The most common mistakes in Italian cooking

Adding cream to carbonara

A nest of spaghetti and bacon, in which the yolk is heated, is a favorite pasta of Italian cuisine in our area. And her own recipe is complemented by local chefs, from which any self-respecting Italian grabs his head. There is plenty of fat from bacon, yolk, olive oil and parmesan in the pasta, so it does not need cream at all. People who are pampered under the year-round sun do not understand our craving for the accumulation of subcutaneous fat for the winter. Therefore, they do not approve of the innovation in the quality of cream in carbonar.

Stefano Antoniolli Chef of the Italian restaurants Fish & Fusion and Relax Park Verholy

Like many Italian dishes, the carbonara recipe was invented from products that every poor farmer had in stock. Eggs, bacon, butter - basic set. But not everyone could afford cream. If anyone had a cow, her milk was primarily used to make Parmesan, not cream.

Incorrect selection of paste

Italians didn't come up with 176 types of pasta because they were bored. Each pasta is better suited to a certain set of products than the other. For example, cheese sauce goes well with farfalle. When the dish cools down a little, the cheese will not stick to the plate, but will remain in the hollows of the pasta "butterflies". It is best to boil penne for sauces with minced meat: the meat is stuffed into the holes of the tubes and does not remain on the plate. Fatty sauces, except for cheese ones, should be combined with spaghetti: they are ideally distributed along the entire length of the pasta.

Parmesan for fish dishes

Parmesan is an independent product and the main seasoning on the Italian table. Serve it with salt and pepper at a good restaurant or at home dinner. But then there was an awkward pause at the table, the waiter loudly dropped the tray, and the cook sharpens a huge knife? You may have been careless about sprinkling Parmesan on a fish dish. You shouldn't have done it. Italians are too sensitive to the combination of tastes of dishes, singling out one of them leading. The tastes of fish and parmesan will compete in the dish, and a harmonious pairing will not work out here. But the cook tried so hard!

Stefano Antoniolli Chef of the Italian restaurants Fish & Fusion and Relax Park Verholy

The strong flavor of the cheese really distorts the complex flavor of the fish. But the kitchen does not stand still. It develops for the sake of fashion and new trends. The fish can be served with cheese. Make sure that the dish is prepared by an experienced chef who can calculate all the changes in the taste of fish when adding cheese to it and present them in the most favorable light.

Iterating with components

Italian cuisine is beautiful with its simplicity, so cooking is quite simple. You just need to know which products give a successful combination, and which do not combine at all. Tomato, mozzarella and basil for salad, minced meat, tomato paste and spaghetti for pasta. You don't need anything superfluous - it will spoil the magic of Italian perfection of simplicity. The three main ingredients of any Italian dish - olio, aglio, peperoncino (oil, garlic, hot pepper) - just add a couple of main ingredients and you're done.

Frivolous attitude to time

The characteristic of the readiness of the pasta "al dente" (al dente - on the tooth) in Italian cuisine is as important as the presence of parmesan, oil, garlic and pepper on the table. Pasta does not need to be cooked according to the principle of dumplings - it will pop up, and then another 10 minutes. Otherwise, you will get not, but navy-style vermicelli.

Every Italian pasta has its own cooking time. It must be indicated on the packaging.

Ignoring these rules means depriving yourself of the gastronomic pleasure of a properly prepared Italian dish. The feeling of a little hard toothpaste is a must in Italian cuisine.

As you can see, nothing complicated. On the contrary, the main thing in Italian cuisine is to keep it simple. Have you often encountered such mistakes in the Apennine cuisine?