Melodie K

Inspiration

31 Food Quotes by Writers & Other Creatives to Inspire You

These woven baskets filled with pomegranates, oranges, and other citrus fruit look tasty enough to inspire food quotes of their own.
Would it surprise you to learn that the appreciation of good food has inspired creative people throughout history in their greatest works?

As a person who has more than a passing interest in good food, you share something in common with many of the artists we admire most.

For creative people throughout history, food has always been more than flavorful fuel for the body. It has also been a source of inspiration. Of so much inspiration, in fact, they couldn’t resist expressing their appreciation for food in words we still quote today.

For example, an Irish playwright & novelist — one of our fellow creatives from Ireland — once wrote:

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”

— George Bernard Shaw

The collection of 30 additional food quotes, located below, seem to indicate ole George was on to something there. These quotes originate from a host of other writers as well as visual and performing artists.

My hope is they’ll confirm to you, once and for all, that your sincere love for food and creativity go hand in hand.

May they also remind you that good food is …

… FUN.

“Good food is a celebration of life.” — Sophia Loren, actress


“Food is celebratory. People who don’t cook don’t know how much fun they’re missing.”—Leo Buscaglia, chef

“Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life.“—Elsa Schiaparelli, designer 

“Food is not just eating energy. It’s an experience.“—Guy Fieri, chef

… A GREAT MOTIVATOR.

 
“If music be the food of love, play on.”—William Shakespeare, writer

“Work is the meat of life, pleasure the dessert.” — B.C. Forbes, journalist


“I’m painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large sunflowers.“—Vincent Van Gogh, painter

The food quote about bouillabaisse comes courtesy of Vincent van Gogh and this 1888 painting of "Sunflowers" - Wikipedia Commons (Public Domain).


… THE ULTIMATE ICEBREAKER.

“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.“—M.F.K. Fisher, writer

“When I eat with my friends, it is a moment of real pleasure, when I really enjoy my life.“—Monica Bellucci, actress

“After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody; even one’s own relatives.“—Oscar Wilde, writer

“My doctor told me I had to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.” —Orson Welles, film & radio director, writer, producer, & actor

… FOR MANY, ANOTHER TERM FOR “BREAKFAST.”



“If you look upon ham and eggs and lust, you have already committed breakfast in your heart.”—C.S. Lewis, writer


“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.“—John Gunther, author & journalist

“How sad the world would be without the smell of jam.”—George Duhamel, author

This dish with strawberry jam and shortbread cookies illustrates one of our favorite food quotes.

… ESSENTIAL.

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.“—Virginia Woolf, writer

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.“—J.R.R. Tolkien, writer

… SIMPLE.

“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”—Anthony Bourdain, chef & writer

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.”—Paul Prudhomme, chef & writer

“What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow”.—A.A. Milne, author

“With an apple, I will astonish Paris.“—Paul Cezanne, painter

This Cézanne painting, "Fruit, Napkin, and a Jug of Milk," helps to illustrate one of the artist's food quotes: "With an apple, I will astonish Paris."


… REAL.

“Real food, I’ve found, is actually better than dieting.“—Angelina Jolie, actress

“Life is too short for fake butter or fake people.”—Julia Child, chef

“I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.“—Andy Rooney, writer

… “THE ABSOLUTE BEST” WHEN HOMEMADE OR HOMEGROWN

“… the simple meal satisfies…Fish always tastes better when you catch it, fruit when you pluck it, bread when you knead it, and salt when you grind it.“—Margaret Feinberg, writer

“If your mother cooks Italian food, why should you go to a restaurant?”—Martin Scorsese, film director

“It’s difficult to think of anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.“—Lewis Grizzard, humorist

These red Siamese tomatoes illustrate one of our favorite food quotes about homegrown produce.

… SATISFYING.

“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.“—Alan D. Wolfelt, author & counselor


“Abundance is … the smell of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.“—Candy Paull, author


“The best comfort food will always be greens, cornbread, and fried chicken.“—Maya Angelou, writer


“The best food satisfies all kinds of hunger.”—Christie Purifoy, writer 

Now that you’ve read all 31 quotes, have you found one that resonates with you more than the others?

Remember to come back and take another look at these quotes if you ever start to second-guess your calling as a creative. They’ll make you smile, encourage you to move forward, and continue doing your good work with confidence. So much so that one day, perhaps, we’ll be adding a quote of yours to the list!

Here are 31 Food Quotes by Writers and Other Creatives to Inspire You.

Savor Afghanistan: Qabili Palau AKA Kabuli Palau

Aerial views of Afghanistans' craggy mountains and expansive valleys is an ideal way to savor Afghanistan. Image is by Reinis Melioraskis./Attribution NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

Food is more than what we put into our bodies… It’s the feel of a place, something language can’t get at, the memory of a place as it forms. Wherever I am, food is what takes me there. —Jessica Fechtor, Stir

You say Kabuli, I say Qabili. Whatever we end up calling it, we’ll likely agree that Afghanistan’s national dish, Qabili (Kabuli) Palau, is delicious.  

The secret to Qabili Palau’s allure is Afghanistan’s unique geography and history. The country lies along what was once THE crucial trade route between Persia and India.

As a result, for thousands of years, caravans from these two great empires traveled through this mountain country. And Afghan cuisine, in a very literal sense, soaked up Persian and Indian culture.

In Qabili Palau, you can taste the difference they made.

Savor Afghanistan! Surprise your friends and family by serving Qabili Palau for your next special occasion together.

A SHORT HISTORY OF QABILI PALAU

The slow-cooked rice dish was born in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, in the households of the well-to-do. Only they had the means to buy raisin, nuts, and carrots to flavor their rice. Hence, its original name, Kabuli Palau.

Kabuli =  of Kabul

Palau  =  rice cooked in broth, prepared in such a way that the grains fluff, stay separated, and never get mushy, introduced by the Persians. (More about the Iran-Afghanistan connection later.) 

Then, as economic prosperity grew throughout Afghanistan, so did the popularity of Kabuli Palau. Soon people all over the country were eating it. And the dish took on a new name: Qabili Palau. 

Qabil means “having skill or know-how” in more than a few languages spoken in Central Asia, including Dari, one of the two official languages spoken in Afghanistan. 

The thinking back then was that only someone with mad-cooking skills could prepare this dish.

That opinion still stands today.

Afghans say a woman who can make a great Qabili Palau attracts more marriage proposals than one who doesn’t. So it’s easy to imagine that Afghan men, when courting, ask themselves questions like:

“Is she pretty?” 

“Does she laugh at my jokes?”

and 

“Can she cook a mean Qabili?”

How do we know this? Well, because it’s much the same way with American men. Just swap the word “Qabili” with “ribeye steak” and you’ll understand what I mean.

Now it happens that Qabili Palau…

is not the only type of Palau prepared in Afghanistan. You’ll find people eating different versions of the dish throughout Central Asia…

Qabili Palau is popular throughout Central Asia. There are as many varieties of the dish as there are countries where it is eaten.

…from as far west as Iran to as far east as the Xinjiang Uyghur region of China. 

But ALL of those versions combine rice, meat, vegetables, and spices to make a special occasion dish that has been satisfying much of Asia for centuries. 

So how have Afghans managed to make “Qabili Palau” their unique own?

First of all, they use specific kinds of rice, meat, vegetables, and spices in the dish.

Fragrant basmati rice is an essential ingredient for a Qabili Palau that will help you savor Afghanistan to the max.
  • The rice is good quality basmati;
  • The meat is typically lamb and, from time to time, beef or chicken; 
  • Carrots and onions, caramelized to perfection, play the featured roles as “the vegetables.” 
  • The spice blend always includes cardamom and cumin.

Afghans also put plenty of raisins and nuts, typically slivered almonds, in Qabili Palau.

It's impossible to savor Afghanistan fully without black raisins, slivered almonds, cardamom, and cumin, all key ingredients of Qabili Palau (AKA Kabuli Palau).

Afghans are well, “nuts” about nuts, and popular recipes feature almonds, pistachios, and pine nuts, as well as many others. You could say they like raisins, too.

Afghans have many different kinds of dried fruit and nuts to cook with: fruits and nuts together comprise more than a third of the country’s total exports. 

7 Fun Facts about Afghan Food

  1. Though it was the Persians who introduced Palau to the Afghans and to others throughout Central Asia, the basic dish of rice with vegetables and a rich blend of spices likely originated in India.
  2. Depending on who’s doing the cooking and where in the world they’re doing it, you’ll see recipes with the word Afghans pronounce as “Palau” spelled a number of ways. They include polo and polow (Iran), as well as plov (Uzbekistan). And in the U.S. and elsewhere outside of Asia — as you may have guessed by now — pilaf.
  3. Onions are to Afghans as chile is to New Mexicans: they’re in (almost) everything.
  4. Over 100 varieties of grapes grow in Afghanistan, some suitable for wine. However, since wine production is against the law in this Islamic country, growing raisins is the next most profitable thing to do with all of those grapes. 
  5. Although some Afghan grape farmers have found it more profitable to repurpose their land to raise opium poppies, other farmers still maintain traditional raisin houses (keshmesh khanas) where row after row of heavy grapes hang on racks, drying in the sun. 
  6. Basmati, the name given to the long-grain variety used to prepare any Afghan-style Palau, means “my smile” in Arabic and “fragrant” in Hindi.
  7. “Little Kabul” in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Fremont is home to the largest Afghan community in the U.S. and a number of eateries serving Qabili Palau and other tasty Afghan foods.

Afghanistan, with all of its beauty and yes, confusion, too, is far away. However, in preparing Qabili Palau at home, you can celebrate and taste some of the best this ancient culture has to offer at home. You’ll also feed your family well and that’s ALL good.

Exquisite French Pastry & the Top Chefs Who Create It

Exquisite French pastry in Paris; photo by Zhu.

A party without cake is just a meeting. ~ Julia Child

When you mention France, most people think of Paris, the capital city. This is both a blessing and a curse.

A curse because the portion of France located outside of the capital city is gorgeous, too. It has delicious nooks and crannies worth exploring but few people think to look.

And a blessing because even though France does so many culinary things well, Paris deserves to be top of mind when it comes to pastry because it does them especially well.

So the equation goes like this (and it’s okay that it does):

France = Paris. And Paris + food, almost always = exquisite pastry.

Ergo, France = exquisite pastry.

In recognition of French pastry as the nation’s most iconic food, the chefs featured today are all French-born and trained professionals known for creating exquisite pastries.

Their views on the art they create for a living will help you shape your plans for France travel.

SÉBASTIEN ROUXEL 

You know you’ve “made it” when Thomas Keller calls you “one of the best pastry chefs in America.”

Rouxel became a chef’s apprentice at 15, then worked with master pâtissiers at prestigious addresses in Paris, including the Elysées Palace, the official residence of the French president.

Today he works in the world’s restaurant capital, New York City, yet retains truly sweet memories of growing up in France.

In France, kids don’t go to school on Wednesdays. And while I loved not having to go to school, the best part was  the morning, when my brothers and sister and I would open the kitchen shutters to find beside the flowerpots wonderful viennoiserie, fresh from the bakery, waiting for us to devour with a cup of hot chocolate.

Hot drink with exquisite French pastry: croissants with chocolate cream & hot cocoa, photo by ehaurylik.

SÉBASTIEN GAUDARD

The pastry chef who would bring chic to the most traditional French pastries was born the son of a baker in Lorraine, a region in northeast France.

Now, over 40 years later, Chef Gaudard is a confirmed Parisian with two successful shops in the French capital. They are the destination of choice for hungry people seeking classics like the baba au rhum, St. Honoré, and the cream-sandwiched tire-shaped confection called the Paris-Brest.

Eating sweets brings us back to a time in our lives when we had no worries, the carefree time of childhood . . . My wish is to render the past marvelously present.

Paris-Brest, (a classic) French dessert (and exquisite French pastry), photo by uckyo.

PIERRE HERMÉ

Pierre Hermé, like Chef Gaudard, grew up in a family of bakers in northeast France. After apprenticing in Paris, he opened his first shop in Tokyo rather than the French capital, reaching for something different . . . a sign of things to come.

Creating new flavors and combinations of flavors is what he likes to do most.

Whether you buy one of Hermé’s chocolates, cakes, or celebrated macarons, you will never taste anything that is same-old-same-old.

That’s how you end up desiring a lemon and strawberry flavored cake named Désire. And eating macarons like Mosaïc, flavored with pistachio, Ceylon cinnamon, and Morello cherries.

With dozens of knock-out flavors, it’s hard to choose a favorite ~ but why try? Hermé doesn’t.

I don’t have any favorites. I love them all because when I created them, I thought about them a lot. . . . guess my favorite macaron is the next one that I’m going to create.

These Sadaharu Aoki et Pierre Hermé (macarons) by Canon S3 IS in Paris, France are colorful examples of exquisite French pastry..

Want more sweet France travel? Take this French pastry tour.

PHOTO CREDITS

Featured image, French Pastries in Paris by Zhu; Fresh Baked Croissants with Chocolate Cream & Hot Cocoa on Woo by ehaurylik; Paris-Brest, French Dessert by uckyo; and Sadaharu Aoki et Pierre Hermé by Canon S3 IS in Paris, France.

SOURCE OF QUOTES for Sébastien Rouxel, Sébastien Gaudard, and Pierre Hermé.

Pistachio Mexican Wedding Cakes: A Sweet Taste of New Mexico

A yum batch of pistachio Mexican wedding cakes begins here. Pistachio nuts on a tree by Ennira.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags… some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. ~ Genesis 43:11

For a long long time, pistachio nuts have been some of the best stuff on earth. And, today, within the U.S., you’ll find these treasures growing in California’s Central Valley, Arizona, and Southern New Mexico.

In fact, Otero County in Southeast New Mexico is the state’s largest producer of pistachios.  You could say the hills of Alamogordo, its county seat, are alive with pistachio groves.

This city of 30,000 lays some 60 miles northeast of Las Cruces (LC). (So, after driving the 50 miles from LC to the White Sands National Park, stay on the road 10 minutes more and you’re there.)

Alamogordo’s climate is similar to Las Cruces, dry with hot summers and mild winters, yet its higher altitude of over 4300 feet makes it cooler ~ more comfortable for people and especially pistachio trees.

Pistachio-rich dishes, snacks, and other products greet you at restaurants and shops all over the city.

Pistachio Mexican Wedding Cakes ~ Mexican Wedding Cakes made with New Mexico pistachios ~ are among them. 

Bake pistachio Mexican wedding cakes that taste as flaky as these; photo by dreambigphotos.

What is a “Mexican Wedding Cake?”

It’s a buttery crumbly confection popular throughout the Southwest that melts in your mouth after the first crunch.

The standard ingredients are sugar, butter, flour, and ground nuts. Now, depending on where you go in the Southwest, this can mean walnuts, pecans, or almonds.

So, in Alamogordo, of course, we’re talking pistachios.

Pistachio nuts (and butter!) give pistachio Mexican wedding cakes their POP of flavor.

In Las Cruces and southward to West Texas, pecans are the thing.

But you’ll get a better idea of what Mexican wedding cakes are once you understand…

WHAT MEXICAN WEDDING CAKES ARE NOT

First of all,

  • They’re not cakes, but buttery shortbread cookies. (The butterier, the better.)

To that end, some people call them “Mexican wedding cookies.” But then again… 

  • They’re not specifically for weddings, but for celebrating special occasions throughout the year, especially Christmas.

That’s why many people call them “Christmas tea cookies.” 

Finally, Mexican wedding cakes are…

  • Not entirely Mexican . . . since variations of this cookie are found in several other countries, some in Europe.

As you may have guessed by now, this cookie of many names has a colorful past. It’s like this . . . 

THE ORIGINS OF THE MEXICAN WEDDING CAKE

The happy combining of nuts with sweets was a tradition the Arabs brought to the Spaniards. The Spaniards, in turn, brought the tradition to New Spain, known today as Mexico. 

Over time, the Mexicans started to add their very own vanilla to the mix. Plus, bunches of butter.

And they called their shortbread-like cookies “polverones de nuez (nut dustballs).” Or “polverones,” for short.

Why do they call these cookies “polverones” or “dustballs?”

Well, for one thing, they’re round and wear white coats of powdered sugar. So they look like dustballs.

The prettiest and cleanest of dustballs, of course.

But, what’s more, Mexican wedding cakes have a crumbly texture that seems to explode into dust ~ and melt in your mouth! ~ when you bite into them. 

Like a clod of fresh winter snow, these cookies are round, white, and break apart upon impact.

No wonder so many people, including Southern New Mexicans, prefer calling them “snowballs.” 

Oh, yeah, these snow-white wonders go by lots of names.

Folks in Arizona call them “Russian tea cakes.”

Uh oh, there goes that “cake” thing again . . .  but more on that later. 

The bottom line is that polverones, in one form or another, have been around for centuries. 

The inspiration for Mexican wedding cakes likely came to Mexico from Spain as "polverones." Image, Polverón de Estepa, is by Marianne Perdomo.

However, the term “Mexican wedding cakes” didn’t appear on the scene until the 1950s.

How does that work?

Enter the Cold War: Russia becomes unpopular with the U.S. Yet, attending Russian teas and eating the cute teacakes that go with them remains fashionable.

It was then that Americans began to call the nutty round shortbread cookies from south of the border, “Mexican wedding cakes.”

After all, they came from Mexico, were covered with a festive wedding-white sugar. And besides that,

Mexican Wedding Cakes are Terrific with Tea

You can add flavors of lemon, cinnamon, orange, vanilla to taste, to suit whichever tea or other hot beverage you’re pairing it with.

No matter the variation, Mexican wedding cakes are cookies your friends and family won’t be able to keep their hands off of!

Now . . . what more encouragement do you need start making your first batch? 

WHAT NOW?

1) Make your own delectable Mexican Wedding Cakes, Cookies, or whatever you decide to call them with this easy recipe. 

2) Are you in the Mesilla Valley wanting to try snowballs baked by someone who knows how? Stop by Orange Peel Pastries, Cakes & More in El Paso and Pastry Chef Julie Adauto will hook you up.

PHOTO CREDITS

Featured image, Pistachio Tree by ennira; Tea Cakes by dreambigphotos; Polverón de Estepa by Marianne Perdomo

Superstars of Northern Italian Cuisine: A Regional Tour

 

Risotto alla milanese, this one decorated with red saffron threads, is one of the most colorful superstars of Northern Italian cuisine; image is "Italian saffron risotto" by kuvona.

Italian food really reflects the people. It reflects like a prism that fragments into regions. ~ Lidia Bastianich

If you’ve grown up believing fabulous plates of pasta, pizza, and bread were the greatest pleasures Italian cooking had to offer, hold on to your hats, dear foodie explorer, there’s MORE.

The foods of Naples and other cities in Southern Italy, from where the majority of Italian families in the U.S. hail, are just the tip of the iceberg.

Or, rather, the tip of the Italian boot.

Outline of Italy, including the Italian "boot," Sardinia, and Sicily, showing the location of the cities of Aosta (Valle d'Aosta), Otranto (Puglia) and Ragusa (Sicily).From the city of Aosta at the top of the Italian boot to Otranto in its heel tip is a distance of over 780 miles. From Otranto to Ragusa on the island of Sicily you’d have to drive another 450 miles.

As you can imagine, there is a world of difference in climate, landscape, and therefore, cuisine, as you travel from south to north. 

Just when you think you’ve gotten a handle on how a “typical” Italian meal is put together ~ with olive oil, pasta, and tangy but meatless marinara at the heart ~ you drive up the road a bit and it all changes.

It is WAY up that road, in the eight regions that comprise Northern Italy, that you’ll find a rich and diverse cuisine where rice, potatoes, and cream sauces play the starring roles. 

Northern Italian cuisine with its emphasis on local products including dairy, corn, rice ~ Italy is Europe’s largest rice producer ~ will surprise you.

So make it a point to sample some Northern Italian cooking at your next opportunity.

For now, whet your appetite with a look at the specialty dishes of each of Northern Italy’s eight regions (listed in clockwise order, starting with Valle d’Aosta in the far northwest): 

  1. Valle d’Aosta
    The richness of Northern Italian cuisine owes as much to Italy's proximity to the surrounding seas and nations as its history as a union of multiple city-states, each with its own unique ways with food.

    Eight of Italy’s 20 regions lay in the area known as “Northern Italy.” Northern Italy ranges from Valle d’Aosta, an alpine valley that borders France and Switzerland to the southernmost portion of Emilia-Romagna, a large region that nearly spans the width of the Italian peninsula, from the Mediterranean to the Adriatic.

  2. Piemonte 
  3. Lombardia
  4. Trentino-Alto Adige
  5. Friuli-Venezia Giulia
  6. Veneto
  7. Emilia-Romagna
  8. Liguria

I expect you’ll find a new favorite of your own among them because every single one of these regional specialties is de-licious. And, by the way, you won’t see a single plate of spaghetti among them.

 

Fonduta con Crostini

Fonduta con crostini is an example of Northern Italian cuisine from Aosta in Valle d'Aosta. It's a fondue made with Fontina, a regional cheese, and milk, butter, and egg yolks; perfect for dipping toasted bread.

From Aosta in Valle d’Aosta. Dip toasted bread into this fondue made with Fontina, a cheese exclusive to the region. The mild taste and fragrant aroma of Fontina cheese have been thrilling Italians and others who appreciate good eating for more than seven centuries.

 

Grissini

Grissini or Italian breadsticks are, perhaps, the most widely eaten creations of Northern Italian cuisine from Torino (Turin) in Piemonte.

From Torino (Turin) in Piemonte. The story of the long, thin breadsticks known as grissini goes like this: Back in the 17th century, the Duke of Savoy, had a tough time digesting regular bread. So a local baker created an especially thin and crunchy breadstick as a cure.

Apparently, those breadsticks did the trick since the duke lived long enough to become King of both Sicily and Sardinia. And within a century’s time, grissini had become popular enough throughout Western Europe for Napoleon Bonaparte to have become a big fan.

Today, you’ll find them around the globe, with a variety of coverings. These include caramelized onions, fresh herbs, and sesame seeds ~ like the grissini pictured here.

 

Risotto alla Milanese

From the stylish Northern Italian city of Milano in Lombardia (Lombardy) comes this risotto alla milanese seasoned with saffron; image is "Italian saffron risotto" by kuvona.

From Milano (Milan) in Lombardia. Rich and flavorful risottos are legend in Lombardy, which is arguably the leading rice-producing area in Europe. The most popular is this risotto alla milanese seasoned with saffron, the fragrant and fire-colored spice that Mediterranean cooks have prized since the time of ancient Romans. 

 

Knödel con lo Speck

Knödel con lo speck or dumplings with speck, a lightly-smoked ham. This superstar of Northern Italian cuisine hails from Trentino-Alto Adige. Image: Knodel con lo speck by comugnero silvana

From Trento in Trentino-Alto Adige. Look no further if you’ve been seeking a new dish that’s both filling and economical. Knödel con lo speck, also called canederli con lo speck is a dish of bread dumplings laced with bits of lightly-smoked ham called speck. This dish is a delicious way to stretch a dollar and put your stale bread to good use.

 

Frico

Frico is an example of Northern Italian cuisine from Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Here you see it done crispy (as cheese crisps) and soft (as a secondo piatto or second course dish, with potato.) Image: Frico by comugnero silvana.

From Trieste in Friuli-Venezia Giulia comes frico. You’ll find it in two versions, “crispy” and “soft,” and the key ingredient in both is well-aged Montasio cheese.

Imagine the crunchiest cheesy snack you could put in a bowl for watching your favorite TV show and you’ve got “crispy” frico. These are cheese crisps you can make by frying Montasio in hot oil. (That’s right. Hit the road, Cheese Doodles.)

No less delicious is “soft” frico. Slow-cook this pancake of cheese melded with potato, butter, and aromatic herbs for a feel-good food guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

 

Zalèti

A dish of zaleti with your morning hot beverage can be a delicately sweet introduction to Northern Italian cuisine.

From Venezia (Venice) in Veneto. These cornflour and raisin cookies get their name from their warm golden color: the word giallo is Italian for yellow and gialleti or “little yellow ones” when spoken in Venetian dialect sounds like zalèti. (The “z” is soft, like a hiss.)

Now then, as to how to enjoy these delicately sweet cookies at home, let me count the ways… for breakfast instead of muffins or toast, as a special treat with tea, or, if you like to dip, try dipping warm zalèti into your hot milk in the morning,  your hot tea at midday and, if you drink wine at the end of your evening meal, you can dip them it that, too. It’s all good.

 

Tagliatelle con Ragù Bolognese

Tagliatelle con Ragù Bolognese, Italy's national dish, originates in Emilia-Romagna. Image: Tagliatelle with ragù bolognese by uckyo.

From Bologna in Emilia-Romagna. Enjoy tagliatelle, an egg pasta typical of Northern Italy, covered with a slow-cooked meat sauce, or ragù. The traditional Bologna-style ragù includes ground beef, tomato purée, vegetables as well as white wine, whole milk and butter (or extra virgin olive oil.)

Ragù Bolognese, the essence of Northern Italian comfort food, is wonderful stuff. So much so that it reigns as the national dish of Italy. (And in a land that has gifted the world with ravioli, lasagna, and pizza, that’s saying something.)

 

Linguine al Pesto

From Genoa in Liguria ~ comes a country-style cuisine where herbs and vegetables are major, as in this dish of linguine with pesto, potatoes, and peas. The image, "Linguine with pesto, potatoes and peas," is by Shariel.

From Genova (Genoa) in Liguria. Maybe it’s no surprise that the Mediterranean port city of Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, is known for its freshest of fresh seafood. Wherever you go in the region is less than two hours away from the sea.

But did you know that aromatic herbs and country-style vegetables are major in Ligurian cuisine as well? Linguine tossed with potatoes, peas, and pesto ~ a basil sauce original to Liguria now savored throughout the world ~ is an excellent example of this flavorful fact.  

Now then, you have before you a world of choices that are beyond tasty.  Fresh seafood, rich risottos, satisfying desserts …! So here’s a question that may be hard for you to answer  (but there’s no way you can go wrong):

In which region would you begin your Northern Italian cuisine tour? Leave a comment below.

PHOTO CREDITS

Fonduta con crostini by alexandra; Grissini ai semi di sesamo by Alessio Orrù; Italian saffron risotto by kuvona;  Knodel con lo speck by comugnero silvana; Frico by comugnero silvana; Tagliatelle with ragù bolognese by uckyo; Linguine with pesto potatoes and peas by Shariel.