Understanding the concept of Foccacia as a part of Italian cuisine (Jim Doyle)

I thought I had seen it all until I encountered their cuisine. Before my visit to Italy I had been relegated to simply reading about how good Italian cuisine was and seeing it in the movies. On my visit to Italy I was therefore keen to try and understand what the fuss was about anyway. One of the people I was with in Italy introduced me to Foccacia and I have to admit, ever since then I have never really been able to find anything better tasting. I therefore embarked on a mission to find out how this wonderful bread was made and how it became a part of the Italian culture from the start.

The word Foccacia actually has its origins from the Latin word 'focus' which simply means "hearth, place for baking". In the Roman days, Panis Focacius was a kind of flat bread that was baked on the hearth. It is thought that the recipe for this bread was actually thought out by the Greeks. However, many people associate the recipe with the Ligurian cuisine. Over time, it became apparent that the knowledge of the recipe spread and many people began to take to making this bread. A variation in the ingredients meant that as people moved from one place to another they would probably come across different recipes but all leading to a similar outcome.

Since there were many little towns on the coast of Liguria, it emerged that each town had a different manner of making the Foccacia based on the ingredients that were available to them. In some places, the bread was even considered to be some kind of cake. In some places it had with more softness owing to the oil and in other places it had biscuit-like hardness because of the Camogli. There were actually some places where the ingredients were totally different from the original recipe and the similarities with the original bread were very minimal.

I actually realized that in places like Genoa and Recco, the recipe for this bread is so different but the name is almost the same. The Foccacia that is made in these towns has a filling of cheese usually sandwiched between two layers of the dough that is almost paper-thin. There are parts of North Western Italy where the recipe for the preparation of this bread entails sprinkling of sugar onto the base of the bread. Also, there is usually an addition of honey, raisins and a shot of other ingredients that are sweet.

I learnt that across the whole of Italy, there are various formats in which the Foccacia exists and some of the various types include Barese which is found in places like Taranto, Brindisi, Bari and Lecce. There is also Alla Genovese which is very popular in Genoa and then there is Alla Barese which is mostly from the area of Bari.

If you want to find more interesting recipes such as the one for focaccia, then you can consider a visit to this website.

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An Authentic Italian Lasagna Recipe (rajiv tiwari)

An authentic lasagna recipe is hard to come by. Try out this recipe in your own kitchen and see how simple it is!

Ingredients:

* 800 g of canned tomato puree
* 400 g chicken mince
* 3 chicken sausages
* ? carrot, chopped finely
* ? celery stalk, chopped finely
* ? onion, chopped finely
* 400 ml of water
* 2 tablespoon of oil
* A glass of red wine
* 1 litre milk
* 30gr of butter
* 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* Salt to taste
* Pepper to taste
* 300 g of mozzarella
* 150 g of grated parmesan
* 9 lasagna noodles

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add in the veggies for the lasagna. Allow it to cook for a few minutes.

2. Add in the minced chicken and sausages, constantly stirring until brown.

3. Stir in a glass of red wine and let it reduce to give the lasagna flavour.

4. Pour in the tomato puree and the water and mix well. Season with the salt and pepper and let it cook for around 2 hours on a low flame. Make sure the sauce doesn't burn and add water if required for the lasagna sauce.

5. Make a roux by melting the butter in a pan with the flour.

6. Transfer the roux to a separate bowl. Pour boiling hot milk on the roux while stirring to make the mixture melt.

7. Pour the milk back into the, add salt and bring it again to a boil again while stirring. Boil for the lasagna recipe till it's a thick creamy sauce.

8. Remove from the stove and cover tightly so that it doesn't dry out.

9. Start making the layers for the lasagna before you out it in to bake. Make the first layer by spreading a spoonful of tomato and white sauce right at the bottom.

10. Add a layer of the lasagna noodles on top to cover the sauces. Add another thin layer of the tomato sauce and white sauce, and then sprinkle some of the parmesan on top. Add a little mozzarella cheese as well. Keep layering all the components and repeating the steps for the lasagna. End with a layer of the noodles right on top with some cheese.

11. Cook the lasagna in the oven at 200?C for just under an hour till the cheese is nice and bubbly on top and slightly brown.

12. Your lasagna recipe is ready for everyone to enjoy!

Rajiv Tiwari is an out and out gourmet whose love of food has made him travel to all top food destinations. In this bouquet of articles Rajiv discusses some quick tips on food recipes, and shows us how you can make people enchanted with lipsmacking food recipes. authentic lasagna recipe, the lasagna flavour

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