Local Cuisines: Italy

Ah! Italy –home of pasta and pizza. When in Rome, you should really check out the Roman cuisines. Or even at the comfort of your home, you could whip out an Italian dish and experience Rome in every bite!

SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA
Saltimbocca is a dish famous in other countries. Saltimbocca alla Romana, which is the Roman style, is made up of veal, slices of prosciutto, sage, olive oil or butter, and some toothpicks to go with it. Saltimbocca literally means ‘hop/jump in the mouth”.
PHOTO CREDIT: cucina

PASTA ALLA CARBONARA
This one’s my all-time favorite! Anyway, this dish consists of pasta, bacon, eggs, grated Pecorino Romano (this is a kind of cheese made out of sheep milk), olive oil, salt and pepper. You can add some cream if you want. Procedure? Simple! Set the water to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, dice the bacon and sauté it in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil until it’s well cooked. When the water’s boiling, put some salt and the pasta. While the pasta’s cooking, mix the egg, bacon, cheese, pepper and cream if you have. When the pasta is done, drain the water and put it in a casserole and add the ingredients you mixed earlier. Then, tadaaah! It’s ready. That’s why it’s my favorite, because it’s easy to cook. People say that this dish was made by some woodcutters. They would cook their pasta over a hardwood charcoal fire and used penne instead of spaghetti. ‘Alla Carbonara’ means coal worker’s style.
PHOTO CREDIT: flickriver

PIZZA
There are two types of pizza that I know: Pizza al taglio (which literally mean ‘pizza by cut’) and Pizza rustica. Pizza al taglio is commonly rectangular shaped and are being sold in Pizzerias. Meanwhile, Pizza rusticaare circle-shaped pizzas served in a restaurant. There are different kinds of toppings and styles of pizza here in Italy: Pizza Margherita (with tomato and mozzarella), Pizza Romana (with tomato, mozzarella, anchioves, oil and oregano), Pizza capricciosa (with tomato, mozzarella, mushrooms, ham, olives, oil and artichokes),  Pizza Quattro Formaggi (with tomato, mozzarella, stracchino, gorgonzola and fontina), Pizza Bianca (plain; without any sauce) and many more.
PHOTO CREDIT: godine