How to Make Authentic Italian Food

Italian cuisine is more than a plate of pasta with red sauce. Delight your friends and family with meals based on fresh ingredients, lightly sauced, and seasoned to perfection. This page will help you learn how to make authentic Italian food.

Introduction
- Italian cuisine is an amalgamation of several regional cuisines. The food in Northern Italy is influenced by the foods of Germany and Austria, which use butter and potatoes, while cuisine in Southern Italy features the tomatoes and olives that flourish in the sunny hot south. All Italian food, however, is characterized by the use of fresh local fruits, vegetables and meats. Foods are never drowned in sauces. Sauces, when used, accent and enhance, rather than overwhelm the foods with which they are served.

Step 1: Authentic Italian Ingredients

In addition to meats, seafood, and fresh fruits and vegetables, and Italian kitchen will be stocked with common ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, parmesan reggiano cheese, and basil. There are some other specialty ingredients which you'll need in order to make authentic Italian food.

Step 2: Authentic Italian Cooking Techniques
- Traditional Italian kitchens did not have ovens;most breads and baked goods were purchased at the bakery. As a result, most authentic Italian recipes rely on stove top cooking methods, such as boiling, simmering, pan frying, sautéing, braising, pan roasting, or grilling.
Step 3: Authentic Italian Menu Planning
- A formal Italian meal is a leisurely affair. It is not unusual for people to break in the middle of the work day for a two to three hour lunch, before returning to the office and working well into the evening. dinners are generally served late, and can be an elaborate affair. When many courses are served, portions are kept small, and they are spaced well apart, so each can be thoroughly enjoyed.
1. Apertivo - Alcoholic drink
2. Antipasto - Appetizers
3. Primo - First course, which could be a pasta or rice dish
4. Secondo - Second course, which would generally be meat of seafood
5. Contorno - Usually a vegetable based side dish, served with the secondo
6. Fromaggio e Frutta - Cheese & fruit plate
7. Dolce - Dessert
8. Caffe - Coffee
9. Digestivo - Cordial served after the meal
Step 4: Authentic Italian Recipes
- Mario Batali: Anchovy Bruschetta
- Epicurious.com: Marcella Hazan Recipes
- The Italian Chef: Easy Italian Recipes

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