campania and Sicily. But my eyes were truly opened to the diversity of Italian food culture when I visited the north and central regions of the country.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, golden raisins? Yes, all are ingredients of traditional regional Italian cooking in the northeastern regions of Italy. The trade routes from the Near East brought spices through the port of Venice into Eastern Europe. On tables in kitchens and restaurants in Veneto, Friuli and Trentino you will find a hearty plate of gnocchi, potato dumplings in the tradition of the cultures of Austro-Hungarian influence, topped with a creamy sauce accented with nutmeg and cinnamon; or a wonderful fresh game bird and regional sausage dish sautéed in butter, onion, white wine vinegar, cocoa and nutmeg for a sweet and sour delight for the taste buds. Italian food?
In the restaurants of the northwestern regions of Italy you are more likely to find risotto (rice) dishes on the menu in place of pasta. The Po Valley of the regions of Piemonte and Lombardia are dotted with rice paddies. The cultural traditions of France and Switzerland add butter, cream and white wine to the food culture of northern Italian food.
Although the culinary treasures of northern cities like Bologna (Ragu Bolognese), Parma (Prosciutto di Parma), Reggio (Parmigiano-Reggiano) and Modena (Balsamic Vinegar) steal the food culture limelight, the true culture is found in the country kitchens that incorporate these wonderful ingredients into the traditional regional cooking.
You’ve heard of the Mason-Dixon Line. Well I’ve coined the phrase the Olive Oil-Butter Line formed by the Regions of Rome – Lazio, Umbria and The Marche. This to me is the invisible dividing line between the cooking fat of choice, butter, in the north, with olive oil being the preference of cooks in the south. This is not to say that these and other ingredients are exclusive to the north or south of Italy, since most are shared throughout the country. Concentrations of particular ingredients, however, do mark the identity of northern and southern cooking.
More tomatoes are added to recipes in the southern regions of Italy. Combinations of sweet and savory herbs enrich these traditional recipes. Red wine substitutes for white in most instances, and garlic is common in almost all hearty southern Italian dishes.
Each region from north to south will have its own sausage recipes with Eastern European cultural influences in the north and Mediterranean influences in the south. Each will boast of the finest stuffed pasta in the country no matter what the regional shape, filling or sauce that accompanies them. And from north to south every region will offer unique specialties from its mountain and hill country, and a variety of dishes inspired by the fruits of the sea.
In a coming series of articles, I am going to share with you my experiences and some of my favorite recipes as we take a culinary journey through the varied regions of Italy. I hope I can encourage you not only to enjoy and carry on the rich traditions of Italian food culture, but also to spark an interest in looking into the traditions of your own nationality, if not Italian. For each of our ancestries carries with it the food and cultural traditions that bring us closer to our families as we gather around the table. I look forward to you joining me on the journey.
Copyright © 2011, Chris De Santis. All Rights Reserved
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