032: Traditional Italian Food — what NOT to do when it comes to Italian food in Italy

There are lots of "rules" when it comes to traditional Italian food. And what you may think would be the same for Italian food in the states can be very different than what you'll find in Italy. Here are 14 things to never do when cooking or eating in Italy.

Note: We base our conversation a lot off this original blog post: http://www.retale.com/blog/culinary-sins-according-proper-italian-chefs/

Topics we cover:

• First, our new sponsor Audible.com. Sign up and get a free book AND a free 30 day trial membership. Just go to www.audiletrial.com/cappelli
• The differences between jams and conserves
• And more on Colpo D'Aria (where I talked about it in this episode): http://www.livingvillacappelli.com/030-italian-cures-for-the-common-cold-fact-v-fiction/

Now, the all important "don'ts" when it comes to traditional Italian food in Italy. 1. Don't add oil to pasta water

Paul and I agree with this one. It's totally not necessary. While your pasta should have salt to flavor the pasta, the oil doesn't serve any purpose while you're boiling it. It will help as a sauce afterward, and maybe slightly as a non-sticking agent, though you should be tossing your pasta with your sauce right away after removing from your boiling water.

Stir your pasta occasionally while it's cooking and your should be OK. Be sure to stir spaghetti and other fine pasta right away when adding to your water to keep it from forming a large spaghetti log.

And have plenty of water in the pot so the pasta can move around.

Paul believes you should add the salt after the water has come to a boil. Steven doesn't necessarily agree. Find out why.

2. Don't ever mix cheese and seafood

This is another one right on the money, except for a key recipe shown below. Never ever add grated cheese to a seafood pasta dish. The restaurant will give you grated cheese if you ask for it, but they'll look at you as barbarian tourist.

The one except I point out for this is Mussels Genovese. Recipe below. NOTE: This is the name the people here in our region of Puglia call this recipe. I'm sure every region is different.

Essentially, as Paul points out, this is like making a frittata, however it's still breaking the rule.

Mussels Genovese Recipe Type: Main Cuisine: Italian Author: Villa Cappelli Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 30 mins A delicious, simple way to enjoy mussels. The amounts and the ingredients here are more estimations. Use your judgement when making. Ingredients

• 2 lbs. of mussels, halved
• 6 Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons grated cheese
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Place the mussels (you only need the half with the actual mussel in it) in a flat bottomed frying pan so the mussels are facing up. Add a bit of water to the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let cook about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile mix your eggs, cheese and parsley in a bowl. Add pepper to taste, but don't add an salt. The cheese and mussels will have enough. When the mussels are ready, pour the eggs over them in the pan, recover, and let cook until the eggs are cooked, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Here is where you would need to used your judgement. You want a thin coasting of the eggs on top of the mussels, but not so much egg that they are completely submerged in a big egg frittata. If you need more, add some more eggs and cheese. And hold back if it looks like you have too much. Use the leftovers for an omelet the next day.
4. Serve and enjoy.

A lot of adding the cheese to a pasta is a habit we've all formed, just wanting to add cheese to pasta before we've even tasted it. However, in this case, the cheese just overpowers the flavor of most delicate seafood and Paul says it's just not "kosher."

There are other exceptions here, but as Paul points out, they really aren't Italian dishes. Do you know an exception we missed? Let us know in the comments!

3. Don't top pasta with chicken

This one's totally right. Those dishes you see being passed off as Italian at the big Italian restaurant chain, well, they aren't very Italian.

We couldn't think of a single pasta dish that even includes chicken. In fact, Italians aren't really big on chicken in general.

And, by the way, there is no such thing as Chicken Parmesan or Chicken Parmigiana here. It doesn't exist.

4. Don't serve bread and butter

Very very true. They may cook with butter up north, but they really don't do the bread and butter ...