Italian food Myths vs Reality

Reading here and there i saw many "Italian" recipes that are in fact unknown in Italy. That's because they are Italian-American recipes and although very famous in the US, nobody know their existence in Italy. Let's start!

1. Spaghetti with meatballs

It is the most famous "Italian" dish in the US. But i'm sorry to tell you that there

is not such a thing in Italy. There are spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs with tomato sauce but they are two separate dishes: spaghetti is a main course and meatballs (also served just fried and without sauce) a second course.

They were first prepared in the 1920s by Italian immigrants in New York, so now many people think this is a traditional Italian dish. However in some regions you can find some similar recipes usually prepared during feast days.

2. Garlic bread: 

When I watch US movies or TV series there are, sometimes, Italian stereotypes. Sometimes are true, sometimes excessive but always make me laugh. One of them is that in Italy we eat "garlic bread" but actually we don't! I googled the garlic bread recipe and the only thing that come close to that is "bruschetta", which is sliced broiled (or toasted) bread topped with olive oil (not butter) and tomato cut into little cubes. Someone rubs a clove of garlic on the bread to flavor it before the topping but that's it. I also read that it's very popular frozen garlic bread. And i can't stop wondering why, as preparing it is extremely easy, cheap and will take you about 5 minutes. If you want to prepare garlic bread just take a loaf of bread, slice it, mix a bit of butter with sliced garlic or garlic powder and, if you want, parsley, spread the mixture on the slices and bake it in the oven or in a pan. But I recommend to try our bruschetta also, it's very tasty!

3. Fettuccine Alfredo:

I believe this dish is very famous abroad but it's not famous at all in Italy. But, unlike the other dishes in this post, it is Italian. It originated in Rome and the sauce is made with a lot of butter and cheese mixed in a smooth cream. The restaurant where the fettuccine Alfredo were invented still exist, you can find it in Rome in Via della Scrofa and it's called "Alfredo alla Scrofa", visit its website for more information and go there if you want a real fettuccine Alfredo!

4. Chicken Parmesan: 

In Italy there is no such thing as a chicken or veal Parmesan. There is a "parmigiana

di melanzane" (o melanzane alla parmigiana) which is basically a dish similar to a lasagna but with fried slices of eggplant instead of pasta sheets. Although it is not common to see a chicken parmesan in restaurant menus, I think it's a pretty common variation of the classic "cotoletta alla milanese". In fact, sometimes I prepare a cotoletta with tomato sauce and cheese on top. Yummy!

5. Pepperoni pizza & pineapple pizza: 

If you ask for a pepperoni pizza in Italy be prepared: they will not serve you the pepperoni pizza known in the US but a "pizza coi pepperoni" which means pizza with bell peppers. If you want a pepperoni one, you may ask for a pizza alla diavola or simply a pizza "con salamino piccante". As for the pineapple pizza... it doesn't exist in Italy. You couldn't find it in no italian restaurant, bar or pizzeria, it's something that in Italy just don't work. We like pineapple and we like pizza but please, keep them separated.

6. Dip bread in olive oil:

On the internet I often read many disappointed tourist reviews about the waiter

don't serving a bowl of oil with the bread they serve you before the meal. Well, we don't use to do that here. The bread is for accompany the starters and main courses not to dip in oil. You can eat the bread if you want (I always do that, i like bread!) but don't expect the waiter to give you oil. But i think that if you ask for it they will bring it. However outside restaurants it's not uncommon for people who like bread and olive oil to pour a little oil in your plate, sprinkle with salt and "clean" the plate with bread to eat it. I sometimes do it and it's very tasty!

7.Shrimp fra diavolo:

It literally means "shrimp brother devil" but I never seen it in any restaurant. I know that it is a dish with shrimp in a tomato, often spicy, sauce and sometimes it accompany pasta. To be honest i found some recipes of this dish in Italian but it's not a typical Italian dish, and i'd say that it is famous here thanks to US tourists. So it is an Italian-American dish, maybe a variation of an Italian dish as many of the Italian-American recipes are, but it is rarely served in Italy.

8.Caesar Salad:

It is a bit more known than the above and you can actually find it in some restaurants, but

is not a typical Italian dish. The inventor is, again, an Italian immigrant to the US with restaurants in San Diego and Tijuana, Caesar Cardini. And it is said that in Tijuana this recipe originated. But there are many other people who claims the paternity of this famous dish. Maybe it's not so popular because in Italy the only dressing for the salad is oil, salt and vinegar, we don't like other sauces on it.

So, it's not a traditional Italian dish but at least it is known and if you are lucky you can find it in Italian restaurants, especially in touristic areas.

9. Pasta with chicken:

In Italy pasta is usually accompanied with a sauce, often tomato based. Sometimes it has minced meat as in the ragù (bolognese sauce), but in some regions you can find pasta with a sauce of meat such as chicken or rabbit. Of course if you ask for a "pasta with chicken" in a region where it is not a traditional dish they may look at you in a bad way. I know pasta with chicken is cooked in some parts of Rome and in the south of Italy.

10. Wine with every meal:

Ok, that's a stereotype. We don't drink wine with every meal, we don't drink

wine to relax before dinner or during the afternoon (as i see in many movies or series) and no, children don't drink wine! Someone may drink it for lunch or dinner, especially when eating out, but at home we usually drink water, sodas or sometimes beer. Our grandpas may use to drink it everyday but it's not so common today.

Hope you enjoy this article, don't forget to comment any question or suggestion!