http://www.ilboccaccio.com/ If you think that you are an expert on Italian cuisine just because you have been eating at those Italian restaurants, then you are very much mistaken. Do you know that more than 90% of so-called Italian restaurants are not really authentic Italian restaurants? So you are probably eating at those American-Italian restaurants that may serve Italian dishes but taste otherwise. You may not even be able to tell gourmet Italian food from plain fast food spaghetti. But Italian cuisine is unique on its own, and you only need to know main qualities that make Italian dishes authentic to know if you are eating the real thing or not. First thing to be on the look out for is the flavor. Italian cooking can be summarized into one word: simple. You can hardly find an Italian dish that explodes with too much flavor in your mouth. Americans are very accustomed to eating foods which are so rich in different spices and additives that make your palette feel numb even after taking just a few bites. But Italian food is flavorful but with restraint. You may taste dishes that have this significant boldness but they are not overpowering you. Italians are firm believers of letting the flavors of the main ingredients show by not masking them with too much garlic powder or what have you. A good test to see if you are eating in an authentic Italian restaurant is to take note of the pasta sauce. Like when eating spaghettini ai frutti di mare, you taste more of the tomato sauce than the pasta or the mixed seafood, then you may be in those American-Italian restaurants. Italians only put enough sauce in the pasta dishes to complement the main ingredient and not to hide its flavor. And if you notice that the sauce sticks to the pasta a lot better, you are likely to be eating homemade pasta. Homemade fresh pasta adheres to sauces, unlike the dried kind that makes the sauce slip. Homemade fresh pasta is also a lot lighter, so you don’t get that heavy, bloated feeling after eating an entire bowl of fettucine alla ...
