Tastes of Europe - Part 1- Italy

I have not been updating my blog for many months now. Call it inertia, blame it on the television, personal commitments and what not.! It is easy to find a reason for not having done something, I am now back to writing it and hopeful with some gusto !

I had made up my mind to shed some kilos off my growing waistline and restaurant visits had been few and when I did go, it was all about eating the right things, which don't taste the best always. Did I succeed, yes- I did. Am I am able to hold on to the dietary regimen? Almost!

In August this year, we went on a 3 week holiday to Italy ( Milan & Como), Switzerland(Bernese Oberland area) and Turkey(Istanbul). While I am in the process of writing a detailed travelogue which I hope to finish soon and publish on this blog, I decided to begin by writing on our culinary experience during this holiday first.

Italy, the land of divine food and wine, was our first destination. A country that I was fortunate to live in during the mid-nineties. I was excited to go to Lake Como and Milan after a decade. Italian cuisine has a rich and tempting history just like the wide array of dishes that form a part of its offering. The main secret behind Italian cuisine is its simplicity. Most dishes have only four to eight ingredients. The Italian cooks rely on the quality of the ingredients. The ingredients that one usually finds in most Italian dishes are tomatoes, bell peppers, olives/olive oil, garlic and cheese.  

Italians meals go course by course. This is one cuisine which believes in diners spending a lot of time( and money !) at the table. Most Italian elaborate meals begin with 'Apertivo'- an apéritif like Campari, Cinzano or Vermouth, followed by "Antipasto" or the appetizers;" Primo" - First hot dish like a soup or pasta; " Secondo" - main dish consisting of the fish or meat;"Formaggio e frutta" -"cheese and fruits", the first dessert; "Dolce"- main mouth watering desserts like the tiramisu. Finally they have the caffe or/and " Digestivo" -digestives like liquors/liqueurs. Now, never did we once go through the entire meal protocol with all the courses. After all, we also want to see the country while we enjoy the food...

We ate the best Italian food in the restaurant in Hotel Marcos, Lake Como. The balcony of our hotel room gave us some spectacular lake views and also some fragrance of the food that was being cooked at the restaurant. We began the meal with some hot bread which was served with some fresh virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I decided to stay off the wine as I had enjoyed my Margarita cocktails elsewhere. The "penne arrabiata"- a simple pasta dish made with fresh tomato sauce, garlic and red chillies are worth dying for.I could not resist myself from ordering a thin crust sea food pizza - "frutti di mare" made in the classic wooden oven. Simply the best ever. The restaurant was fully packed from 6 pm onwards till midnight and the reasons are obvious. If you do happen to visit Lake Como don't miss eating here. I also ate their grilled fish for lunch one of the days  that we were there, par excellence. "Bellisimo" as the Italians would have said !!

Como is famous for its olive oil and while it was possible to enjoy it while we were there , we wanted to carry a small bottle with us back home. We enjoy olive oil in our salads, spaghetti's, with bread and grills. Also on the list was some pasta which we wanted to carry home. After some walking around, we soon walked into a shop which was a paradise for olive oil and pasta lovers like me. The picture says it all.

The finest choice of olive oils; colorful array of pasta i.e. Penne, Tagliatelle, Fusili, Linguine, Fettucine, Capellini etc on its shelves. We picked up an assorted colorful pasta packet. Since we were travelling to different parts of Europe, I did not have the luxury of buying more as it meant carrying the luggage around ! I was really tempted to buy lots of olive oil but did not. For those who would want to include olive oil as a part of their food (and I certainly think one should ) as not only is it yummy but also good for health unlike other vegetable oils. Some tips:-

There are three basic types of olive oil:

• The Extra Virgin olive oil is classed as the highest grade of the olive oils. The oil has less than 1% acidity, meaning that the olives have been picked and pressed the same day.It is the sweetest and purest of the oils.
• Virgin olive oil is a grade below 'extra virgin olive oil'. It has less than 2% acidity and also has a good colour and smell.
• Pure olive oil is the lowest grade. It is much lighter in colour with little or no smell.

When buying olive oil, it is better to buy it in small quantities (unless you know that you will be using it a lot), as olive oil continues to oxidize. Do not store olive oil in plastic bottles because olive oil is reactive. Cold pressed or Cold extraction means "that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation. First cold pressed means "that the olive was crushed exactly one time-i.e., the first press. The cold refers to the temperature range of the fruit at the time it is crushed.

We had reached Como early in the morning and went to a family run cafe, just 2-3 minutes down the road. We had our first authentic Italian cappuccino and 'panini of our holiday here. The Panini is a simple Italian sandwich, the one that I loved was - toasted ciabata bread, some ham, camembert cheese with a dash of grilled lemon! We went there almost daily for eating some panini. The pastas and salads were nothing to write about.

From Lake Como, we headed off to Milan. Milan, the fashion capital. The city that has the world's most beautiful Duomo (Church) and off course the famous Painting- The Last Supper.

Our hotel was a minute from the Duomo and hence we ended up eating in the vicinity usually. We tried eating dinner at Ciao Restaurant near the Rina Cente. Average food, nothing to really write about.  This place has lost its earlier glory. It used to be a functional restaurant with great value for money.  One of the other restaurants which I used to visit very regularly when I was living in Milan was the Pizzeria Dogana. It was right opposite the Hotel where we were staying this time and hence we went there one afternoon for lunch. The food was superb. Particularly the Pizza Marinara, a pizza without cheese - was mouth watering. For those of you who get sick of cheese or like to avoid the calories this is the pizza for you.It is made with tomato, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil and you can actually taste all of these in a more pure form in this pizza, in the absence of the over-powering taste of cheese. Top it with chilli flakes and have some chilled cocktail to go with it. We tried some dolce here too. They have a dessert trolley which we walked up to and chose the one that looked the best. The tiramisu.! It was sinful.

The details of this restaurant are as follows : Via Dogana,3 Angolo Piazza del Duomo, Milan. www.pizzeriadogana.it.

In my next post I shall cover the rest of our trip.