Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Tuscan Food Vocab: First Courses




Primi piatti (First courses)

Here is our next edition into Italian food vocabulary. If you haven't guessed by now, Italian meals normally consist of 4 or 5 courses. They aren't what we think of as courses as they are only one food item. Today we are going to work on Tuscan first courses vocabulary. In Tuscany a first course can be a soup or a pasta. Below you will find some of the typical Tuscan first courses and just what they are!


Pasta

Each region in Italy is famous for their particular pasta. Tuscany is no different. Below are a couple worth mentioning.

Pici- Are a thick, very thick, spaghetti like pasta. They can take up to 20 minutes to cook. If you order pici, I recommend doing so with a traditional Tuscan or Umbrian sauce. They are pretty heavy on the stomach...so a second course may be too much after eating them!

Tortelli di patate- Probably my favorite kind of pasta. This is a ravioli filled with mashed potatoes and spiced lightly with nutmeg. The best sauces for the Tortelli are a simple red sauce or a butter and thyme sauce.


Sughi (sauces)

Tuscany is famous for its sauces that are inspired by the forest. The stereotypical Italian sauces can be found, but the native Tuscan sauces are much tastier.

Funghi porcini- This sauce is made with porcini mushrooms! These mushrooms are normally cultivated in the early Spring and early Fall. They have a very strong hearty taste to them. Although they can be frozen, and are pretty good that way too, I recommend trying to get some in the porcini season for an ultimate example. The sauce is normally with sliced porcini mushrooms, parsley, olive oil, and salt. This is a good sauce for vegetarians.

Tartufo- Tartufo sauce is normally made with ‘aromas’ as the tartufo, or truffle, is very expensive and strong to be eaten by itself.

Cinghiale-a sauce normally served in mid fall made with wild boar. This sauce is normally made like a normal meat sauce.

Boscaiola- This sauce is made with vegetables found in the forest---i.e. typical ragù sauce but the meat may be substituted for mushrooms.

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