Amidst coronavirus, I’m sticking to what I – and a lot of other people – love most: cooking and baking.  One challenge I’ve presented to myself is to make a dish (or dishes) of international cuisines every week, learn some words from the language, and e-visit some of the country’s landmarks.  Some of these dishes will be more complex than others, based on what ingredients I have available in the house. 

• 

Forza, Italia! This time we’re popping over to Italy, one of my favorite countries – for obvious reasons. I have a lot to share.

For those of you who may not know, I’m 100% Italian; and one half is from the Northern area in Milan, and the other half is from Sicily, in a tiny town called Pozzallo. I grew up going to Italy almost every summer, staying over a month, helping with the family cooking, playing with cousins, and enjoying the country.

At the moment, Italy has been in my prayers and also on my mind. So I wanted to make super comforting Italian dishes. I had more wintery ingredients on hand, like peas, so I focused more on Northern dishes.

THE DISH #1: RISOTTO AI FUNGHI

Risotto has a long history. According to Italy Magazine, rice was introduced to Sicily by the Moors and Saracens in the 13th century. Between the 13th-17th centuries, rice was only cooked in boiling water. It wasn’t until 1779 when rice, for the first time, was sautéed.

Risotto was first created in Milan, and the city has its own variety made with beef stock, bone marrow, lard, and saffron. Other areas of Italy have taken on their own variations, such as making it with cuttlefish ink or adding red wine. My favorite is a risotto ai funghi, which is made with mushrooms.

Risotto requires constant care and attention and can be quite time and labor consuming, but I would describe it as one of the ultimate comfort foods. And, the ingredients are pantry-friendly and convenient: arborio rice, white wine, vegetable broth (or chicken if not vegan), olive oil, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Your mushrooms can be fresh or dehydrated (stay longer). I got my dehydrated shitake mushrooms from Mycoterra Farm at the Somerville Farmers Market when I was still in Massachusetts. I topped this risotto off with the best vegan parmesan from Violife Foods – it even comes in a wedge!

THE DISH #2: GNOCCHI ALLE SPINACI CON PISELLI E CIPOLLA

Gnocchi is another dish that originates in the Northern Italy, where the colder climate was better for growing potatoes. Gnocchi are made of potatoes, eggs, flour, and some salt. Since I’m trying to use as little flour as possible and live more of a vegan life, I decided to use Simply Wize’s Spinach Gnocchi (gluten-free and vegan) from my pantry instead of making my own.

Then, since I had leftover peas and some chopped onion, I sautéed them together in olive oil, added some salt and a touch of nutmeg. Begin with sautéing the onions until soft first, and then add in the peas to warm them up. Adding a little nutmeg may sound really odd, but one of my Sicilian grandma’s most loved dishes – her peas – have a touch of nutmeg. It makes a difference.

Ingredients:

• Gnocchi. Gnocchi. Basically potato dumplings in mini delectable pillow bites.
• Peas. Piselli. Peas are a great way to include protein into a pasta dish. Per 1/2 cup, it has 4.1 grams of protein and 62 calories. I like to do 1/2 cup in my pasta, and 1/2 cup out of it. According to Healthline, green peas also have a low glycemic index, and are rich in fiber, which is important for blood sugar control.
• Onions. Cipolla. Onions are loaded with heart healthy antioxidants – in fact, they have over 25 different varieties of flavonoid antioxidants.
• Olive oil. Olio d’oliva. An absolute staple in any Italian kitchen. Olive oil is not only super delicious, but is rich in healthy monounsaturated fats, has lots of antioxidants, and strong anti-inflammatory properties (such as having oleocanthal, which has been shown to work similarly to ibuprofen).
• Salt. Sale.
• Nutmeg. Noce moscata.
• Flaked red pepper. Pepperoncino.

I like to add the boiled gnocchi into the pan with the peas and onions to soak up the flavored oil.

Buon appetito!

OTHER DISHES

Looking for more Italian foods? Check these out:

• Savoiardi (GF + DF)
• Rustic Italian Ricotta Cookies (GF + DF)
• Sicilian Pistachio Cake (GF + DF)
• Olive Oil Cake (GF + DF)
• Creamy Tiramisu Cups (GF + V), pictured below

Also, to get a real scoop of Southern Italy, check out my post on Pozzallo.

USEFUL WORDS

Greetings

• Ciao –> Hello
• Buongiorno –> Good morning or Good day
• Arrivederci or ciao (again) –> Good bye
• Come stai? (Informal) and Come sta? (Formal) –> How are you?
  • RESPONSE: Sto bene, grazie. –> I’m good, thank you.

Conversation

• Da dove vieni? (Informal) and Da dove viene? (Formal) –> Where are you from?
  • RESPONSE: Vengo da ___ –> I’m from ___
• Come ti chiami? (Informal) and Come si chiama? (Formal) –> What’s your name?
  • RESPONSE: Mi chiamo___ –> My name is ___
• Cosa ti piace a fare? (Informal) and Cosa le piace a fare? (Formal) –> What do you like to do?
  • RESPONSE: Mi piace ___ –> I like to ___
    • Cucinare – to cook
    • Ballare – to dance
    • Fare sport – to play sports
    • Viaggiare – to travel
• Vorrei ___ –> I would like ___
• Grazie –> Thank you
• Prego –> You’re welcome

Slang

At this point, you probably know I love learning slang. There are a lot of Italian slang words, but there aren’t many that are clean. But I’ve got you covered! Here are some that are staples in the Italian language.

• In bocca al lupo –> Good luck!
  • It means literally “into the mouth of the wolf”
  • RESPONSE: Crepi il lupo.
• Figurati! –> Don’t worry about it!
• Dai! –> Come on! Stop it!
• Meno male –> Thank goodness

LANDMARKS

In my opinion, Italy has it all. Mountains? There’s the Aps. Beach? Head to Puglia or Southern Sicily. Country life? Go to Tuscany. City? Rome, Florence, Venice. You get my point.

Below, are four landmarks in Italy.

Colosseum

The Colosseum was an amphitheater in the center of Rome. It hosted 10 days of games, like gladiatorial combats and exotic animal fights (sometimes against each other. In my History of Style and Design class, we saw a documentary in which there’s evidence that the amphitheater would fill with water to recreate naval battles.

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a group of old seaside villages with colorful houses, vineyards, and harbors.

Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower and it began to lean upon construction of the second floor, due to the soft ground.

Mount Etna

Mt. Etna is an active volcano in Sicily, and, fun fact – was digitally scouted for the backdrops of the Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skywalker fight in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little Roman Italian holiday with me. Ci vedremo presto! Ciao 🙂