Italian Food Terms Glossary

Italian Food Terms Glossary Roman Cuisine Dominated by Rome, the Lazio region has a strong tradition of peasant dishes. Oxtails, sweetbreads, brains and tripe are popular amongst the locals and Saltimbocca, ('Jump in the mouth'), slices of veal and ham flavoured with fresh sage sprigs, is the most famous dish from this region. The two main threads running through Roman cuisine are Jewish (the Roman Jewish community is the oldest in western Europe) and working-class Roman. There is no surviving Roman tradition of haute cuisine. Ordinary Romans ate the meat rejected by the rich, offal, or “il quinto quarto”, the fifth quarter, and many famous dishes like pajata or pagliata (baby lamb’s or veal intestines, served with rigatoni in tomato sauce), salsicce con broccoletti (pork sausages sautéed with chilli, garlic and Roman broccoli) and coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stewed with wine, vegetables, tomatoes, cinnamon and sultanas) came from the Testaccio area, once home to the slaughterhouses. Though Roman dishes make use of cheap ingredients like offal, pasta, beans and salt cod, the food is not poor quality. The meat of Rome is lamb. Lazio, the surrounding area, is sheep country and a classic Roman dish is abbacchio alla cacciatora, an inspired stir-fry of baby lamb, rosemary, fresh sage, anchovies and wine. Typical Roman cuisine includes pasta dishes like bucatini alla carbonara with pancetta, eggs and cheese; puntarelle con le alici, a salad of bitter greens with anchovy dressing; gnocchi alla Romana, light semolina dumplings, often with tomato sauce and cheese; and the many budini (puddings) and crostate (tarts). Roman Jewish dishes are particularly good and any foray into Roman food should include a meal at a restaurant in the ghetto. Many people today can’t grasp the idea that deep-fried food can be taken seriously, but deep-frying is a typical Roman Jewish cooking method. Dishes like carciofi alla giudia, a signature Jewish dish of artichokes flattened open and deep-fried like golden flowers, deep-fried fillets of baccalà, or salted cod, and ricotta-stuffed, deep-fried courgette flowers prove sceptics wrong. Other Jewish dishes include fish (sea bass, salmon, anchovies) marinated with lemon, garlic, chilli and olive oil; gnocchetti all’amatriciana, small dumplings with tomatoes, chilli and cheese; artichokes in oil, garlic and mint; and torta della nonna, a ricotta-stuffed pie. Whether eating at a shared trestle at a trattoria or a damask-clothed table in a chic restaurant, the menu often has the same repertoire of Roman dishes. Abbacchio Aceto Aceto Dolce Baby Lamb. Vinegar. Italian pickles. Main course. Il Secundo Salad. Insalata Insalata di puntarelle See description of Affumicato Aglio Smoked. Garlic. Integrale Lasagne Puntarelle. Salad of Puntarelle with Anchovies and Garlic. A classic Roman dish. Wholemeal. Flat sheets of pasta, used to form a layered 'pasta pie'. Aglio e ogio Agnello Al Forno Garlic & oil dressing. Lasagne al Forno Limone Linguine Lamb. Oven-baked. Baked pasta dish with meat and bechamel sauce. Lemon. Narrow, flat ribbon pasta. Lean. Beef. Anchovies. Alici Magro Alici a Scapece Fresh anchovies, boned, dipped Manzo in flour, and fried, then marinated in a mixture of vinegar, herbs and spices. Almond biscuits. Almond liqueur. Duck Amoretti Amoretto Anatra Marinara Marsala Marscapone Seafood/with seafood. A sweet white wine. Buttery cream cheese from Milan. Used extensively in desserts and with fruit. Aubergines. The term for thick soup. Anisette Antipasto Aragosta Arista Arrosto Asparagi Baccalà Barbabietole Bel Paese Bistecca Bocconcini Bollito Bollito misto Aniseed liqueur Melanzane Starters. Usually a cold collation Minestra of cold meats, salads and seafoods. Lobster. Minestrone Roast loin of pork Roasted. Misto Monte Bianco Mortadella Mozzarella Nodini Oca Olio, Olio d'oliva Orecchiette Ortiche Osso Bucco Vegetable and pasta soup. Mixture. A sweet consisting of chestnut purée, cream and Strega. Large, smooth textured pork sausage made with fats and spices. Creamy, rubbery cheese traditionally made from water buffalo milk. Veal chops. Goose. Oil, olive oil. Ear-shaped pasta, often served with broccoli and shrimp. Creamy pasta sauce made of young stinging nettles Knuckle of veal, sautéed, then stewed with garlic, onion and tomato. Oysters. Asparagus Dried cod, often served with peas Beetroot. Creamy, mild cheese. (Proprietory brand) Steak. Small balls of mozzarella. Boiled. Boiled beef, usually served in green sauce Bologna Bolognese Braciola Large smoked sausage of veal, Ostriche pork and seasoning from Bologna; Bolony, Polony. Rich meat sauce for pasta from Pagliata Bologna. Chops. Pancetta Veal intestines, served with rigatoni. Bacon. Bresaola Dried fillet of beef. Pannetone Panna Panzanella Panzarottini A fish soup. Brodetto Small pasta tubes with bacon, Bucatini all’amatriciana tomato sauce and Pecorino Cake-like bread. A Christmas speciality from Milan. Cream. Salad of soaked bread with tomatoes, olive oil and basil. Deep-fried, crispy and golden brown pocket of dough filled with melted mozzarella cheese. Hard, granular, golden cheese from Parma. Parmesan cheese. Durum paste or egg flour dough, shaped, boiled and served with sauce. Pasta and bean soup Hard, granular cheese made from sheep's milk. Peppers. Fish. Cacciatore cheese 'Hunter's style'. With chopped tomato, mushrooms, herb and garlic sauce. Caccio-cavallo Cheese made from skimmed Calamari Caldo Canestrelli Cannelloni Capesante Caprese cows milk. Squid. Hot. Parmesan Parmagiano Pasta Pasta e fagioli Scallops. Large pasta tubes, stuffed and Pecorino served with tomato and cheese sauce. Scallops. Peperoni Salad of freshly sliced tomatoes Pesce interleaved with slices of mozzarella (preferably bufala), torn basil leaves, and dressed in extra-virgin olive oil. Cream and Ham sauce. Pesce spada Artichokes. Pesto Deep-fried artichokes Carbonara Carciofi Carciofi alla giudea / romana Carne Carpaccio Carpaccio di manzo Carpaccio di pesce Casalinga Cassata Swordfish Basil, garlic, cheese and pine nut paste. Breast of chicken. Petto di pollo Meat. Piatto Raw red beef. Piccione Very thin slices of raw red fillet Piselli of beef with ruccola and Parmesan cheese Slices of raw swordfish or tuna Plate Pigeon. Peas. Pizza Home-made Pizzaiola Polenta Fruit & nut ice cream. Cavolo Cavolfiori Cervo Cabbage Cauliflower Venison Polipi Pollo Pollo Sorpresa Bread-based open pie. Originally from the Naples are, where it is still sold by the metre. Tomato and herb sauce - similar to that used on pizza topping. Corn meal paste. Usually served in a solid cake form, sliced or shaped, then grilled or fried. Octopus. Chicken. Rolled breast of chicken, Cetrioli Chiocciole Ciammotta / Verdure Fritte Cipolle Coda alla vaccinara Condito Cucumber. Shell-shaped pasta. vegetable stew made with deep-fried eggplant, peppers, potatoe, and tomato. Onions. Pomidori Porchetta Porcini Prosciutto Provolone Puntarelle filled with garlic butter, covered in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Tomatoes. Suckling pig. Mushrooms known in English as Cep, or King Bolete, or Penny Bun. Delicately cured ham. The most famous are Parma and San Danielle. 'Pasta filata' cheese from southern Italy with a sharp aftertaste. chicory shoots of a variety known as Catalogna, picked while still young and tender. As is the case with all chicory they do have a bitter undertone to them that makes them a very pleasing accompaniment... Quail. Stuffed pasta pillows. A creamy whey cheese. Long, ribbed tubes of pasta. Ripe, stuffed. Rice dish. Kidneys. Roll. Country-style. A cured sausage. Salt pork. Tomato sauce. Sausages. 'Jumpo in the mouth'. Veal with ham and sage. Soused. Oxtail stewed with wine, vegetables, tomatoes, cinnamon and sultanas Dressed Coniglio Coniglio alla cacciatora Contorno Coppa Costoletta Cotechino Cotto Cozze Crostini Crudo Cucina Diavola Dolce Rabbit Stewed rabbit Garnish. Salt-cured, sweet & fragrant neck pork from northern Italy. Cutlets. Large pork sausages. Cooked. Mussels. Toasted bread pieces. Raw. Kitchen. 'Devilled'; with a spicy sauce. Desserts. Quaglia Ravioli Ricotta Rigatoni Ripieno Risotto Rognoni Rotolo Rustico Salami Salume Salsa di pomodoro Salsicce Saltimbocca Saor Sarde Savoiardi Scaloppine Scamorsa Dolcelatte Faglioli Faglioni verdi Farcito Fave Invented in 1967 by Egidio Galbani: a smooth, creamy cheese with blue-green veins. Beans. French beans, green beans. Stuffed. Broad beans. Sardines. Sponge biscuit fingers. Escalopes. Traditional, creamery, stretched, curd cheese made from cow's milk. The smoked version, Fettucini Filante Filetti Finanziera Broad, flat noodles. Soft processed cheese. Fillet. Secco Sedano Soffritto Scamorza Affumicate is more popular than the plain and is often used in pasta dishes. It is also served with ham, mushrooms or vegetables Dry Celery. A base for soups made from fried vegetables. Boned and smoked ham. Focaccia Fonduta Formaggio Fragole Freddo Chicken crest, wattle and liver, Speck beef filets, and veal rump and sweetbreads. These various meat cuts are then cooked with mushrooms preserved in oil and vinegar, butter, and Marsala. Onion and olive bread. Stracchino Made with Fontina cheese and Stracciatella truffles. Cheese. Sugo Strawberries. Cold. Pale yellow goat's milk cheese. A clear chicken soup. Sauce. Turkey Ribbon noodles. Said to have been created to celebrate the famous golden locks of Lucretia Borgia. Thin ribbon noodles. Cows' milk cheese from northern Italy. Table. Creamy tuna and anchovy sauce. Tuna Stuffed pasta, supposedly made in the shape of Venus' navel. Larger tortellini. A liqueur ice crean. Fillet of beef. Tripe, often served with vegetables Minced. Trout. Tacchino Tagliatelli Fresco Fritto Fritto misto Fritto misto di mare Funghi Fusili Gamberelli Gamberetti Garofolato Gnocchi Cool, fresh. Deep fried. Deep-fried mixed collation. Deep-fried mixed seafood. Mushrooms. Pasta twists. Taglierini Taleggio Tavola Tonnato Tonno Tortellini Tortelloni Tortoni Tournedos Trippa alla romana Tritato Prawns. Shrimps. Beef stew Semolina or potato flour dumplings. Gnocchi salvia Gnocchi with sage and butter e burro Gorgonzola Grana Padano Granchio A very strong blue cheese from Trota the town of the same name near Milan. Granular, hard white cheese Uova from northern Italy. Crab Veal or Beef Olives Eggs Slices of meat, beaten until wafer thin, then rolled around a stuffing, Granita Grasso Grissini Flavoured, granular ice. Fat. Breadsticks. Verde Vermicelli Vitello served with a brown sauce. Green. Literally, 'little worms'. Small spaghetti-like pasta used for soups. Veal.