Tagliatelle is pasta that, like fettuccine, is long ribbons of egg pasta, but that is slightly narrower than fettuccine. Italians will often use tagliatelle with a meat sauce. In North America, usually sold curled in “nests.” For a southern-Italian version of tagliatelle with no egg in the dough, see Lagana. Substitutes Fettuccine (narrower); Pappardelle (wider);…
Italian Food
Tiramisù
Tiramisù is a coffee-flavoured sponge cake that is a take on trifle. In the range of Italian desserts, it is classified as a semi-freddo It is a layered dessert, made from chocolate, espresso, mascarpone cheese and pan di spagna. It is topped with whipped cream, dusted with cocoa powder and ground cinnamon, and sprinkled with…
Tonda Padana Squash
Tonda Padana Squash has a pumpkin shape to it, but with a rind whose background is dark green, with lighter-green mottling and lighter-green wide ridges. Inside, it has dry orange flesh with a sweet taste. 95 to 105 days from seed. Storage Hints Stores well. History Notes Developed in the Padana area of north-western Italy.
Tondo Nizza Zucchini
Tondo Nizza Zucchini has light green thin skin with speckling on it. It is best picked when it is baseball size (4 inches / 10 cm) or smaller. Past this size, the skin will start to get darker. This is possibly the same zucchini as “Ronde de Nice Zucchini.” Cooking Tips Good for stuffing, frying…
Tortini Day
13th of February is Tortini Day. Tortini can range from a chocolate cake with an oozing centre, to a savoury egg dish which is like a small quiche. So you have lots of choice to celebrate today!
Tortoni
Tortoni is a frozen Italian dessert, created by Italians — or more precisely, Neapolitans — in Paris. It is flavoured and sweetened whipped cream, garnished with something almond flavoured such as chopped almonds, chopped maraschino cherries or crumbled amaretti cookies. The cream can be flavoured with rum or sherry, or a liqueur such as Amaretto….
Toscanelli Beans
Toscanelli Beans are small beans, but larger than cannellini beans. They have an off-white colour, and a tender skin. When cooked, Toscanelli Beans are creamy. The classic traditional way of cooking Toscanelli Beans, back in the day when people had hearths, was to put them in a flask with olive oil and garlic at night…
Truffle Butter
Truffle Butter is butter that is flavoured and scented with truffle shavings. Some versions are also mixed with olives, anchovies, etc. In a classical French version, 100g of fresh truffles are blended with 150g of butter, then forced through a sieve. Black Truffle Butter Usually French-style. It uses black truffles and therefore will be dark-coloured….
Truffles
Truffles are funguses that grow underground near tree roots. They are found in Asia, North Africa, North America and of course, Europe. There are also false Truffles, some of which are poisonous, that resemble the edible ones. Truffles are round. They can be in size anywhere from a walnut to a lemon. They are the…
Tuscan Food
Italian cooking is very regional. The food of Tuscany can be very different from that prepared in the rest of Italy. Yet, even Tuscan food is not monolithic but rather regional within itself as well. Tuscany is divided administratively into the following provinces. The provincial divisions also reflect the culinary divisions: Arezzo Florence (Firenze) Grosseto…
Twelfth Night Cake
In Britain, the Twelfth Night Cake was like what we now call Christmas cake, a luxurious special cake laden with fruit and spices. There would also be a dried bean and a dried pea in the cake. The man who found the bean would be the King of Twelfth Night festivities; the woman who found…
ÙE
ÙE® is an alcoholic beverage similar to a Grappa, served as a digestif. It is, however, classed more as an aquavit than a Grappa, because it is made from whole unpressed grapes, while Grappa is made from grape skins, stems and seeds. ÙE is made by the Nonino company in Besenello in Vallagarina Valley, Trentino,…
Uovo di Piccione Olives
Uovo di Piccione is an olive tree cultivar with shiny green leaves that is fairly resistant to colder temperatures. It needs another olive tree such as Manzanilla to pollinate it. The tree produces medium to large-sized olives that are used to make green table olives. They are harvested when green, and usually pickled. The tree…
Vanilla Baking Powder
Vanilla Baking Powder This is baking powder with added vanilla flavouring (actually “vanillin”.) It’s used in Italy for baked sweet goods, and negates the need to add vanilla separately to a recipe. It comes in a small ½ oz (16g) sachet, which Italians call a “bustina.” Recipes will usually call for it by the sachet,…
Vermouth
Vermouth is wine that has been flavoured and fortified; the flavouring used will vary from maker to maker. The wines used are lesser-quality wines, whose taste is improved by the herbs and fruits used to flavour it. There are two main kinds of Vermouth; dry (also called French or white) with an average alcohol content…
White Wine Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar is a tangy vinegar made from white wine. It is used in light-coloured sauces (such as Hollandaise and Béarnaise), and light-coloured dressings, where a darker vinegar such as red-wine vinegar would give the wrong colour. It has a subtler, less harsh taste than the standard white distilled vinegar popular throughout North America….
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented juice. Unless otherwise specified, the juice will be from grapes. Wine can also be used as an ingredient in cooking, and occasionally, in food preservation. See also: Drink Wine Day, Wine Day, Wine and Cheese Day Wine corks “Cork taint” is when the taste and smell of…
Zabaglione
Zabaglione is a foamy egg yolk sauce very much like a pourable custard sauce. To make it, eggs are beaten with liquid over a water bath until they thicken, get foamy and increase in volume. The liquid can be water or alcohol such as Marsala, Cognac, Port, Sherry or Rivesaltes. Sometimes additional thickening oomph is…
Zabaione Gelato
Zabaione gelato is a term for versions of zabaglione that are definitely meant to be served cold. These are always sweetened versions of zabaglione meant as a dessert. “Zabaione Gelato” sometimes use a small amount of gelatin. History Notes In the 1900s, with the advent of refrigeration, frozen versions of zabaglione became popular.
Zampino
Zampino is a cut of pork. It is the bottom portion of a pig’s leg, with the trotter still on. Here is the classical definition of how to cook it from Larousse: Soaked the leg in cold water for 3 hours, and then scrape all hair off the skin. Prick the leg in a few…
Zampone
Zampone is a dish prepared from a pig’s leg. It consists of the lower part of a pig’s leg (called a “zampino” in Italian) with the foot still on. It is stuffed with finely-ground, seasoned sausage meat, and simmered for a long time. After cooking, it is let cool to room temperature, then sliced and…
Zinfandel Grapes
Though Zinfandel is classed as a black grape, its skin is actually a dark red to purple colour. Zinfandel vines require days with many hours of sunshine, but in return will sometimes produce two crops a season. Grapes in the same cluster don’t always ripen at the same time. Its thick, red skin allows it…
Zucchini
Zucchini is a summer squash with a very mild taste. The plants are usually prolific bearers. It is more a category of summer squash, with many different sub-varieties.
Zuccotto
Zuccotto is a cake made in Tuscany in the shape of a dome, or, some say, a skull cap. It consists of pieces of sponge cake (Pan di Spagna) along with whipped cream or mousse, chocolate and nuts. It often has a layer of fruit for its base. To make Zuccotto you line a mould…