Table of Contents:
PASTA.
SOUP.
RICE AND POTATO.
Sometimes, people refer to this as the pasta course. This reference is not 100% accurate.
Specifically, it is the first course and can be a soup, pasta, rice, or another similar item.
From the antipasto course, we add some more “heft” to this course. (a.k.a. carbs).
It consists of hot food and is usually a non-meat dish. The seafood or meat will come in the next course.
Primo Pasta.
With pasta, the type (shape) of the noodle, cooking time, and indeed the sauce pairings are serious business.
Some of the traditional Primo dishes are:
- Spaghetti alla Carbonara. – A classic dish you will find on many a Roman menu. Start with guanciale (pork cheek) or pancetta (Italian bacon). Then add eggs, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pepper. Simple ingredients, but mixing them just right is an art.
- Bucatini all’ Amatriciana. – Another traditional recipe that also relies on the perfect mixing of the ingredients. In this case, the sauce starts with guanciale and red onion. The addition of tomato paste and chili flakes leads to a creamy tomato sauce. For this reason, the Bucatini noodles are thick, spaghetti-like pasta with a hole (buca). They require perfect al-dente cooking.
- Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe. – Also simple in ingredients but tricky in the mixing. Comfort food in Rome is their version of pasta and cheese, but not from a box. The pasta is spaghetti. ‘Cacio’ is pecorino romano, and ‘pepe’ is pepper. Sounds simple, no? But, you can have it at five different restaurants and get five different tastes.
Primo Soups.
In this case, you may hear the term minestre instead of primi (primo). Minestre often refers to first courses that are liquid, such as soup (Zuppa).
Smooth Soups.
- Vellutata – These are often soup with a cream and vegetable base. For example, the Vellutata di cavolfiore is Cream of Cauliflower Soup.
- Stracciatella alla Romana. – Stracciare means “to shred.” This soup is an Italian egg drop soup. Both the stringy egg looking like it is in shreds and shreds of a spinach leaf.
Chunky Vegetable Soups with Pasta.
- Minestrone – is a thick soup of vegetables, often with the addition of pasta, rice, or both. Typical ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, and tomatoes.
- Ribollita – A peasant recipe from Tuscany that means to reboil. The main ingredients include leftover bread, cannellini beans, cabbage, and the least expensive vegetables (carrot, celery, potato, and onion).
- Tortellini in brodo (broth) – is also a peasant recipe using what is available. It is pasta in beef or chicken broth.
- Zuppa Imperiale – is a classic Bolognese soup. Starting with a luxurious poultry stock, they add semolina, eggs, Parmesan, and Mortadella cheeses.
Rice & Potato.
Although you can find rice dishes anywhere in Italy, they are more common in Northern Italy.
They are predominantly in the Piedmont, Lombardia, and Veneto regions, where they grow the rice.
Italian rice is a short barrel and comes in four categories or sizes: comune, semifino, fino, and superfino.
Risotto.
When they prepare it correctly, it may be the richest and tastiest dish you ever eat.
Somewhere between rice and a heavy cream sauce, it is a celebration of the best local ingredients.
- Milan will argue they have the best. Their risotto alla Milanese with saffron is similar to paella, but you be the judge. Like most dishes, risotto reflects what is available locally. Near the coast, you are apt to find more seafood ingredients. In the areas where they harvest truffles or porcini mushrooms…
Riso.
In general, this pretty much refers to all other rice dishes not using risotto (superfino) rice.
- Suppli is delicious, crispy, balls of rice with a meat sauce and mozzarella cheese filling, and crunchy breadcrumb coating. Conversely, Arancini is the name of similar rice balls in other parts of Italy.
Potato.
- Gnocchi alla Romana. – Potato dumplings with a butter and parmesan twist. Flour and potato, what could go wrong? Once again, it is in the mixing. When it is right, it is like biting into a cloud of potato, butter, and cheese.
Primo Summary.
In conclusion, this is a high carb course, but it is often a small portion.
Think dinner salad plate, not entree size plate.
If you keep portions small, you can have an incredible “tasting” meal.