Bruschetta Across Italy
In Italy, a traditional appetizer is bruschetta, typically eaten before dinner, and personally one of my favorite antipastos. Most recipes, including my mother's, call for diced tomato, white onion, and poached garlic atop a crostini, a lightly toasted bread. It's finished off with a drizzle of sweet balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some Parmesan or Romano cheese. It ties together all the staple ingredients of Italian cuisine into one, light and delicious finger food.
Traveling and tasting our way across Italy, bruschetta became a common starter for our group at dinner, or for a light snack at lunch. However, depending on where we were and what type of eatery we were at, the bruschetta experience was different every time. It seemed the fancier the ristorante, the better the bruschetta (pronounced like 'brew-shce-ta'). Usually the antipasto is served toasted and warm, and if the restaurant is very traditional, will offer some of their fine olive oil to drizzle over the bruschetta as well.
In Venice, at a small restaurant—what seemed to be family owned and operated—the bruschetta had its own unique taste; sprinkled on top was a dash of cilantro, an uncommon spice here in Italy, but a common spice used to add to fish and other seafood. Venice is widely known for its seafood, a natural given its proximity to the sea, and this small restaurant had put their own twist on the bruschetta offering a one-of-a-kind, authentic taste.
As our group traveled farther down the Apennines, a mountain range stemming off the Alps and typically referred to as the “backbone of Italy”, the bruschetta, oddly, became less familiar to me. During a night out in Florence, our group stopped again at a small restaurant. Being very pleased with the bruschetta we've had thus far, we again ordered it. To our dismay, it wasn't at all what we expected; the bread was very hard and less light and crunchy like the bruschetta aforementioned. Also, it was cold! The tomatoes were cut much larger and was only topped with a drizzle of olive oil. Even when Parmesan cheese was added and a little white balsamic, it didn't do justice to the antipasto.
I dared to ask myself why the appetizer had suddenly taken a decline in quality.
Venice offered a more unique cuisine all around, whereas Florence offered the authentic Italian many would expect, such as gnocchi, lasagna, and other pastas and meats. Since these were the dishes the city capitalized on, their antipastos which lacked importance compared to these, lacked in satisfaction as well. In Venice, however, the city is known for more seafood and light pastas and antipastos, putting a greater emphasis on their bruschetta. This is truly an untested theory that I would be happy to explore when I return to Italy; it may have just been the restaurant itself.
Our travels ended in Rome, and here was where we could treat our taste buds to one final dinner out on the town. We were posed with the question on whether we should stray from the wavering quality of the bruschetta and expand our tastes to other antipastos, or, dare to try it one last time since it had become such a tradition for our group to have. Undaunted, we ordered the bruschetta, and to our pleasure, it turned out to be one of the best—the crostini was warm and crunchy, and the flavors of the tomato and garlic was heightened by the quality of the olive oil that was atop. Here in Rome, the heart of Italy, I had the opportunity to try some of the best bruschetta I’ve ever had, bringing back smells, tastes, and memories of home.
When all is said and done, traditions of Italian cuisine can change just as easily as our decisions on what to order or where we choose to dine. Putting a definition on how an antipasto like bruschetta, or even the meal itself, should be made is difficult. Depending on the location, the type of eatery, and of course the family preparing it, Italian meals can vary in quality and taste. Also, Italian in America, made by either ethnic or non-ethnic Italians, can cause the recipe to go through many changes, not to mention the transition of that recipe from Italy over the Atlantic Ocean! Nonetheless, the culinary experience is an experience I won't soon forget, and it's taught me a valuable lesson about food; although some ingredients may change along the way, traditionally the staple ingredients, the soul of the food, remains the same.
-Kimberly Maro
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