Three-course meals

If Italy is known for anything, it’s known for its timeless culinary traditions. Every country has its own food culture and delicacies, and Italy’s is among the most famous. Really, it may not be correct to use the term “Italian cuisine”, when you consider that each region has its own history, recipes and ingredients. However, there is a food “culture” that does prevail throughout Italy.

I’ve had the pleasure of eating regular lunches with R’s family. It started with a weekly Sunday lunch, and now that I am using his office space for its Wi-Fi as I wait for internet in my new home, I’m eating with them almost every day.

Lunch, at least with this group, consists of a few courses and is the biggest meal of the day. At about 1pm or so, we head from his office to his family’s house, where there’s a warm fire going and the table is set.

We almost always start with pasta. I say almost, because the other day we actually had bean soup (served over pieces of toasted bread with extra virgin olive oil poured all over.) Each day, there is a different shape of pasta – one day we might have penne with pesto, the next day we might have spaghetti with a tomato-based sauce.

The first time I ate with them, I said “yes” to a second serving of pasta because I didn’t realize there would be another course. But, here in Italy, the pasta dish is usually a “primo”, first course. I still say “yes” to more pasta every now and then.

The “secondo”, second course, is usually some sort of meat dish and a side of vegetables. Yesterday we had his mother’s gorgeous meatballs with a fine tomato sauce. (I have yet to see Italians eat meatballs along with their pasta like in the United States. Meatballs here are nice and big and delicate, and are a course of their own.)

Just when I think I’m finished, the table is cleared and it’s time for a “dolce”, a sweet. This can be anything, cookies, a small slice of cake (though not too sweet or rich like American cake), or perhaps just a bite of chocolate. We always follow the “dolce” with fresh fruit, whatever’s in season. Right now that would be apples, pears and Clementine oranges. The fresh fruit is followed by coffee, which here is a shot of espresso. Apparently you always follow this order: first the sweet, then the fruit, then the coffee. I never knew that.

We relax for a little while after eating, and I take my seat next to the fireplace and enjoy the warmth.

This may sound like quite a lot of lunch, but the food is so fresh and clean here and the portions are small compared to American portions.  However, with the various courses, it’s still a lot more than what I’m used to eating for lunch, so I’ve omitted dinner in an effort to maintain my weight loss, and in the evening I just have a couple of slices of cheese, some salad, and a glass of wine.

*This post was written for AffordableCallingCards.net, the expat community site where you can also buy calling cards to Italy (got that, relatives?  I’m waiting to hear from you!)  You can click here to read more posts about expat life written by myself and other bloggers.