Italian cuisine

Italian cooking rests on a short list of ingredients handled precisely: pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, cheese and time.

Italian cooking is regional first and national second: what Rome calls classic is made differently in Milan and from other ingredients in the south. Most dishes only have one correct version inside their own province.

What they share is a short ingredient list and no improvisation on it. Carbonara without cream and a risotto stirred to the end are not pedantry — they are the difference between the dish and an imitation of it.