Globally, Italian cuisines are one of the most sought-after. Beyond regular cuisines such as pasta, pizza, olive garden copycat Zuppa Toscana or Italian spaghetti, there is more to Italian dishes. Across the Mediterranean country in southern Europe, Italian cuisine has a rich array of flavorful and tasty dishes.
Enjoying these Italian dishes often appears to be a ritual: sorting different Italian food, and drinks is like a tradition that is inherited from generation to generation. However, most of these Italian dishes are sourced using Italian ingredients which are common in different Italian homes and restaurants.
Italy is home to a wide range of restaurants and varieties of Italian dishes and one of the restaurants to get these dishes is Olive Garden. The restaurant offers fresh Italian food provided with your favourite different Italian ingredients. So if you are looking for the right place to eat in Italy, the local restaurants have all you need to enjoy yourself, ranging from crock pot olive garden chicken to olive garden minestrone.
Chicken marsala olive garden and other dishes are sourced using traditional ingredients sourced from different places across the city. Therefore, an olive garden chicken crock pot will taste better than your regular Italian dishes.
With over 900 global operations, the Italian restaurant prepares most of its Italian dishes using traditional ingredients sourced from different places. Although Italy has varieties of dishes across different regions, you will find the following ten traditional ingredients for cooking in Italy almost in any region.
10 Italian traditional ingredients
1.Extra virgin olive oil
Olive oil is used in cooking some of the most famous Italian foods. However, virgin olive oil is an amazing traditional ingredient that is used as a garnish if you want to enjoy a peppery flavour. Moreover, this traditional ingredient works as a dip for Italian bread and Italian pasta salad. Extra virgin olive oil is great for seasoning and repairing salad.
2.Balsamic vinegar
This traditional Italian ingredient is sourced from Modena or Emilia-Romagna, an Italian region. With Balsamic vinegar, you can dress your favourite Italian dishes. However, it is the most popular flavouring agent in Italy. Balsamic vinegar goes along with different Italian foods such as balsamic asparagus salad, creamy polenta with balsamic glaze, chicken quinoa bowls with balsamic dressing, and lots more.
3.Pasta
Italian pasta dishes are very common in Italian restaurants. This ingredient is a mixture of certain food items such as olive oil, water, salt, flour, and eggs. However, the region they come from is sometimes a factor that determines Italian spaghetti types. Pasta combined with balsamic bruschetta, cucumber salad, whole roasted carrot, and more give you a taste you will not forget so soon.
4.Garlic
You can easily find these traditional ingredients across Italy and it is used in preparing many Italian dishes such as the popular Italian spaghetti. It is common with sautéed in olive oil. This ingredient is commonly used to create a flavorful cooking base.
5.Fresh Tomatoes
This amazing ingredient made its way into Italian cities in the 16th century and has since then, become one of the most sought-after ingredients for different Italian dishes. Amazingly, most Italians thought this ingredient wasn’t edible, but rather poisonous. However, fresh tomatoes are great for most Italian dishes.
6.Oregano
For earthy flavour enthusiasts, you have got all you need in this traditional ingredient. Oregano is suitable for Italian pasta dishes such as marinara sauce and grilled meats. It is also suitable for dressing salads and pizza. Oregano also blends well as a recipe for Italian salsa verde.
7.Capers
Also known as “Capperi” in Italian, these traditional ingredients are pickled from buds of flowers from the Flinders rose bush. Capers are small and salty green orbs and are a common traditional ingredient in many Italian and Mediterranean dishes. Some of these dishes include chicken piccata, olive garden chicken pasta, and puttanesca sauce.
8.Porcini Mushroom
Unlike other common mushrooms, this Italian traditional ingredient is commonly found under pine and oak trees, especially in Tuscany. This ingredient, whether fresh or dried, is suitable for sauces cooked in risotto. It also combines greatly when simmered in a wine sauce as it provides texture to your favourite Italian dishes.
9.Basil
This Italian traditional ingredient is a fragrant green herb that tastes minty or smokey. Moreover, it is also one of the most sought-after herbs for Italian dishes. This ingredient is used at times in tomato sauce. It is also the main target traditional ingredient in pesto sauce and Caprese salad and olive garden salads. Both amateurs and expert Italian chefs often plant this herb ingredient somewhere in their background as they can access it fresh each time they need it.
10.Italian Cheese
One of the reliable ways the ancient Romans created different cheeses is by smoking and ageing. Grainy textures are mostly associated with hard cheeses and are shaved over salads or pasta and sausage. The most common varieties include Pama’s Parmigiano-Reggiano in the Emilia-Romagna region and Northern Italy’s Grana Padano. Sheep milk is the main source of Pecorino Cheese. It is a soft cheese used in melting over meals such as lasagna and pizza.
Conclusion
Italians have a wide range of delicious cuisines across their different regions. However, you stand the chance of getting these traditional ingredients anywhere in the city. It has more flavour and provides your food with a delicious taste. Whether you are checking out an olive garden Italian or you want to prepare an Italian dinner yourself, these ingredients help you to achieve the desired result.
