What do i have to be able to cook to say that i can cook Italian food?

Question

thank you.

Answer 1

Gravy-Marinara/Puttanesca, etc. Many, many variations! Here is a fairly simple one:
2 large can diced tomatoes
1 large can whole tomatoes
2 large can tomato sauce
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
4-5 fresh tomatoes
2 heads garlic, peeled and chopped
2-3 large onions
2-3 green peppers
1 large celery bunch
4 lbs (Mix of) lean hamburger, ground veal, Italian Sauasages
fresh mushrooms
virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. each of basil, oregano
pinch each of cayenne, red pepper flakes, white pepper, celery seed, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, ground sage, turmeric.

Diced tomatoes may be substituted for whole canned tomatoes if desired. If you prefer, use 4-5 diced fresh tomatoes. Cut up into small pieces onion, pepper, celery including the inner heart, break apart garlic and press each with spoon then peel. Combine all including spices (by smell!) in large skillet, add olive oil. Simmer until all are tender. Strain if necessary. Place into large sauce pot on low heat. Add diced, crushed, sauce, and whole tomatoes. Brown hamburger, make some meatballs if you like and brown as well. Drain meat and add to sauce pot. Turn up heat and simmer just below boil one hour. Turn heat down to low. Let heat for several hours, house will smell great! If you made meatballs wait until one half hour before serving to add to mixture, also add mushrooms at this time. Mom's Note: Add desired seasonings, as little or as much as you like. If this is the first time you're making spaghetti sauce, go lightly on the seasoning, since less can be better when you haven't yet developed a taste for herbs. One trick is to add a small amount of seasonings at the start, and another few pinches near the end of cooking in order to develop several "layers" of flavor. This sauce can be improved if you substitute fresh basil and oregano leaves when they can be found in season. Taste sauce and add small amounts of red wine, wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar if too tart and the sauce needs a bit of sweetening.

Meatballs:

Meatballs – Basic Recipe


1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 pound chopped meat (equal parts pork/beef)
1 egg
Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, chopped very finely
1/4 chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped white onions
3 Cloves Garlic

Meatballs: This needs to be made first, because this is where the sauce gets its flavor. Put the ground meat in a large bowl; add the egg and breadcrumbs along with the cheese, parsley, chopped garlic, and onions. Breadcrumbs should comprise no more than 25% of the meatball. Combine well with hands. (It does get messy). Roll the meatballs out to about 2" in diameter. In a large frying pan, add about a tablespoon of olive oil and the 3 cloves of garlic. DO NOT BURN the garlic, use a low flame. Leave the garlic, and add the meatballs and let both brown fully, turning the meatballs every minute or so. When they have finished cooking, place them on a plate with paper towels to absorb the excess oil and grease. You can omit the garlic IN the skillet, increase the oil, and sort of deep-fry them.




Bracciole: Our family recipe

SERVES 6 TO 8

2 pounds top round steak or flank steak, cut about 1/4-inch thick
Salt
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, 3 cloves cut in thin slivers and 1 clove chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tablespoon lard or butter
4 cups crushed fresh (about 8 medium tomatoes) or canned plum tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 cup dry red wine
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Lay the meat out flat and pound it with a meat hammer to flatten it slightly to a uniform thickness. Be careful not to tear the meat. (It will be a little more difficult to do this with flank steak.)

Wipe the meat dry with paper towels. Rub it all over with 1 teaspoon salt and the coarse pepper. Sprinkle the slivers of garlic evenly over the meat, then scatter over the parsley, cheese, and onion. Starting at a long side, roll up the meat like a jelly roll. Tie the roll with string at 1-inch intervals.

In a large deep saucepan, heat the olive oil and lard or butter over medium-high heat. Add the chopped garlic and sauté until soft. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the meat to the pan and brown it on all sides. Lower the heat to medium low and add all the remaining ingredients; add salt to taste. Stir to blend well. Simmer the meat, covered for 1½ hours, or until tender.

Remove the meat from the sauce and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the strings and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange on a serving platter, spoon the sauce over, and serve immediately with pasta.
There is a lot more, but these are the basics. Please be brave and experiment with the flavours!!! Enjoy!

Answer 2

I'm not in the restaurant business, I am still in college, I don't think it is necessary to have an Italian cook. If you are really going for the "authentic" Italian cuisine it would be beneficial to have an Italian cook, or someone with a lot of experience in that category. If the head cook that you already have is that amazing, I would stick with it and see how it goes. I think when you go into a restaurant that's goal is to be authentic, the real question of authenticity is the restaurants atmosphere and the feeling that it gives you of the region. Right now I am a business major and once I get that degree I am planning on going to culinary school. My dream is to own a successful catering/event planning business and one day I would love to own a restaurant. I wish you the best of luck and success!!!

Answer 3

Depends.
If you are trying to tell an American you can cook Italian food, then Spaghetti, Lasagna, Chicken Parmasean are good places to start.
Unfortunately those are pretty much Americanized Italian dishes.

If you want to cook REAL Italian food, go to a book store and find a big thick Authentic Italian Cooking book and start making stuff out of it.

Answer 4

To be able to make a good Italian spaghetti sauce from scratch is very important since this is the base of many Italian dishes. The classic dish lasagna is time consuming but I suppose most people would think you could cook Italian if you could make this!

Answer 5

I'm gonna tell you this.
I am from Greece(the Ionian part) I've been in Italy 3 times & i'll go in a month again,i have lots of italian friends and all the summer i have to deal with Italians.
They love fresh fish believe me!I work in a fish tavern
.But every single time that a friend(Italian) cooked for me it was spaghetti al Dente on marinara or carbonara sause!

Answer 6

As an Italian I can't understand why people think all Italian food is spaghetti and sauce! Wrong folks! It's much more indepth than that!

E-mail me when you've mastered Cannoli! My Favorite!!!!!! And hurry up I'm 52 and aging!

Answer 7

Well I know that Italians pride themselves on their meatballs, so I'd say that would be a fairly good place to start, then work on the sauces......anyone should be able to manage to get the pasta part down, since you can buy them from the store and just need to boil them in water according to the directions.

Answer 8

i would say...if you're proficiently capable of cooking with italian (mediterranian) ingredients. maybe learn to make some of the more popular dishes. i disagree that lasagna is difficult. it takes time, yes, but it's relatively easy. then get creative with the ingredients. learn the basics like how to make sauces, different methods of cooking; broiling, baking, sauteing etc. learn what herbs and spices go good with what. it just takes practice. i like to take a fearless approach to cooking, myself. experiment with stuff. it's fun.

Answer 9

I'd say that you'd need to be able to make pasta from scratch as well as know some basic things like gnocchi, lasagna, chicken carbonara...etc.

Answer 10

Perfect Al dente pasta and an excellent Marinara sauce.

Answer 11

able to cook a tomato sauce (sugo),pasta al dente (is very very important!!), and LEARN not to use butter but extra virgin oil...
the most important thing that you don't understand about italian food is that is an "Mediterranean" food, so low use of fat foods (butter, fried, fat cheese, mayo, ketchup, senape..) and high use of extra virgin oil, spices, aromatic herbs (origano, basilico, rosmarino..) etc..