Italian Cuisine

But Italian food has a lot more to offer that just the traditional pizza and pasta. The best place to start is with antipasti, which literally means "before the meal". Antipasti can be anything from marinated peppers and chargrilled artichokes to plates of prosciutto and delicious salami.

The purpose of antipasti is to whet your appetite enough to make you hungry for your main meal. Although Italians don't often eat it at home, it's an essential part of any eating-out experience.

Antipasti vegetables are often flavoured with tasty oils and vinegars, which bring out the already rich flavours in the food. They can also be made at home using high-quality olive oil and some dried herbs or chillies. If you decant them into an attractive bottle, they make great gifts for friends as well.

Italian meals are a multi-course affair, which should be enjoyed at a leisurely rate as you relax with a bottle of fine wine. After the antipasti, the primi piatti (first course) is served. This consists of a soup, pasta or rice dish. There are lots of different varieties of pasta available and either fresh or dried makes a fantastic base for a filling meal. Risottos are also popular in Italy and are easy to prepare at home as well (see recipe right). Gnocchi dumplings are eaten as a first course and can be made from potato or even ricotta and spinach rolled into small balls.

Secondi piatti (second course) is normally a small meat or fish dish. After the filling primi piatti, a course of poultry, veal or rabbit is eaten, along with lots of fresh, seasonal seafood.

Contorni, or vegetable dishes, are also served at this time to complement this course. Insalata, or salad, is served as a final course to refresh the diner and cleanse the palate.

Chilled fruit is a popular dessert and sweets such as tiramisu are saved for special occasions or elevenses.

Italian cookery techniques vary from region to region. In recent years, polenta has made an appearance in UK restaurants. It is essentially just cornmeal but can be eaten soft, baked or fried. Traditionally it was regarded as peasant food that was only eaten out of necessity and it is still a staple part of the diet in parts of northern Italy such as the Tuscany region.

Tuscany is renowned for its cucina povera' or peasant cooking. Along the coast, seafood is a staple but inland meat is grilled over open fires and vegetables are cooked using a technique called saltare which involves steaming and then sauting them in a mixture of chilli and garlic. Tuscans love their beans and fava beans feature in many recipes. The region is also famed for its pecorino cheese, or sheep's milk cheese, ranging from ricotta to stronger matured versions.

Calabria is another region famed for its cuisine. Again, most of the ingredients are used because they can't afford imported food in the poorer regions. Tomatoes are a staple here, as is the ubiquitous polenta. Pork is the most popular meat and hot black pepper is often used as seasoning. Each village in Calabria has its own special pasta recipe varying from lasagne to penne dishes.

Bread is an important part of the Italian diet from ciabatta which can easily be bought in the supermarket here, through to sweet breads such as pannetonne that are associated with certain religious holidays.

Pizza has been around for centuries in the form of flatbreads, but in the 18th century vendors who roamed Naples selling flatbreads to the poor are credited with selling the original tomato-based pizza that we know and love today.

Visit your local delicatessen for pesto, antipasti and Italian meats. Or, take the family out for a delicious meal.

Rocket & butternut squash risotto

Serves four

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

black pepper

50g (2oz) butter,

350g (12oz) risotto rice

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 litre (1 3/4pt) hot vegetable stock

3tbsp sherry

1tsp tomato puree, 1 bay leaf

50g (2oz) grated Parmesan cheese

115g (4oz) rocket

1tbsp pine nut kernels, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. In a roasting tin, toss the squash with oil and season. Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning halfway.

2. Meanwhile, heat the garlic and 25g of the butter in a pan. Stir in the rice and cook for two minutes until transparent.

3. Gradually add a little of the hot stock, plus the sherry, tomato puree and bay leaf. Allow the rice to absorb the liquid before gradually pouring in more stock.

4. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender and stock has mostly been used. Stir occasionally.

5. Remove the bay leaf, stir in the remaining butter, most of the grated Parmesan and the rocket and season.

6. Scatter the squash onto rice and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and parmesan.