Italian Cooking You Will Not Find In Italy

Having had the pleasure to eat great food, prepared by many excellent American Chefs, that is considered Italian Cooking in the US, I thought I would list a few dishes you will not find on the menu of most Italian resturants (many a few in the major tourist areas, that cater specifically to American tourist). 

Spaghetti with meatballs 

spaghetti meatballs recipe


A good can of spaghetti and meatballs or spaghetto's were part of my childhood, and Disney's scene in Lady and the Tramp at Luigi's, but they do not exist in Italy.  

Italian-American tradition has fuelled the mythology of this combination as a dish at the base of Italian cuisine, but it is not: there is a sauce with meatballs (but it’s not eaten with spaghetti) and sometimes small meatballs can found  in lasagnas, but, categorically, no Italian family will welcome you with spaghetti with meatballs for Sunday lunch.

Spaghetti Bolognese
spaghetti bolognese recipe 

Same as above. The Bolognese sauce – or rather, ragù alla bolognese – is a typical sauce of the city of Bologna, made with tomato sauce and minced meat, and to say that it is cooked slowly for hours. A secondary think for the purist: no Italian would eat the ragù with any type of pasta that was not tagliatelle or pappardelle or cappelletti. At the most, short pasta tubes or strozzapreti. 

Fettuccine Alfredo 

fettuccine alfredo recipe


This really is the funniest story of an Italian dish that doesn’t exist in Italy. One of the most popular condiments in the world has the merit of being virtually unknown in Italy and suffice it to say that there is not even a Wikipedia page dedicated to it in Italian. In the English version, however, the story of the fettuccine "invented" by Alfredo Di Lelio, a Roman restaurateur in Via della Scrofa.

In Italy seasoning the pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese is allowed: if you have stomach pain, if you are in hospital, if your fridge is empty or if there’s also sage and you're eating tortellini.

Pepperoni Pizza 

pepperoni pizza recipe


If you go to out to eat in Italy and ask for a Pepperoni Pizza you will get a pizza with peppers, because the word Pepperoni in Italian sounds almost the same as the word “peperoni” (peppers). In Italy there is no type of salame called pepperoni. If you want pepperoni pizza ask for it with salame picanti, alla diavola (devilled).

Marinara Sauce 

marinara sauce recipe

What’s commonly called marinara sauce in the states in Italy is the generic tomato sauce that is the base for pizza, pasta, etc., but without garlic or onion or herbs that are not fresh basil. The only marinara  I have come across in Italy is the Pizza Marinara, originally from Naples, topped with tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil, NO MOZZARELLA. (Note: For Italian cooking it is taboo to use oregano in tomato sauce).

Neapolitan sauce 

neapolitan sauce recipe


No one in Italy knows what Neapolitan sauce is. In Italy there may be different variants that depend on regional or family traditions (with or without garlic, with or without onions, with or without carrots, with a pinch of sugar to counter acidity, etc.) but tomato sauce is and is called simply "salsa" or "sugo" depending on whether you're north or south of Rome.

Garlic Bread 

garlic bread recipe


An Italian restaurant will ever serve you garlic bread nor will you find in any bakery: try instead asking for a bruschetta as an appetiser topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, or bruschetta rubbed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Carbonara 

tagliatelle al ragù


Kathy at Chef on Bike web site has ruled that if your chef prepares you a carbonara with pancetta (bacon) instead of guanciale (cheek lard) you should leave her. Italian's would add: if your chef prepares you a carbonara with cream, leave him.  If your chef prepares you a carbonara with garlic, leave him.  If your chef prepares you a carbonara with yoghurt, leave him. If your chef prepares you a carbonara with parsley, leave him.  If then your chef prepares you a carbonara with onions, leave him.  And all this even if he’s called Jamie Oliver. And if your chef buys a jar of ready-to-use carbonara sauce, it would be better to just head over to McDonalds.

Italian wedding soup 

italian wedding soup recipe

Here we are: it is tradition in Campania at Christmas or Easter to make a soup with green vegetables and meat, especially pork. But don’t try to ask for it out of season or in a restaurant in Rome or Venice, they’ll give you a terrible look. And above all, if you really must, order it in Italian, that is Minestra Maritata, which is the translation in Italian/Neapolitan for wedding soup or, better, married soup.

Pasta with chicken
pasta with chicken recipe

Chicken is not a condiment. Pasta is not a side dish. End of discussion.

Chicken or veal parmigiana 

chicken parmigiana recipe


Parmigiana is made with eggplant, tomato, caciocavallo cheese, basil. No chicken or veal. At best, in some parts of Italy, they alternate with layers of eggplant with ham or beaten eggs, just to make it even more digestible.

Pesto 

pesto recipe

Pesto is only used to dress pasta (especially spaghetti or trofie – for the purists only, trenette), gnocchi and make lasagna with béchamel sauce. And the only really Ligurian addition that you can make is to put a potato cut into cubes and greens beans into boiling water and cook them together with the spaghetti. Be wary of those who use it to dress salads, bruschetta, chicken or anything else.  

Italian dressing 

italian dressing recipe


Salad is dressed with: extra virgin olive oil, salt and vinegar, or extra virgin olive oil, salt and balsamic vinegar, or extra virgin olive oil, salt and lemon. Any other dressing is not Italian.

Parmesan 

parmesan

Don’t use it to top the pizza that you have ordered in the restaurant (the pizza maker has already taken care of your pizza) and above all, never use it on fish-based pasta dishes.

Phone Usage on Vacation

phones and holidays can be a nightmare (iphone+holidays=holiday nightmare)




Even my friends will agree, as I tell them often enough, that I love my iphone.  But what I definitely don’t love is the shock of opening the bill when arriving home from Italy. I should know better – as I am aware that roaming charges are outrageous at around $7.00 a minute – and that is even if someone is calling you! But…there are always times when I have forgotten to turn my phone off and receive a call in the middle of the night, you know those calls…the local charity wanting to sell more raffle tickets. Even when I try to get them off the phone quickly, but politely, the call might have cost me $20 – ouch!

In addition to this, the iphone (and others) has a ‘fetch data’ function, which is great at home as all of your emails etc., are ‘pushed’ to your phone enabling you to check your mail in the coffee shop. This function overseas is a recipe for disaster – data charges can be huge.   Here are some great tips for avoiding a heart attack when opening your post holiday phone bill……


Do you really need to be available to all and sundry on holidays? If not, maybe you need an Italian sim card (or any other country’s card):

To use an Italian sim card:
  1. Make sure your phone is unblocked – before you leave for holidays ask your provider how this can be done, usually over the phone
  2. When in Italy buy a sim card at a phone dealer i.e., Wind, Tim – you will need your passport to verify your identity
  3. Insert your new sim card
  4. Text close friends and family, give them your new Italian number and let them know that they will be charged  international rates if they call
  5. You’re set.
If you need to be available on your own number, and want to keep using your phone, but  to avoid nasty surprises when you arrive home:
  1. Turn off 3G – this function allows your phone to work much faster allowing more data to download
  2. Turn off ‘Data Roaming’ – this will stop email etc., being sent to your phone (you can always check this at the hotel or an internet cafe)
  3. Use text to communicate with family and friends, this is much cheaper but still around $1.00 a text
  4. Use the hotel’s computer if you need to surf the web
  5. Of course, if you are in a wifi zone you will still be able to connect with the internet.
The way to turn off ‘Data Roaming” and ’3G’:
  • click ‘settings’
  • click ‘general’
  • click ‘network’
  • click ‘Enable 3G’ and ‘Data Roaming’ Put these in the Off position
  • You’re set

SCUBA ITALY 5 Great Wreck Dives

Italy is a great place to SCUBA dive during your vacation,  What it lacks in coral reef and tropical fish, Italy makes up with some great wreck dives and the after diving food and wine.  Here are 5 great wreck dives you should not miss.

SS Bengasi

Lying in deep water near the island of Cavoli, close to the coastal resort of Villasimius in south-eastern Sardinia is the SS Bengasi, an Italian steamship that was sunk by a British submarine, HMS Truant, on May 6, 1941. The SS Bengasi was carrying a shipment of glasses, bottles and other glass products and is famous among divers for its unusual consignment. At a depth of some 90 metres it is a technically demanding dive site and only for the very experienced.

Top-5-shipwreck-scuba-diving-sites-in-Italy-bengasi


HMS Quail

In the Gulf of Taranto lies the HMS Quail a Q class destroyer of the Royal Navy. After striking a mine in 1944 in the Adriatic she was being towed to Malta for repairs but she capsized and sank en route. She was discovered in 2002 by an Italian diver team led by Claudia Serpieri and lies at a depth of 90 metres.

Top-5-shipwreck-scuba-diving-sites-in-Italy-quail

HMS Regent

Known as the HMS Regent, it is in fact, a small Italian submarine, which struck mine north of Barletta, Puglia, after a raid on an Italian convoy, all hands were killed. It lies at a depth of 30-35 metres making it accessible to any diver that has completed a deep diving course. Due to the submarine being in active service when it was sunk, divers are asked to leave everything “as it is” as the wreck was and still is a war grave.

op-5-shipwreck-scuba-diving-sites-in-Italy-regent 
Attilio Deffenu

The Italian MS Attilio Deffenu was an auxiliary cruiser who was transporting to Greece when she was torpedoed and sunk by a British submarine HMS Trasher near Brindisi in 1941. At a depth of only 30 metres the boat is in very good condition and the surrounding terrain is sandy and easy-going.


Milford Haven tanker

The biggest Wreck in the Mediterranean Sea, supertanker Amoco Milford haven sunk the in 1991, she was 335m-long, 52m-wide, with a maximum capacity of 230000 tonnes. On April 11, 1991, the Haven was anchored off Genova Multedo harbour: an explosion

After three days and a series of explosions, the Haven sunk on April 14. The wreck lies in perfect navigation trim on a sandy bottom at a depth of -85m, but the upper part of the structure reaches -32m: the funnel has been dismantled because it was dangerous for navigation.


Top-5-shipwreck-scuba-diving-sites-in-Italy-Milford-Haven-tanker
USS Haven
Many of the dives listed are Advanced dives, be sure you are properly equiped and trained to do these dives.