These 7 Italian dishes to never order in a restaurant, according to native Italian chefs

Italian cuisine is very popular all over the world. It’s about refined cuisine with multiple flavors. In New York, the dishes served in Italian restaurants more often belong to a culinary category known as “Italian-American”. This kitchen focuses on dishes invented by Italian immigrants from ingredients readily available in the United States .”When Italians began immigrating to the United States, most were from poor rural backgrounds and their cuisine was simpler with few ingredients, dishes were for mostly vegetarian and they basically used whatever was available to them.”revealed Gennaro Contaldo.

Author of books and great London chef, he is known for having mentored Jamie Oliver during his training in Italian cuisine. Gennaro Contaldo notably explained that “when Italian immigrants arrived in the United States and saw the abundance of ingredients available to them, the dishes they had learned to cook at home began to move away from “cucina povera” to turn to a richer, often meatier cuisine. But if you want to dine like Italians do in their home country, it’s important to understand that Italian cuisine follows very different rules than its Italian-American counterpart. “The principle of Italian cuisine is freshness. We like to keep the recipes simple and want the customer to taste the ingredients, without hiding them with thick butter and cream,” said Pietro Gallo, executive chef and co-owner of Civico 1845 in San Diego.

Some dishes don’t exist in Italy at all (and therefore play no role in authentic Italian cuisine). These seven dishes are:

Fettuccine Alfredo and marinara sauce

Among the recipes that do not correspond to the original Italian cuisine is fettuccine Alfredo. “For an Italian, fettuccine Alfredo is a big no in the rules!”, said Jacopo Falleni, owner of Nonna in Westlake Village, California. And to continue: “In Italy, pasta dishes aim to remain simple and to let each ingredient shine. But Alfredo is loaded with cream and butter, which is way too heavy. This really misses the point of what Italian pasta is, namely simplicity and elegance. And then there is the chicken: a total disaster! It’s like putting ketchup on risotto. Just why? I wish I could use a hand gesture to show how wrong that is!”

Among these dishes, we also find marinara sauce. If this product is in Italy, the Italian version of marinara bears little resemblance to the American version. “I consider myself an open-minded chef, but when I go out I can’t bear to order American marinara sauce or even make it at home because it usually has a unique sweetness with peppery faux oregano and garlic flavors“, he declared. And continued: “Unlike American marinara sauce, a good tomato sauce [en Italie] is normally a little sour.”

Pizzas with special toppings

As it’s about toppings “creative”, chefs no longer agree with American pizza innovations. “American pizzas have become too numerous. So I recommend sticking to simple ingredients.”, said Chef Gaeta. Pineapple is a concrete example.

It’s a specific American pizza topping that Italian chefs don’t like. “Pineapple doesn’t go on pizza. It is a fruit that does not go well with Italian flavors. It’s too strong and the finale will cover most delicate flavors of other ingredients“said Matteo Venini, executive chef and co-owner of Stellina Pizzeria in Washington, D.C.

Spaghetti with meatballs and chicken pasta

It’s hard for many Americans to recognize that spaghetti and meatballs are frowned upon by real Italian chefs: “One Americanized Italian dish I would avoid is spaghetti with meatballs. In Italy, meatballs are usually served on their own, perhaps with bread or a salad, but never over spaghetti. The combination is typically American, satisfying the desire for hearty, protein-rich meals. Although it is popular and can be comforting, This is something I wouldn’t cook or orders because it lacks the authenticity and balance of flavors that traditional Italian cuisine provides.said the leader.

According to chefs, restaurants “Italians” in the United States incorporate chicken into dishes where it has no place. This is the case for chicken pasta for example. You will never find chicken parmesan in a restaurant in Italy. For these last ones, it is an Americanized version of the “Parmigiana di melanzane” or eggplant parmesan. Italian-American restaurants love it too “add chicken to a pasta dish that already contains many components“said Stefano Carniato, the chef and owner of Piola restaurants in Miami. “Pasta al pomodoro with fresh basil and tomato is sublime and requires nothing else. Less is always more”he clarified.

Garlic bread and Italian dressing

Italian bread toasted in the oven after being brushed with butter, garlic and herbs is a staple of Italian-American cuisinee and one of the leaders explained that “as for the garlic bread, it is heavy and sickly and has absolutely nothing to do with the delicate bruschetta, which is served in Italy with a light rub of garlic drizzled with extra virgin olive oil on toasted slices of bread.

As for Italian dressing, it is available at the supermarket. However, Maria Liberati, author of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, insists that these packaged bottled dressings are not like the dressings traditionally served on Italian salads. “In Italy, dressing for salads is usually made only from extra virgin olive oil and wine or balsamic vinegar”, she concluded.

A graduate of CELSA, I have always been passionate about journalism since my early childhood. Originally from the South of France, I left Nice, my hometown, to come live in…