The Italian Table - Italy - page 1844

Tutti a Tavola
'Everyone to the table!' Traffic lights are merely suggestions and queues are fine ideas in
theory, but this is one command every Italian heeds without question. To disobey would be
unthinkable - what, you're going to eat your pasta cold? And insult the cook? Even anarch-
ists wouldn't dream of it.
You never really know Italians until you've broken a crusty loaf of pagnotta with them -
and once you've arrived in Italy, jump at any opportunity to do just that.
Fifty years ago, Italy's Domus magazine dispatched journalists nationwide to collect Italy's best
regional recipes. The result is Italy's food bible, The Silver Spoon, now available in English from
Phaidon (2005).
Morning Essentials
In Italy, colazione (breakfast) is a minimalist affair. Eggs, pancakes, ham, sausage, toast
and orange juice are only likely to appear at weekend brrrunch (pronounced with the rolled
Italian r ), an American import now appearing at trendy urban eateries. Expect to pay up-
wards of €20 to graze a buffet of hot dishes, cold cuts, pastries and fresh fruit, usually in-
cluding your choice of coffee, juice or cocktail.
Italy's breakfast staple is caffè (coffee). Scalding-hot espresso, cappuccino (espresso
with a good dollop of foamed milk) or caffè latte - the hot, milky espresso beverage Star-
bucks mistakenly calls a latte, which will get you a glass of milk in Italy. An alternative
beverage is orzo, a slightly nutty, noncaffeinated roasted-barley beverage that looks like co-
coa.
With a tazza (cup) in one hand, use the other for that most Italian of breakfast foods - a
pastry. Some especially promising options include the following:
» Cornetto The Italian take on the French croissant is usually smaller, lighter, less buttery and slightly sweet,
with an orange-rind glaze brushed on top. Fillings might include cioccolato (chocolate), cioccolato bianco
(white chocolate), crema (custard) or varying flavours of marmelata (jam).
» Crostata The Italian breakfast tart with a dense, buttery crust is filled with your choice of fruit jam, such as
amarena (sour cherry), albicocca (apricot) or frutti di bosco (wild berry). You may have to buy an entire tart
instead of a single slice, but you won't be sorry.
» Doughnuts Homer Simpson would approve of the ciambella ( also called by its German name, krapfen),
the classic fried-dough treat rolled in granulated sugar and sometimes filled with jam or custard. Join the line