This time, Cuisine of Southern Italy

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As promised a few weeks back, I have touched on the topic of Italian Cuisine. And my ever-loyal readers already know that there is no such thing as “Italian Cuisine”.  Until recently, Italian Cuisine is regional and each region has its own food culture that is unique. Most Italians did not travel much (before World War II, exclude the nobility and clergy) and each town had a distinct cuisine. When we speak of regional cuisine, it is actually a series of local cuisines.

We  completed our tour of the North and Central regions; we now delve on the cuisine of the South and the Islands.

The South of Italy is poor… excuse me, more economically deprived as compared to the North. As a result, the people eat more greens (tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower and broccoli) and the use of dried pasta is extensive (as compared to egg pasta, kay mahal ang eggs!) They do farm cattle, sheep and goats and most of these meats, in the past, appeared on the tables of the nobility because they were extremely rich and enjoy, of course, rich food. The peasants, well, vegetarian, na lang!

Regional cuisines of the South include the following: La Cucina Albruzzese, La Cucina della Basilicata, La Cucina Calabrese, La Cucina Campana, La Cucina Molisana and La Cucina Pugliese.

In the Regione Abruzzo (La Cucina Albruzzese), there are plenty of rugged mountains and valleys and animal husbandry was an important industry. Feeds are expensive but grass is free, hence, sheep and goats were raised on grass. Today, these meats are marketed as “organically grown” and tourist visit the area to enjoy the lamb, mutton and pecorino (cheese from sheep). Saffron and hot peppers are also grown in this area. Fish is an important element in the diet for those residents along the coast but in general, the peasants’ diet was simple.

In La Cucina della Basilicata, peasant’s life was simple and so is their cuisine. But they do have their pleasures, like the luganega, a type of sausage and their red wine, the Aglianico del Vulture. They also use hot peppers locally known diavulicchiu (little devil). La Cucina Calabrese, on the other hand, have more meat-based dishes and residents devout their energies in food preservation: cold cuts, curing fish (swordfish) and packaging veggies and meat in oils. They have their own version of caviar called caviale dei poveri (poor peoples), roe of herring flavoured with hot peppers.

Your favorite pizza comes from the La Cucina Campana and this region is renowned for its most elegant and sophisticated cuisine. A great number of Neapolitans migrated to the US and other parts of the world, bringing with them durum wheat pasta like spaghetti and its accompanying sauces (genivese, marinara, puttanesca), lasagna with ricotta, eggplant Parmesan and made popular the “Seven Fish Dinner” on Christmas Eve.

The seven-course meal was inspired by the seven virtues (faith, hope, charity….) and the rich ate expensive fish like roast capitone (eel) while the less fortunate ate baccala indorato e fritto. They have a variety of tomato called San Marzano (the region is fertilized by the presence of Mount Vesuvius), raise water buffalo (carabao that has migrated!) to produce Mozzarella cheese and relax with a glass of chilled limoncello.

Pork is the meat of choice in La Cucina Molisana and they produce a special type of cold cuts called soppressata and ventricina while olive trees dominate the scenery in the region of Puglia (La Cucina Pugliese). Olive oil is extensively used and they have a type of pasta that resembles your ears (orecchio), if your ears are regular sized and orechiette if your ears are medyo small! The locals prefer a kind of bread called friselle, baked until dried and you have to dip it into water and season it (salt, pepper, olive oil and hot pepper paste, chopped sun-ripened tomatoes and basil).

And finally, we will explore the Cuisine of the Islands: Sicily (La Cucina Siciliana) and Sardinia (La Cucina Sarda). When the island scenery is pretty and the women beautiful, plenty of visitors gyud, starting with the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French, and Spanish (add the Phoenicians, Austrians to visit Sardinia, exclude the Arabs).

 Each nationality imparts a certain flavor to the cuisine and this makes La Cucina Siciliana one of Italy’s most sophisticated and cuisine. They have exquisite dishes like the caponata (eggplant-based), falsomagro (meat stew) and involtini alla Palermitana (bracioline or beef cutlets with pine nuts and raisin).

In La Cucina Sarda, tuna meat is common and bottarga (dried tune roe or eggs) is a prized delicacy. However, in traditional festivities, meats dominate, especially porceddu (lechon Sardinia) and roasted lamb. The locals also produce lots of cheese (sheep and goat) and the most admired is the pecorino sardo.

Your favorite food columnist was fortunate to indulge in some of Italy’s finest cuisine during a revisit to La Gondola (Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino).

An Italian Restaurant must have three elements to serve authentic Italian cuisine: an Italian Chef, ingredients from Italy and a wood-fired oven (according to an Italian Chef and Restaurant owner!). La Gondola has a new Chef, Vito Froio, who comes from Naples (a Southern Italian city) who began his culinary career in the Culinary Hotel School of Naples.

La Gondola sources its ingredients from Italy and the restaurant operates a wood-fired oven. The smoke from the hard wood provides that “magic touch” to the dishes. That is the reason why bread coming from the hurnohan in Carcar City tastes better than that of the most sophis-ticated kitchens (assuming with same ingredients). During the cocktails served last July 12, let us examine some of Chef Vito creations.

 For appetizers, the following were served: La Gondola Authentic Italian Cold Cut and Cheese Platter with Vegetables and Breads, Ratatouille Shooters flavoured with Grappa and served with Grilled Shrimps, Mini Carpaccio of Beef with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Garlic Flakes, Grilled Scallops in Rosemary Skewers with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Crab Meat and Eggplant Risotto Balls  with Lemon in Soy Dish. And excuse me, appetizers ra na!

As usual, your hard working food writer tries everything but I did have my favorites that night. Two trips to the salad station with hollowed-out Parmesan wheel of cheese used as mixing bowl (tossed baby Romaine, with Coppa ham in Caesar dressing), two trips to the Fritto Misto Station (prawns) with selection of dips and one visit to the BBQ (chicken fillet and mushroom with red wine sauce).

Closing remarks was the Blue cheese tiramisu and marzipan tuille in cappuccino sauce (an old favorite). Out of the blue, I had a sudden yearning for gelato (very rare desire for more wine, more frequent!) and now I have a new favorite, Absolute Amaretto gelato (original liqueur, Amaretto di Saronno).

Perhaps, too many favorites, more food memories to be encoded, but such is life for a five-year-old food writer.