Garlic bread is a common item on the menus of Italian restaurants all across Australia, but what if you were told that it is just ‘not a thing’ in Italy?
Or Chicken Parmigiana? Sounds Italian, right? Well, it’s not, and neither is Chicken Risotto.
These and many other dishes are inventions or adaptations of Italian dishes that have become extremely popular in countries such as Australia or the USA.
SBS Italian explores some of these dishes and their origin, with some considerations by Guy Grossi, celebrity chef and owner of the iconic Italian restaurant Grossi Florentino in Melbourne.
Aussie Fare
Chicken Parmigiana
This quintessential Australian pub meal with an Italian name is not really a dish from Italy. Rather it is an adaptation, a hybrid combining authentic Italian dishes such as Eggplant Parmigiana with Chicken Schnitzel, and has its origin in the US.
It also resembles Italian pizzaiola, where meat is cooked in and topped with tomato sauce.
"It was born in the States and was adopted by Australians to become a pub staple dish," says Grossi. "It can certainly be a very satisfying meal."
Garlic Bread
Chicken parmigiana Source: Flickr/avlxyz CC BY-SA 2.0
Consisting of white bread topped with garlic and olive oil or butter, along with additional herbs, garlic bread is either grilled or broiled to crispy, juicy perfection.
But, if you walk into a restaurant in Italy and look for it on the menu, you simply will not find it.
Chicken pasta or risotto
Garlic Bread Source: Flickr/Haynes CC BY-SA 2.0
Chicken with pasta or arborio rice in a risotto makes for some wonderful comfort food, especially in winter, but in Italy this is not a popular choice.
In fact, Italians rarely mix poultry meat with pasta dishes, and many Italians would shiver at the thought of such a combination.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Chicken Risotto Source: Flickr/alangkelly CC BY-SA 2.0
One of the most popular family meals in Australia, ‘Spag Bol’ can sort of be found in Italy, but not as you would find it in Australia.
Spaghetti is never the preferred type of pasta for a meat sauce in Italy. Rather, Italians prefer pastas that hold the meaty sauces on their surface such as tagliatelle or short pasta.
"If the sauce is cured and prepared properly, it can be a sensational dish, especially if served with tagliatelle and fettuccine," Grossi says.
Spag Bog Source: Flickr/dbgg1979 CC BY 2.0
North American menus
Fettuccine Alfredo
This white sauce pasta dish might be the most popular Italian dish in North America, but it's almost completely unknown in Italy.
Actually invented in Rome at the beginning of the 20th century, Fettucine Alfredo never really caught on in Italy, but it did become hugely popular in the US.
"Pasta Alfredo can be a wonderful dish if done correctly and with high-quality ingredients," says Grossi. "It could be similar to a traditional Cacio e Pepe without black pepper."
Fra Diavolo sauce
Fettuccine Alfredo Source: Flickr/Matt Johnson CC BY 2.0
Literally translating to "Devil monk", Fra Diavolo is a spicy sauce normally combined with pasta and/or seafood, especially lobster.
No such a thing exists in Italy, though. According to The New York Times, it was invented by Italian immigrants in the Big Apple in the first half of the 20th century. It has, however, become one of the leading examples of Italian-American cuisine in North America.
Bologna Stew
Fra Diavolo Source: iStockphoto
A winter dish combining cubes of Bologna meat, onions, potatoes, carrots, cooked in a sauce comprised of ketchup (yes, ketchup) and other spicy condiments, Bologna Stew is a favourite in the Canadian regions of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In spite of the word ‘Bologna’ in its name, few actually consider it an Italian recipe and it is proudly regarded as a traditional Canadian dish.
Bologna Stew Source: Timur Saglambilek from Pexels
Not-so authentic dishes from other cuisines.
Italian is not the only cuisine that has such examples of international adaptations.
Think of Indian cuisine, where many popular ‘curries’ are actually not from the subcontinent, while Chinese restaurants in Australia and around the world also serve up some non-traditional staples.
Chicken Tikka Masala
One of the most popular dishes to be found in Indian restaurants around the globe, Chicken Tikka Masala, is said to have been created in Glasgow, Scotland.
Fortune cookies
Chicken Tikka Masala Source: Flickr/Lance Roggendorff CC BY 2.0
Fortune cookies were popularised by Japanese migrants in California a century ago, and while they are indeed based on traditional Japanese cookies, they have very little to do with Chinese traditions.
Fortune Cookies Source: Pixabay/hannahlouise123 CC0
So, where does tradition begin?
Should we still order these foods, even knowing that they might not be as traditional or authentic as once thought?
Think about Italian cuisine once again. Nothing is more iconic and widely recognised as Italian cuisine than Pizza with tomato and mozzarella cheese, but when did that tradition begin?
The origin of modern pizza can be traced back to the end of the 19th century in Naples, Italy, as an evolution of bread topped with other ingredients – itself an ancient practice.
Yet tomatoes were only introduced to Italy after European colonisation of the Americas. At that time they arrived in Europe completely alien to Italian traditions.
So, was putting tomatoes on then ‘authentic’ pizzas a corruption of traditional Italian food?
"Cuisine is not static and has to evolve," says Grossi, who believes that we must preserve what traditional cuisines on one hand, but also allow for evolutions of style.
"There is a place in the world for all types of dishes but we must ensure that Italian cuisine stays pure," he says. "Then you can develop from that as everything evolves. If a dish is genuinely 'in the Italian spirit' and ingredients are high quality, it can belong to Italian cuisine.”
