15 Essential Ingredients For Italian Cooking

Citrus juice is a staple for top cooks around the world. The acidic component of lemons helps add flavor and balance to both sweet and savory dishes. They are tangy, slightly sweet, and have the undertone of an oily flavoring. Both the juice and the zest are used in Italian cooking. To harvest the zest, rub a zester or fine cheese grater along the outside of a clean, organic lemon. Lemon can be included in any cheese-based dish pasta, like fettuccine alfredo, tetrazzini, and lemon spaghetti, as well as paired with meats and fish.

Along the Amalfi coast, there's a particular kind of lemon that tends to steal the show. What makes Amalfi lemons so unique is their mellowness, which is a word you probably never thought you'd hear to describe a lemon. These lemons, also called sfusato lemons, are larger, more bulbous, supple, aromatic, and sweeter than your standard lemon. If you can get your hands on these special Amalfi lemons, grab some to enhance your Italian cooking.

Italians like to keep things fresh, which is why many people outside the city choose to grow their own herbs and produce. Europeans also make more frequent trips to the market than Americans, shopping almost daily instead of weekly, resulting in fresher produce. While dried herbs are used regularly in Italian cooking, fresh herbs are also essential. Basil is used in numerous world-famous Italian dishes like caprese salad, margherita pizza, and of course basil pesto.

Fresh basil can be minced and cooked into a dish and also used as a beautiful and fresh garnish. Basil has citrus undertones, but it is delicate, sweet, and slightly spicy or peppery. It's flavorful, but mild enough that you can use a handful without overpowering a dish. It pairs beautifully with other Mediterranean herbs, any vegetable, white meats, and seafood. If you want to elevate any Italian dish, lay on the fresh herbs without apology.

There's no arguing that Italian wines are desired all over the world. This is because not only has vino been produced and perfected in Italy for centuries, but the growing conditions for grapes are top-notch. Everyone loves to take that inaugural sip while cooking with red wine, but the true magic happens in the pot. If wine isn't a regular ingredient in your cooking, and is instead treated only as a beverage, it's important to brush up on tips when cooking with wine.

While you can choose a wine that won't break the bank, you shouldn't cook with wine you wouldn't drink. That undesirable acidity or sweetness will inevitably translate into your dish. Use wine as a marinade for meats, as alcohol dissolves fat, or splash it into sauces and soups. Be sure to let the alcohol interact with the other ingredients, as it will help boost their natural flavors on a molecular level, and let it cook off so it doesn't add harshness to your dish. Pair wine as you would for sipping; use white wine in combination with white meats, seafood, and delicate vegetables, and red wine with robust meats and hearty root vegetables. Whichever wine you decide to use in your cooking, it can also be served as a beverage alongside the dish.

Italian parsley, also known as flat-leaf parsley, is better to cook with than the standard curly variety that garnishes just about every menu item at your local diner. This is because it has a stronger flavor and more tender texture. one that blends more tactfully with other ingredients. This variety has a peppery flavor, with a refreshing citrus undertone, and is quite pleasing when paired with most Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. If you haven't been a fan of the herb in the past, you should reconsider your feelings about parsley, as it can add quite a bit of flavor to almost any dish without overpowering it.

Use parsley in your sauces and spreads, but also consider it as a tasteful garnish. Fresh Italian parsley should be an important ingredient in a homemade pasta sauce, but it is also mild enough to chop and add to salad. Speaking of salad, consider minced parsley in your salad dressing to give it an herby, peppery freshness. Similarly, it can be crushed or minced and added to marinades for most meats and seafood.

Olives aren't just pressed for oil in Italy, they are also an important ingredient used in popular recipes across the country. In fact, they are so highly desired that they are considered a snack or appetizer all on their own. 

While there are hundreds of varieties, the most popular type of Italian olives are castelvetrano, which are native to Sicily and picked while they are still green. They are buttery, and less bitter than the standard green olives you might find at your supermarket's olive bar. But just because a certain variety isn't native to Italy doesn't mean that varieties like kalamata and manzanilla aren't heavily used in Italian cuisine.

Often, you'll find olives in pasta dishes, minced into sauces, adorning salads, and roasted on pizza. Depending on the variety and preservation methods, they are often oily, meaty and salty, with fruity and tangy undertones. This is because olives are actually fruit, not vegetables, growing on trees. While Italians are all about fresh ingredients, you'll never see fresh olives at the grocery store. This is because they must be processed and cured in order to be made edible.

Few are immune to the hypnotic flavors of mozzarella cheese. It is light, creamy, milky, refreshing, and grassy. With a spongy, watery texture, and pristine meltability, mozzarella reigns as the most common cheese used on pizza. In addition, it's a staple for the popular Italian Caprese salad, makes its way onto sandwiches frequently, and is often paired with intense flavors to help create balance. 

Most commonly, Italians use buffalo mozzarella, as it has a refreshing flavor, but burrata is popularly found in salads and used as an appetizer. Burrata has an outside casing of mozzarella cheese, while the inside is made from concentrated buttery cream.

There's a reason this soft cheese is melted over pasta, pizza, meat, and vegetables. It becomes bubbly brown, and remains stringy and smooth once heated. Opt for mozzarella on your grilled pesto sandwich, over baked eggplant parmesan, or breaded and fried. Enjoy it fresh on salads, paired with fresh Italian herbs, or drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

When it comes to choosing which tomatoes to use for Italian tomato sauce, there is no competition. No, it's not beefsteak, cherry, or plum tomatoes that take the lead. Sitting on the winner's podium, time and time again, are San Marzano tomatoes. 

The reason these tomatoes are highly desired is for their robust flavor, beefy texture, and density. They are grown in the volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius, which gives them a special smoothness and sweetness with which other tomatoes simply can't compete. Luckily, these tomatoes are canned and sold all over the world, so it's likely that you can find them at your local grocer. However, be aware that there are many San Marzano "style" tomatoes out there, so read the label carefully to ensure you're getting the real deal.

In addition, look for the best canned San Marzano tomatoes, which include basil packed right in. It gives them an additional sweetness and depth that can help elevate any dish you choose to make. It's no surprise that Italians love their tomatoes, so when it comes to choosing a recipe to highlight the ingredient, the options are endless. Start with a simple tomato sauce for your pasta or pizza; you'll notice a difference when you include the San Marzano variety. Or, if you're feeling daring, try something a little more complicated like traditional bucatini all'Amatriciana.

Polenta, which is cooked cornmeal, originated in Northern Italy where its popularity grew among the peasant communities. Corn, of course, is quite inexpensive and easy to grow, and dried cornmeal is easy to store for long periods without refrigeration. Cooked polenta can be made into a creamy grits-like texture, or can be stiffened and shaped. Polenta logs can be sliced and pan-fried, which creates a pleasing crispy outer layer that contrasts nicely with the creamy interior. It can be enjoyed sweet or savory, but a typical modern creamy polenta recipe contains aromatics like garlic and onion, sometimes parmesan cheese, and butter which makes it incredibly decadent and rich.

If you've been sticking to primarily pasta and pizza-centered Italian recipes in your kitchen, expand your horizons and make this Italian staple. Pick up some polenta, either in the form of coarsely ground cornmeal or cooked and packed into logs, and get cooking.