Free – food and drink recipes

For some reason Italian food is often thought of as a fattening food – this is not the case at all! The idea that pasta will make you fat is not really true. As Sophia Loren, who ate spaghetti all her life, says in her book, it is not the pasta that makes you fat, but what you put on top of it. To be honest , a diet that is made up of Italian food, based on Mediterranean food is going to be quite healthy. You do of course need to be aware which Italian foods you can eat, and of course how to prepare the food properly.

Sophia Loren, who was brought up on spaghetti, said in her book that it’s not the pasta that makes you fat, it’s what you put on top of it. The creamy sauces like Alfredo sauce, if eaten in very large quantities, are of course likely to cause weight gain. The Mediterranean way of preparing food does not rely on the creamy, rich sauces, but use olive oil in place of butter which makes the sauces much more healthy.

So that you can make healthy Italian food you will need some basic ingredients in your store cupboard, these will include good quality Italian pasta, onions, olive oil, fish, garlic, lean meat and of course seafood. You will also want to keep a good stock of various herbs like parsley, oregano and basil.

There are many Italian food recipes that you can prepare with the use of very few ingredients. A good example of one of these dishes follows;

Tomato Sauce and Pasta – Boil some pasta (use your favorite type of pasta as it does not matter for this recipe), in salted water. Make sure not to overcook the pasta, it should be firm, yet tender.

To make the sauce chop an onion, garlic (use the amount you like), and fresh tomatoes (you could substitute these for a tin if you prefer). Put 1 tbspn of olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and onions, saute till soft. Add the tomatoes and cook till all the ingredients are mixed together well. Then add in the herbs you want – it really does not matter which ones you use, but you could try oregano, parsley or basil. Simply pour the sauce over your hot pasta, and if you want you could sprinkle over a small amount of parmesan cheese.

The above Italian cooking dish is nice and light. You will not need to eat anything else, such as bread, with it – it’s enough on its own. To vary the recipe you could add in different herbs, or use a different type of pasta.

Learn more about Classic Italian Cooking. Stop by Author Name’s site where you can find out all about Italian pasta and what it can do for you.

With so many different Italian food dishes it is hard to pick a favorite. However, for those who like risotto, Veneto is the region for you! Italian food varies greatly by region with each area presenting their own unique dishes and flavors. One of the most recognized Italian food dishes is Risotto and because of that Veneto is a must stop region for those travelers in Italy wanting to taste some excellent Italian food.

A rice dish prepared in a specific way (we’ll cover that in a minute), it is one of the more popular Italian food dishes and is a staple of restaurants specializing in Italian food. To properly make a risotto, the rice must be first cooked quickly in butter or olive oil.

It should be cooked until it is evenly coated and begins to turn translucent. After that, broth is added to the rice slowly, one spoonful at a time. The most defining quality of a risotto is that the rice is toasted. If the rice isn’t toasted than it’s not a risotto, no matter how fine the Italian food restaurant is that you’re in.

There are many different variations on risotto because it can be made and served with so many different Italian food favorites. In Veneto the ingredients added to the risotto are determined by location. For instance, in areas closer to the coast it will be made with fish and other seafood.

The possibilities go far beyond seafood though, all sorts of fresh local specialties show up in the Veneto region. Pumpkin, asparagus, even radicchio turn up in these local gems. Frog legs may even be found, a more commonplace part of Italian food than many would suppose.

The Veneto region is also home to some unique foods. The dishes here are heavier and rely on exotic spices and sauces. One unique dish that originated here and is quickly gaining popularity as an Italian food dish is pasta and beans. Beans are used in many dishes here due to their ready availability.

This is also an area of Italy where anchovies and stockfish are used extensively in Italian food. However, fish is not the dish of choice here, being beaten out by meats and sausages. A favorite meat is sopressata which is a dry-cured salami. It gets its name from the fact that while drying it is often pressed with a weight and comes out looking flat.

It is most often made with pork, but sometimes beef is used. Another favorite Italian food meat is garlic salami. The Italian food here is also reliant on some of the prized vegetables of the area. Veneto is especially known for their high quality red radicchio and their asparagus. One last dish that is unique to the area is a rice dish with young peas.

The Italian food of Veneto clearly breaks the mold. It is full of diversity from dishes made wholly with vegetables and rice, to some of the most famous sausages in the world. If a night of Italian food for you must include risotto, than Veneto is the place to be. If you consider yourself a sausage connoisseur than the Italian food of Veneto will again be a must taste for you. The region truly offers something for everyone!