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In Italian cooking, the "I Primi" or first course is usually a pasta, risotto or soup. Of course, all of these dishes can be served as main course as well. Pasta is an extraordinary invention that has become a trademark of Italian culture. It is a food that has remained constant through the centuries and has gained worldwide approval. Today, thanks to the knowledge of calories and superfluous fats, pasta has returned like a triumphant queen to our tables. After spaghetti, Italians love rice, particularly in the North of Italy. It is more dominant at today's tables than many other forms of pasta. Rice was brought to Spain from the East by the Arabs some time before the eleventh century; from there, the Aragonese brought it to the south of Italy. Then it began a long march towards more suitable growing areas; moving from Campania into Tuscany. What is the predominant characteristic of rice? It is an energy-giving food, light and very nutritious. There are various types, known as common, semifine, fine and superfine according to the length of the grain, which varies from 5,4 mm to 6,4mm. The common variety is preferred for soups; the semifine for buttered rice, and fine or superfine for risotto. Rice accompanies any kind of main course splendidly, and welcomes all kinds of seasonings. What are the oldest kinds of the first Tuscan course, with their origins in antiquity? Without a doubt, those based on bread, such as bread soup like acquacotta, ribollita pappa al pomodoro and panzanella. These were ingenious ways of using bread, a food that had been known since the Bronze Age - a sacred food full of symbolic meanings. It was a crime or a mortal sin to waste bread or throw it away. The success of these dishes depends largely on the quality of the bread, which nowadays, at least in the major cities, no longer has the consistency it once had. But with patience, it is still possible, particularly in the country areas, to find "real" bread - in other words, "quality"!
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1. Tagliatelle con I Piselli:Egg Noodles with Peas 2. Tagliatelle con gli Asparagi: Egg Noodles with Asparagus 3. Pasta con il Cavolfiore: Pasta with Cauliflower 
1. Minestrone Invernale:Winter Soup of Vegetables 2. Acquacotta: Tuscan "Cooked Water" Soup 
1. Riso con la Zucca:Rice with Butternut Squash 2. Riso agli Spinaci: Rice with Spinach 3. Risotto alla Toscana: Tuscan Risotto   |
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