Unleash Your Inner Chef with Authentic Italian Recipes
Neapolitan Pizza
Origin
is served up in Naples, Italy, in the famous pizzerias across the town. It has been said to be the country's first popular food. The history of what we know today as authentic Neapolitan pizza dates back to roughly 800 years ago in Napoli (which is now modern-day Naples).
The Recipe
Risotto alla Milanese
Origin
is a classic dish from the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It's said to have come about in the mid-1800s, when a team of glassmakers took some of the saffron they were using to color the stained glass windows in Milan's Duomo cathedral and added it to the risotto being served at dinner. What started as a prank became one of the most iconic Italian plates.
Ingredients
5 1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups arborio rice (10 ounces)
Pinch of saffron threads
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Steps
• Simmer chicken stock in a medium saucepan. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Cook rice for 1 minute, then add saffron and 1 cup of warm stock. Cook over moderate heat until nearly absorbed.
• Add stock, stirring constantly, until risotto is al dente and creamy, about 20 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper, add cheese, butter, and parsley, and serve immediately.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Origin
Historians generally agree that the dish originated in Imola, a city that sits just west of Bologna, and is home to the earliest documented ragù sauce, dating from the end of the 18th century.
Ingredients
Spaghetti 500g
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp rosemary, chopped
1 carrot, onion, celery stick chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced and 2 bay leaves
500g beef mince
800g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef or chicken stock
salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper and freshly grated parmesan to serve
steps
• Heat olive oil, add rosemary, carrot, onion, celery, and garlic, cook on medium until golden. Increase heat to high and add mince, breaking it up as it browns.
• Simmer tomatoes, paste, stock, bay leaves, and cook for 2-6 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook pasta according to packet directions in boiling salted water. Finish with freshly grated parmesan.
Gelato
Origin
Gelato–which translates to “frozen” from Italian–is a frozen treat from Italy which was originally created in the 16th century. Historians are not sure who originally invented it, but the one of the most popular versions of the story is Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florence, created a form of the modern gelato