Italian Recipes

Italian meals traditionally consists of 3 to 4 meals. Meals are focused on spending time with family rather that just satisfying ones hunger. Today, Italian meals are only about one or two courses and the traditional 3 to 4 courses are reserved for special occasions. More popular ones nowadays are their one course meals such as pasta and legumes. A few interesting facts that you may want to familiarize yourself with when fine dining in an Italian restaurant are Italian terms for each course.
Aperitivo:
apéritif usually enjoyed as an appetizer before a large meal, may be Campari, Cinzano, Prosecco, Aperol, Spritz or Vermouth.
Antipasto: literally “before (the) meal”, hot or cold appetizers
Primo: “first course”, usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or soup.
Secondo: “second course”, the main dish, usually fish or meat. Traditionally veal, pork and chicken are most commonly used, at least in the North, though beef has become more popular since World War II and wild game is found, particularly in Tuscany. Fish are generally caught locally.
Contorno: “side dish”, may be a salad or cooked vegetables. A traditional menu features salad along with the main course.
Formaggio e frutta: “cheese and fruits”, the first dessert. Local cheeses may be part of the Antipasto or Contorno as well.
Dolce: “sweet”, such as cakes and cookies
Caffè: coffee
Digestivo: “digestives”, liquors/liqueurs (grappa, amaro, limoncello,sambuca, nocino, sometimes referred to as ammazzacaffè (“coffee killer”)

Tags: 4 course meals, italian terms, traditional