Italian food is world famous, and perhaps one of Italy's greatest contributions to the world today is Pizza. Made quite by chance, Pizzas are now synonymous with take away food. However there is a lot more to Italian cooking than Pizzas and a true Italian connoisseur will tell you that a Pizza is perhaps the most basic of Italian cuisine. If you are looking for a truly authentic Italian experience, then a few authentic Italian dishes like Bruschetta Al Pomodoro are far more exquisite and enjoyable.
In fact after Pizza the most popular Italian dish is pasta, with so many types of pasta available today every single type has its own distinctive flavour and method of preparation. If you love Italian food then the best way to savour it is to cook it yourself, the reason is that so called 'authentic' Italian restaurants are simply offering fast food in plusher surroundings, only a handful of Italian restaurants offer authentic Italian cuisine. To begin with the first thing you need to get a hold of is a good recipe book or a website that offers Italian recipes, a good place to start is www.italianfoodrecipes.eu, the site has some rare recipes, and the cooking techniques are all authentic Italian.
In addition to finding the right site you also need to understand which recipes to begin with and which one's to try later. Not all Italian recipes are designed for beginners and you should read through the recipe, and only when you are comfortable with the recipe should you start working on it. Another thing, that is as important as the recipe is the ingredients you use, the best place to start buying ingredients is from a store that stocks Italian ingredients, using olive oil and virgin olive oil can make all the difference in Italian cooking. In fact a common mistake most novices make is assuming that substituting ingredients in Italian cooking is okay, this is not true, even in Pizza the kind of cheese you use makes a lot of difference.
If you are looking for a really authentic Italian experience, you should make sure all the ingredients you use are exactly as they are mentioned in the recipe. Italian cooking is nothing short of an art form, and some of the most delicious and exotic dishes are from the homeland of Italy, in fact the most impressive part about Italy is that every region in Italy has its own distinctive dish, even if a dish is common the style of making the dish varies from region to region. If you are looking to make the most of your Italian cooking experience make sure you understand the recipe, feel comfortable making it and always use the recommended ingredients. If you are still not sure which Italian dish to start your Italian cooking with, you can always start with the tried and trusted Pizza, in this case also make sure you try to make the Pizza as Italian as it can be by using the right ingredients and the perfect recipe. Many people believe that one type of pasta is as good as the other, this is not true.
Every type of pasta has its own distinctive flavour, and usually has a special dish associate with it, in fact if you visit any Italian recipe site you will notice in most cases they clearly mention which type of pasta to use. In fact Italian chefs choose pasta based on the sauce they are using, it is believe that a particular kind of pasta brings out the flavour of some sauces where others cannot. There is no denying that in due course you will end up cooking pasta, and it is important to stick to the recipe as the type of pasta you use can make a difference. Remember always stick to the recipe, experiment only when you are confident.
John is the author of this article on italian food. Find more information about Italian food recipes here.
