I had made up my mind this time, seriously. About? About me trying something new in Italian cuisine. So, very unusual of me that I myself couldn’t believe it and neither could my friends when I told them that I did not opt for my favourite dishes. I was so done with the usual pasta, pizza and risotto.
So, here’s what I tried during my last visit to an Italian restaurant.
Panzenella
Panzenella is a classic Italian colourful salad with veggies and, quite surprisingly, this salad also has bread in it. It is great for the summers as it is light, yet filling. Interestingly, the Italian version uses soaked, stale bread. Here, we use toasted bread with crushed garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes and coarsely shredded basil leaves thrown in. A red wine vinegar-based dressing, with the must-have olive oil is then drizzled over it. The Panzenella salad was indeed quite a change from the usual fixed orderings.
Caprese Salad with Pesto Sauce
Italians’ love for tomatoes is quite evident. The Caprese Salad is a salad made of fresh, juicy tomato slices and mozzarella roundels with crushed basil leaves and pepper powder sprinkled on it. My order arrived with toasted bread and I went ahead with requesting them for Pesto sauce. I did grab eyeballs, as some saw me making the Caprese Salad with Pesto Sauce and slathering a little of the Pesto sauce onto the bread and placing the salad mixture on it. What they don’t know is, how much I relished eating my own creation and that too at a restaurant!
Calzone
I first got to know of a Calzone from Domino’s and I thought it’s some sort of healthy recipe. But the truth is that, a Calzone is a baked, folded pizza with ham, salami, vegetables and of course mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan cheeses as stuffing. Well, I had the veggie version of the calzone, this time with spinach and mushrooms. The cover of this baked dish was flaky and the stuffing was lightly flavoured and had paneer too. So, I ended up eating a pizza, in the form of a Calzone. Reminded me of an oversized gujiya (an Indian pastry) with a savoury filling.
Focaccia Bread
The aroma of a warm Focaccia Bread was indeed appetising. This thick but soft bread can be had by itself too. My Focaccia Bread arrived with olive and pepper, a fine balance of flavours and the smart me, used the Pesto sauce to dip the aromatic bread in it. Now I know, there are other versions of the bread to try such as that made in Liguria and Genoa and the way it’s had in the northeastern and northwestern parts of Italy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Italian fare and went home happy.
Comentarios