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Recipes from Italian Regions

 

TALKING ABOUT ITALIAN FOOD FROM ALL OVER ITALY

 

 

Included in this chapter are some of the family’s dishes cooked by Terry, my wife who was born in Ferrara; other recipes are dishes that my mother-in-law had in her cooking repertoire; Mrs. Danila Occhiali’s mother was originally from Tuscany and she and her father’s family were natives from Emilia-Romagna.  
When working at the focacceria, Joe’s of Avenue U in Brooklyn, NY, our family eatery, we prepared some well-liked, not strictly Sicilian dishes, adapted to the Sicilian taste and adopted from famous Italian recipes popular in Italy and beyond.
In fact we prepared and served lasagna Bolognese, North Italian style veal dishes, baked vegetables, artichokes Roman style and scungilli to name a few dishes.

 

The Romans conquered the Italian peninsula, unified it into a central government and called it Italy. The Romans, who were concerned with results of their conquest, gave their subjects enough personal liberty to make them feel free. They imposed the Roman laws, collected taxes and gave their subjects the benefits of their skill in architecture and engineering by building aqueducts, sewer systems and theaters, reclaiming land and planning cities. Although Latin became the official language, each village had and used their own dialect and the conquered pursued their traditions, religion, and identity. Even though Italy was unified as one nation in 1860, these characteristics are still surviving and reflected in the various dialects, in the competition among regions, cities, villages and in the diversity of cooking.
Italy is divided into 20 regions and each region is divided into provinces.
Italian cuisine is divided into 20 regional cuisines and each regional cooking is further sub-divided into as many towns, villages and even households which makes defining what is Italian or regional cuisine a complicated task.

In most European cooking, the preparation of food either professional or homemade follows precise rules dictated by practice and traditions. On the contrary in Italy in each locality and in each settlement of the Italian peninsula the cooking reflects the history of its people: their origin and a reason for their traditions and eating habits.
In France, cooking is almost a science with strict standards followed religiously by their executors. It is like a piece of classical music where variations are very minor accordingly to the ability of the piano player and noticed by an expert music lover or on the table by a sophisticated gourmet.  
The music played by Italian cooks is Soul music played by ears, following the theme and rhythm and executed each following his own individual judgment.
Italian cooking is artistry: in professional or home cooking fantasy, originality and know-how are used to create delightful dishes, at times substituting or combining a few ingredients and exploring new dimensions in the sense of taste.