L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano I talian cuisine is known f o r i t s v a r i e t y , a n d each region is defined b y w h a t m a k e s i t u n i q u e : a s p e c i f i c ingredient, a particular tech- nique, a dish considered a piece of local heritage. Yet, when recipes are looked at more closely, another story starts to show through, a story where traditional recipes from one place can share struc- tures, ingredients, and ideas with others from regions far away. Far from being one the imitation of the other, they are rather cases of parallel solutions to common, simple needs: feeding families, avoid- ing waste, cooking with what was available. Looking at these "hidden c o n n e c t i o n s " d o e s n o t weaken regional identity, on the contrary, it shows how Italian cooking has always been influenced by move- ment, trade and, sometimes, also by having very little in the pantry. From bread-based soups to chickpea street food and borderland pasta, the kitchen becomes a map of u n s p o k e n r e l a t i o n s h i p s between places that are rarely mentioned together… When bread turns into a full dish One of the clearest exam- p l e s o f t h i s s h a r e d l o g i c a p p e a r s i n b r e a d - b a s e d s o u p s . I n V e n e t o , s o p a coàda is a layered dish made with stale bread soaked in m e a t b r o t h , t r a d i t i o n a l l y pigeon, slowly cooked until the bread absorbs all the liq- uid. Often described as a fes- tive dish, its recipe reveals, however, very humble origins, based on the desire to reuse b r e a d , w i t h t h e a d d i t i o n something more decadent like meat broth. In northern Sar- dinia, the zuppa gallurese follows a remarkably similar idea: it is also built in layers, and it combines bread, broth, and cheese, finished in the oven. Despite differences in ingredients – sheep's broth i n s t e a d o f g a m e , c h e e s e instead of meat – the underly- ing concept remains the same: bread is the very foundation of the meal. B o t h d i s h e s d e v e l o p e d independently, fully influ- enced by different landscapes a n d r e s o u r c e s , y e t t h e y answer the same practical question: how to turn leftover bread into something sub- stantial and communal, and this is why their resemblance is not accidental; rather, it reflects a shared culture of food, where waste was unac- ceptable, and cooking a form of careful management of resources. Chickpeas, from North to South If bread reveals one line of c o n n e c t i o n , c h i c k p e a s reveal another. In fact, few ingredients are as widespread in Italian cooking as chick- peas, especially in the form of flour. In Liguria, farinata is a thin baked mixture of chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt; simple and inex- p e n s i v e , i t h a s l o n g b e e n associated with ports, mar- kets, and street food. Just across the border, the same p r e p a r a t i o n r e a p p e a r s a s Nice's (France) socca, a t h i n c h i c k p e a p a n c a k e cooked in large pans and sold hot in the old town and along the port. While socca is today f i r m l y c l a i m e d a s p a r t o f N i ç o i s e f o o d c u l t u r e , i t s structure, ingredients, and c o o k i n g m e t h o d m a k e i t s relationship with Ligurian farinata unmistakable. His- torically, this continuity is a sign of the long-standing c o m m e r c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l links across the Ligurian Sea, where sailors, dockworkers, and merchants moved regu- larly between Italian and P r o v e n ç a l p o r t s . I n t h i s sense, socca does not break t h e I t a l i a n p a t t e r n b u t , rather, it extends it, showing how chickpea-based foods followed maritime routes and adapted across borders just as they did within Italy. Move east and south, and the same base appears under d i f f e r e n t n a m e s : i n T u s - cany, it becomes cecìna or torta di ceci. Still recogniz- able, still simple, but adapted to local tastes and ovens. In Liguria again, the mixture can be set, cut into slices, and fried as panissa, while in Sicily, the idea shifts once more with panelle, chickpea fritters eaten in bread, which are firmly part of Palermo's street food identity. Here again, the ingredi- ents don't change – oven or frying pan, slice or sandwich, home kitchen or street stall, chickpeas move easily across these spaces, and it isn't by chance, if it's true that their spread across Italy has often been linked to port cities, internal migration, and the circulation of workers. The result is a family of recipes t h a t e n d u p f e e l i n g l o c a l e v e r y w h e r e , a n d t h a t a r e clearly related. Pasta at the border Connections become even more interesting where bor- ders are involved, just as in t h e c a s e o f f a r i n a t a a n d socca. In Friuli, cjarsons are a filled pasta associated with Carnia, a mountainous area historically connected to trade routes. Their fillings can include herbs, dried fruit, spices, and sweet elements, combined with savory ingre- dients, for an often-surpris- ing result that mixes sweet and savory. Cjarsons are fre- quently explained through the figure of the cramàrs, i t i n e r a n t m e r c h a n t s w h o t r a v e l l e d a c r o s s A l p i n e regions, bringing back spices and ingredients that filtered into local cooking, with the recipe itself becoming evi- dence of movement and con- nections. A similar pattern appears further west in the Po Valley, not between two countries but between two provinces; tortelli di zucca in Mantua and cappellacci in Ferrara share a pumpkin- based filling, yet each city insists on its own version being the best (and, course, on which created them first). There are some differences, in shape, seasoning and pre- s e n t a t i o n e s p e c i a l l y , a n d their recipe becomes a way of marking identity, even as it reveals how much is shared. Difference without iso- lation What we can learn from these examples is that Italian cuisine is not a collection of isolated traditions, as some culinary historians like to say, but a system built on varia- tion and connections, with similar structures appearing a g a i n a n d a g a i n : b r e a d absorbing broth, legumes turned into filling, quick-to- eat meals, pasta filled not only with what's local, but also with what trade brings to the land. Some details, of course, may change – certain ingredients, names, some of the rituals associated with m a k i n g a n d e a t i n g t h e s e f o o d s – b e c a u s e t h e y a r e more deeply connected with local identity and customs. W e m u s t k e e p c l e a r , t h o u g h , t h a t r e c o g n i z i n g these connections does not flatten regional food cultures; rather, it creates a fascinating culinary and historical dia- logue, while showing how cooks across the country, s o m e t i m e s , m a n a g e d t o reach similar solutions with- out even needing to coordi- nate or conform. Perhaps this is why Italian food feels both so local and familiar wherever one goes, because beneath the surface o f d i f f e r e n c e , t h e r e i s a shared language of necessity, ingenuity, and restraint. And it is there, in these simple correspondences, that Italian cooking reveals one of its most durable strengths. CHIARA D'ALESSIO Farinata has plenty of cousins around Italy and also in France (Photo: Roberto Nencini/Dreamstime) Hidden connections in the Italian kitchen LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES

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