What we love about... Italian cuisine
by Sophie Dening

In her 1984 book, An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, Elizabeth David mused about life in Italy before the tomato: ‘How did [they] eat spaghetti before the advent of the tomato? Is there such a thing as tomato-less Neapolitan pizza?’. David, who is celebrated for introducing Britain to Mediterranean cuisine, certainly knew her Continental culinary history, and was probably just digging up a favourite flavour. But to learn that tomatoes didn’t turn up in Italian cookery until the 1800s is to gather just what makes it so great; not pizza or insalata Caprese, but its infinite variety, based on regional dishes and fresh ingredients.

The English love affair with local, seasonal produce is in full bloom, gastropubs everywhere identifying farm and fisherman on the menu. The Italians’ devotion to good food goes back a little further; we know Sicilians were already preoccupied with quality fresh food in the 4th century BC, according to Archestratus’ Hedypathia. The ancient Romans prized onions, garlic, cheese, oil, honey and wine; Arab traders brought over almonds, dried fruit, spices and, probably from China, pasta, which was first recorded in Italy during the 12th century.

Many of today’s specialities have existed for hundreds of years, and every classic dish has regional roots: trofie originated in Liguria, zampone in Modena, bagna cauda in Piedmont, risi e bisi in Venice… Even during medieval times, particular ingredients were associated with certain places, such as lentils from Castelluccio in Umbria, grain from Lombardy, oranges from Naples. Italian tastes and techniques began to take over the New World during the 19th century, and are now going global in a new context, as the Slow Food movement gathers increasing momentum.

What the world thinks of as Italian food – pasta and pizza, above all – is mainly Sicilian. Tagliatelle is from Emilia-Romagna. Strictly speaking, there’s no such thing as Italian food, at least not in terms of origins. Italy as a political entity only dates from 1861, and culture, in which food plays such a vital role, is still very much about where you’re from. The origins of the Italians’ obsession with quality food are harder to fathom, but eating seems always to have been taken seriously, with cookbooks available to the general populace by the 1700s – beating Delia by some way.

In his 1964 classic, The Italians, a still definitive analysis of his countrymen’s politics and pleasures, Luigi Barzini wrote: ‘They eat the dainty food of famous chefs with the same pleasure with which they devour gross peasant dishes, mostly composed of garlic and tomatoes.’

Famous chefs today can certainly do dainty (the biggest names include Gualtiero archesi, Mario Batali, and now Massimiliano Alajmo) but the characteristic rusticity of classic regional cuisine, and the use of market fresh ingredients, lends itself to homestyle cooking: another reason to love it.

Marcella Hazan, the American-Italian doyenne of cookery lessons, says the richest hours of her life have been spent at the Rialto vegetable and fish market in Venice. ‘“Local” is the most powerful selling word in the market and it is never taken in vain,’ she writes in her 1997 book, Marcella Cucina. ‘A trayful of baby cuttlefish caught perhaps not a mile from the market, and bearing a sign with the magic word, will bring three or four times the price of a stupendous salmon just flown in from Norway.’

Hazan’s cookbooks, and those of UK-based chef Antonio Carluccio, underscore again and again the importance of quality ingredients. So important are the right ingredients at River Café, the west London restaurant where Jamie Oliver rose to prominence, that its cucina povera comes with haute cuisine prices.

The smartest place to eat in Italy is the ristorante, where service is formal and the menu relatively refined. The food in a trattoria is no less fresh and fantastic, though you’ll probably share a long communal table with other diners; staff are bustling, and printed menus unlikely. Even more humble, the food at an osteria is traditionally served as an accompaniment to the wine, which is nominally the main attraction. But since this is Italy we’re talking about, there won’t be any old bar snacks, but top-quality prosciutto and mozzarella, clam linguini, and homemade tiramisu. There’s no sense that eating well is a middle-class privilege. The Italians have always known the truth about food, something we Brits are only just discovering that what we eat is central to quality of life and to national pride.

Buon Appetito!

Regions and their specialities If you were to eat your way from north to south in Italy, you would be forgiven for thinking that the only common thing the cuisine of the various regions of Italy shared was its language – and even that swings wildly from dialect to dialect. Certainly, the air-dried Alpine beef or cornmeal polenta of the Alpine foothills comes from a different culture, and climate, to Puglia’s fave e cicoria.

All the more reason to home in on restaurants, markets and shops, which celebrate their local, regional produce in each area you visit. The trick is to read up on the specialities before you go. For example, in Tuscany, a restaurant serving pappa al pomodoro (a delicious tomato pulp and bread soup) or pici al cingiale (thick, curly local pasta with a meaty wild boar-based sauce) is likely to give more satisfaction than somewhere serving pizza, which is native to the south.

If all else fails, a good ploy is to ask the manager of an enoteca, or wine shop/bar, where he eats, as wine and food go so closely together in Italy. Also, look out for the ‘snail’ symbol on the window of any eating establishment you visit; this signals membership of the Slow Food movement, which celebrates top local produce.

The great thing is that simple local ingredients are best served in simple restaurants – with simple prices.

Top Regional Dishes To Try

If you’re in...Venice, try sarde in saor: fresh sardines in a deliciously tangy lemon marinade. Perfect with a glass of chilled prosecco. View Venice holidays.

If you’re in... Tuscany, try bistecca alla fiorentina: a T-bone steak made from local chianina beef (tender and flavoursome), served with white beans in olive oil, topped with Parmesan cheese shavings, rocket and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. View Tuscany holidays.

If you’re in...Umbria, try spaghetti alla norcina, made with an olive oil, black truffle and anchovy sauce. View Umbria holidays.

If you’re in...Puglia, try cozze arrancanate: a distinctive dish of breaded mussels, cooked in olive oil with garlic, parsley, white wine and tomato. View Puglia holidays.

If you’re in...Rome, try abbachio al forno: oven-roasted, milk-fed baby lamb, coated in rosemary and studded with garlic. Roman food rewards the more adventurous eater. View Rome holidays.

If you’re on...the Amalfi coast, try peperoni imbottiti: sweet red peppers filled with capers, tomatoes, olives, anchovies, basil, garlic and parsley. View Amalfi Coast holidays.

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Cuisine Hotspots

La Capannina, Capri
Specialities include calamari, rabbit cooked with vinegar, capers and rosemary, and a world-renowned Caprese salad.
View Capri holidays

Trattoria da Lucia, Rome
Famous traditional trattoria in Trastevere, specialising in pasta and Roman dishes with tripe and sweetmeats.
View Rome holidays

Dodici Apostoli, Verona
One of Verona’s most venerable restaurants, try vitello lessinia (a veal delicacy), washed down with local Valpolicella.
View Verona holidays

La Stalla, Assisi, Umbria
Convivial restaurant that typifies the braccia , or grill tradition, serving local lamb, veal and beef; great dried meats too.
View Umbria holidays

Il Poeta Contadino, Alberobello, Puglia
It’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for: dishes using local chicory, fava beans, and young goat specialities.
View Puglia holidays

Gambero Rosso, San Vincenzo, Tuscany
Innovative seafood dishes, like chickpeas filled with prawns, or Burrata soup with ravioli herring and prawn. Spectacular.
View Tuscany holidays