An Italian Kitchen Means Delicious Food And Lots Of It?

Italian kitchens are known for their delicious pasta dishes, such as lasagna, tortellini, and raviolis. The cooks who reign in Italian kitchens are known for their hospitality, as well as their ability to make a large family dinner without making a great fuss. In recent years, cooking show hosts, such as Giada and others, have attempted to showcase Italian hospitality and cooking.

An Italian kitchen is outfitted with at least one oven, a range or stove, and refrigerator. Using these basic appliances, Italian cooks create pasta from scratch in a variety of shapes. While in America lasagna is seen as something that a chef has one recipe for, in Italy, every town and city has its own recipe. This means that one Italian kitchen's lasagna may be vary greatly from another Italian kitchen's. Generally though, all lasagna recipes consist of layers of flat noodles which have been freshly made, tomato sauce or meat sauce, cheese, and other ingredients. It is the other ingredients which make each Italian kitchen's lasagna special.

Italian kitchens often use similar ingredients. These common ingredients associated with Italian kitchens include Mediterranean and heart healthy ingredients, such as extra virgin olive oil, and herbs such as rosemary and thyme. An Italian kitchen may have its own window sill herb garden. Italian kitchens in homes in the southern part of Italy may have their own kitchen gardens, which grow fresh herbs and vegetables. Tomatoes play an important role in an Italian kitchen's cooking. Tomatoes are the foundation for the rich tomato sauces that Italian kitchens have popularized Tomatoes also are used for the base of Bolognese sauce. The name for this sauce comes from Bologna, Italy. This sauce is made with tomatoes and ground beef.

Another popular ingredient used in Italian kitchens is garlic. Fresh garlic cloves may be sauteed in olive oil to infuse the olive oil with the flavor of the garlic. The garlic infused olive oil may then be used in a sauce for gnocchi. Gnocchi is the name for potato and pasta dumplings made in Italian kitchens. These may then be covered with melted mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella cheese is used in many Italian kitchens' dishes.