AUTHENTIC ITALIAN GLOSSARY

00 FLOUR: The preferred flour for making pasta or pizza dough. The number on the flour package indicates how finely ground it is, ranging from 1 to 0 to the superfine 00.

AMARETTO COOKIES: These are a type of Italian macaroon flavored with bitter almonds. The classic is Amaretto di Saronno; Saronno is the name of the city near Milano where they are produced.

ARBORIO RICE: An Italian type of short-grain rice used for risotto, named after the town it comes from. I like to use it for my risotto because it is reasonably priced and you can find it almost anywhere.

BRESAOLA: Air-dried cured beef that is aged for at least three months.

CHESTNUT FLOUR: A very sweet flour made from ground chestnuts that’s mostly used in desserts. I like to use it with my pasta and gnocchi and balance its sweetness by mixing it with equal parts all-purpose or 00 flour.

EMMENTAL CHEESE: Yellow, medium-hard cheese typical of Switzerland. It has such a distinguished flavor that even though it’s not Italian it has become an important cheese in my culinary repertoire.

FONTINA CHEESE: Medium-soft cheese with a tangy flavor profile. It can be produced anywhere, but the original is 100 percent made in Italy and produced only in the region of Valle D’Aosta.

GORGONZOLA CHEESE: Italian blue cheese made in the town of Gorgonzola with a characteristic pungent smell and flavor. The traditional version is piccante, which is on the dry side and aged; sweet Gorgonzola is referred to as dolce and has mascarpone added during its production.

GRANA PADANO DOP: See Sidebar.

GRAPPA: Classic Italian after-dinner drink made from the skin, pulp, stems, and seeds leftover from wine production. In our kitchen in Friuli you’d be more likely to find grappa in the cabinet than any other liqueur that’s typically used in desserts.

Wines of Friuli

I always say that great food without great wine isn’t a complete meal. While you are enjoying the recipes from my book, I would like to suggest three of my favorite wines that are uniquely from my region of Friuli Venezia Giulia—a red, a white, and a dessert wine—so you can have a truly authentic and traditional eating experience:

Tocai Friulano: A very well-balanced white wine with notes of apples and wildflowers and a very smooth finish. Perfect with all my appetizers, the lemon-asparagus risotto, and my branzino.

Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso: A full-bodied and very flavorful red wine with strong tannins. Perfect with hearty dishes like my frico and mushroom risotto and meaty dishes like my short ribs and rack of lamb.

Picolit: A very flowery sweet wine with a distinguished flavor. The word picolit means “small” in Friulano, and it characterizes the vine’s unique stalk, which grows just a very small number of grapes and hence small batches of wine, making the wine both a rarity and a delicacy.

Grana Padano DOP

Grana Padano DOP is the king of Italian cheeses, one of the most well-known Italian cheeses in the world. It takes its name from its grainy texture and the valley of Pianura Padana in northern Italy (also called the Po River Valley) where it is produced. Grana Padano is a semi-fat hard cow’s milk cheese; it is cooked and ripened slowly for at least nine months and then, only after passing strict quality tests, is fire-branded with the Grana Padano trademark. The DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta, or Protected Designation of Origin) part of the name is key: Only cheeses produced in the Padana area adhering to the Grana Padano requirements can be called DOP. This assures you that what you are buying is 100 percent made in Italy using superior standards.

When I was tasked to cook with Grana Padano on the show it was almost too good to be true: This Italian, through a crazy stroke of fortune, had last pick on ingredients and was left with … Italian cheese! The Frico (this page) and Pancetta-Wrapped Veal Cutlet (this page) that I cooked in that challenge were made better by the Grana Padano, and this helped me make it into the finals and ultimately win the MasterChef competition. Parmesan is also delicious and can be substituted for my beloved Grana Padano in these recipes if that’s what’s available to you. Just make sure it says made in Italy. There’s no substituting that when it comes to cheese!

MASCARPONE CHEESE: Typical Italian cream cheese often used in desserts. I strongly recommend choosing an imported Italian brand such as Galbani or Polenghi.

MONTASIO CHEESE: The most typical cheese of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, it is a cow’s milk cheese that can be aged for as few as sixty days or as long as eighteen months.

PANCETTA: Italian word for bacon; always made from the pig’s belly.

PROSCIUTTO: Salumi made from the pig’s thigh, either crudo or cotto. Crudo is dry-cured (prosciutto di Parma or San Daniele are the typical types; I like to use San Daniele because it’s made in Friuli, thirty minutes from where I grew up). Prosciutto cotto is the cooked version of prosciutto.

ROBIOLA CHEESE: A very creamy cheese made in the Piedmont region of Italy.

SALUMI: Italian word for cold cuts. When you order un piatto di salumi, you will get a selection of cold cuts such as prosciutto, salame, mortadella, bresaola, and pancetta.

SAN MARZANO TOMATOES: Plum tomatoes produced in the region of Campania; simply the best in the world.

SEMOLINA FLOUR: This is made from durum wheat and often used in bread making; I like to use it for rolling out my pasta dough to keep it from sticking.

SOPRESSA: A type of salame that is aged and flavored in any number of ways. My friends at Sorriso Italian Salumeria on 30th Avenue in Astoria, New York, make many different types: My favorites are fennel and orange, red wine, garlic, and the classic spicy sopressa piccante.

STRACCHINO CHEESE: A very young, creamy cheese typically produced in the Lombardy region of Italy.