Italian Cuisine
Iconic Italian dish Pasta Carbonara an American invention?
The same day (March 23, 2023) that Italy submitted pasta carbonara for inclusion on Unesco’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Financial Times published an article in which Italian culinary expert Alberto Grandi claimed that carbonara was developed by Americans residing in Italy shortly after WWII.
The claim sparked outrage throughout Italy. “A surrealist attack!” – said the agriculture organisation Coldiretti, as heated social media discussion ensued nationwide, according to a BBC article.
So who really created the original carbonara?
Italian food author Eleonora Cozzella says, “It was a combination of Italian genius and American resources.” Cozzella spent six years covering National Carbonara Day on April 6, and eventually wrote The Perfect Carbonara, which earned a Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2020, says the BBC.
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She interviewed the descendants of innkeepers who fed American soldiers in the neighborhood of Trastevere, just over the Tiber river in Rome, in the late 1940s. US soldiers apparently asked for “spaghetti breakfast” that should have eggs and bacon. Even during the desperate times, Italians could acquire military rations in the black market, including bacon from Americans and egg powder from the British.
In 1952, the first recipe for pasta carbonara was published in the United States. Author Patricia Bronté mentioned the Italian restaurant Armando’s, run by chefs Pietro Lencioni and Armando Lorenzini, among her favorite spots in her book “Vittles and Vice: An Incredible Guide to What’s Cooking on Chicago’s Near North Side”. She included recipe of the restaurant’s famous dish, carbonara.
“No one has a trademark on the recipe,” Alessandro Pipero, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Pipero in Rome and one of the “carbonara kings” told BBC. “Honestly, I don’t care who invented it,” he said.
The first Italian recipe for carbonara was published in August 1954 in La Cucina Italiana magazine. “And it is a strange one,” Cozzella said in the BBC report. “It has parsley and even gruyere as cheese!”
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“This debate is ridiculous and dangerous,” said Michele Fino, a law professor at Pollenzo's University of Gastronomic Sciences, calling it “old news”. According to Fino, the discussion is harmful because a toxic type of nationalism may be lurking between the pecorino and a piece of guanciale, or maybe deep inside the tubular rigatoni. “It is a sort of banal nationalism that runs through food,” he told BBC. “People consider it unimportant, but it creates a certain climate – we shouldn’t ignore it.”
1 year ago
5 Yummy Homemade Pizza Recipes for Kids
Pizza which has a long history was first introduced in 997 AD in Gaeta in Italy. Then this food was found in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Mainly the Italians and emigrants in these regions used to eat Pizza. The ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks used to eat flatbreads with toppings just like pizza. The modern pizza was found in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century. Pizza is a very healthy, tasty, and nutritious recipe that you can prepare at home. Let’s find out 5 hearty pizza recipes for kids.
5 Healthy Pizza Recipes for Children
Pizza with Tomato Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
300g flour (white bread), ½ cup flour for dusting, 1 tsp yeast, 1 tbsp olive oil
For the tomato sauce
One tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic cloves ( Chopped), 200ml (passata).
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For the topping
8 mozzarella pearls, halved a small bunch of fresh basil.
1 year ago
5 Delightful Lasagna Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire
Some say lasagna originated in Italy while others say that lasagna originated in Greece or England. However, most reports indicate that this dish was first found in the Italian city of Naples during the Middle Ages. Today lasagna is a popular dish in Asia, even in Bangladesh. This Italian food can be easily prepared in home kitchens. Let's find out 5 delectable Lasagna recipes for lunch or dinner.
Food Value of Lasagna
Per 250 g serving of lasagna, you will get 325 calories. This serving has 13 g of fat, 16 g of protein, and 35 g of carbohydrate. The remaining part is 11 g of sugar and 4.3 g of dietary fiber. Besides, you will get complex carbohydrates from this serving. Moreover, 5.3 g of saturated fat and 33 mg of cholesterol are available per serving.
5 Delicious Lasagna Recipes to try at Home
Beef Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound beef (ground ), 1 small onion, 2 tablespoon oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 24-ounce marinara sauce,1 cup water, 15 ounce ricotta cheese, 2 eggs, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 12 lasagna noodles, and 2 cups mozzarella cheese.
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Directions
First, prepare the oven to 375 F degrees. Take a pan and cook the meat as long as the meat becomes pink and then add chopped onion, 1 tbsp of the oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until the onion becomes soft and glassy. Now add the sauce and the cup of water. Let the mixture boil and after boiling remove it from the stove.
Now mix well the ricotta cheese, 1 tbsp oregano, eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Take a baking dish of about 9×13 inches and assemble your lasagna. Put some of the sauce at the bottom, then lay 3 lasagna noodles, add the ricotta mixture and about 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
After that add the remaining 3 lasagna noodles, meat mixture, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Do the same process as long as you have 4 layers of noodles, and finish layering with ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. Bake for about an hour. Garnish and serve.
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Chicken Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles, ½ cup butter, 1 onion, 1 clove garlic, ½ cup flour, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 ½ cups milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 4 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 cups ricotta cheese, 2 cups cooked chicken meat, 2 packages chopped spinach, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.
1 year ago