Every time I go to Italy, there are new discoveries. One thing that never changes is the generosity of the people, the beautiful countryside, conservation practices embedded in their everyday life, and of course, the food!
This was my husband’s and my sixth trip to Italy—our second organized by this particular vegan group. Two years ago, Miyoko Schinner was with our group. This year, Chef Tanya Petrovna was a part of our group. You may recognize her name, as she is the founder of the Native Foods Restaurants. She sold the restaurants in 2009 and currently owns Chef Tanya’s Kitchen in Palm Desert and in Palm Springs, California. As always, food was the center of the plate on this trip.
If you’re not accustomed to dining in Italy, you must remind yourself to decompress when you go because nothing happens fast when it comes to dining in Italy. Dining is a leisure, social activity. Italians don’t sit down for dinner until around 8:00 or 9:00 PM. It is not unusual to be seated at your table for 10 minutes before a waiter hands you a menu. This is not poor service—it is how it is done. Menus are broken down into courses: appetizers (bruschetta, grilled vegetables, meats, cheeses), primi (pasta, risotto, soups), secondi (meat, fish), contorni (side dishes: French fries, grilled vegetables, beans, salads), dolci (desserts: fruit, sorbet, gelato, tarts), and finally caffe (expresso). Sometimes one or two vegan options will be listed in the “secondi” section of the menu. As you can see, it is easy to order vegan with selections offered in the appetizer, primi, contorni, and sometimes dolci sections of the menu. It is not expected of you to order from every course. Later, after you are seated and given a menu, the waiter will come for your drink order. Then the waiter will return to take your food order. It could be 35 minutes after you sit down before the appetizer arrives. While dining, if you need something or are ready for the check, you will need to look for your waiter and flag him down. He will not disturb you otherwise. This is why dinner in Italy can be 2 to 2 1/2 hours long. Restaurants are not eager to “turn tables” to maximize revenue. You do not feel obligated to eat and leave. You are there for the evening. In fact, it is considered rude to eat quickly and leave. Slow down. Enjoy the company of others with you. Savor the food.
I was in a hurry to leave the restaurant one evening. We were in Radda, Chianti in the Tuscany region of Italy. My husband was not feeling well, so he left after completing his meal. I flagged the waiter down for the check and he acknowledged me. I was ready to leave because the sun was setting. The skies are a beautiful orange color each night as the sun sets in Tuscany, and I did not want to miss it. My waiter then seated guests. He took drink orders from another table. He brought out appetizers to another table. I signaled him again, and out of desperation to get the check as he passed, I gently said, “I am missing the sunset.” The sunset extravaganza was happening, and I was missing it! He cleared a table, went in the kitchen, and finally I stood up beside my table in this small restaurant which was totally rude, but I did not want to miss the sunset. About three minutes later I was given the check, I paid, and I was out of there in time to see the most beautiful sunset. That’s just how things work when dining in Italy. You cannot rush.
One new discovery I had was allergen labeling on menus. In 2016, the European Parliament and the European Council required food preparers, including restaurants, hotels, caterers, and nursing homes to provide, in writing, either on the menu or on a separate document, any of 14 designated allergens present in each food item offered. The 14 allergens are celery, grains containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, the legume lupin, milk, mollusks, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and tree nuts.
This tells me several things.
- Countries in the European Union are concerned enough about the health of their people to list allergens.
- The people who make the food actually know what is in the food they are offering. Nearly everything in Italy is made from scratch. Sauces, salad dressings, pastries, and desserts are either made in the establishment or, if not, they know the person who made them.
- Providing allergen information takes away any uncertainty for the consumer of the possibility of an allergen unknowingly being conspicuously present in a food.
- A vegan doesn’t have to ask if there is any animal product used in preparing the dish. It is all there for you to see.
Such care and respect for food! At Be Bop Ristorante in Milan, the pizza section of the menu was introduced with the following, “All our pizza crusts are made from GM-free certified soft white wheat, whole wheat soy, and wheat germ, ingredients with high yields of protein, minerals, vitamins, and soy lecithin. Slow rising and free of animal fats, our pizza base is thin, crunchy, low calorie, and easy to digest.” What can I say? Just lovely.
Vegetables in Italy are not just a side dish or an afterthought. Eggplant, artichokes, tomatoes, zucchini, and other squashes can be stuffed and eaten as a main dish. Creamy vegan risottos may include mushrooms, artichokes, or Swiss chard. Lentil and bean dishes are seen containing greens, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. Pastas are filled with spinach and freshly made vegan ricotta. Carrots, celery, beans, mushrooms, artichokes, zucchini, peas, eggplant, and more can be a part of a tomato sauce. Figs and fresh fruit is a common dessert.
There are larger grocery stores, but the grocery stores we visited in Italy were about the size of a Walgreens store here in the United States. It’s amazing how small a grocery store can be and still have everything you need when there are hardly any processed food items. Instead of rows of potato chips, yogurts, breakfast cereals, or freezers full of pre-made dinners and snacks, you may have just three or four options of these items to choose from. The freezers had basic frozen vegetables, 3-4 kinds of frozen pizza, and some dinners to stick in the oven. No international cuisine items were seen, although they are available in larger grocery stores. A majority of the meat and cheeses were in display cases where an employee was there to get you exactly what you wanted and could answer questions. Coolers had milk, cheeses, freshly made pasta and sauce, yogurt, and butter.
Rather than having fruits and vegetables imported from long distances, Italians pride themselves on eating seasonally when the fruits and vegetables in the region are at their peak for freshness and flavor. I saw lemons (they are humungous!), cherries, leeks, artichokes, zucchinis and zucchini flowers, asparagus and peas, and of course tomatoes in the grocery stores. Very little produce is packaged. Freshly picked vegetables and fruits from nearby fields were beautifully displayed. People bring their own bags and pack their own groceries at the checkout. If you don’t have a bag, you will be asked if you want a bag. All disposable bags are biodegradable, as plastic bags are banned. I bought some cherry tomatoes on the vine and took them to my room to snack on. Nothing beats the burst of flavor in your mouth as you bite into a flavorful cherry tomato!
I find it remarkable that one of the most beloved cuisines in the world approaches food so simply. It teaches us that using local, seasonal, unaltered ingredients and preparing them simply can result in a most amazing meal.
