Primi Piatti is the first official course in a traditional Italian meal. Pasta, risotto, soup, polenta, and casserole—the “pastabilities” are endless when choosing what primo piatto you want to indulge in. By the time primi rolls around, you're absolutely famished.
Traditional Italian food is not smothered in sauces, tons of cheese and/or “lots of herbs and spices”. Those are American concoctions. Authentic Italian dishes are mostly light, include lots of vegetables, very little cheese (even on pizza) and are very healthy/nutritious.
A typical dinner at an Italian home is usually pasta, meat, and vegetables, and takes place around 8 p.m. Going out for dinner in Italy is a pretty big thing to do, or eat, for that matter: Several courses, wine, and a long time chatting and lingering are all part of the event.
1. Pizza. Though a slab of flat bread served with oil and spices was around long before the unification Italy, there's perhaps no dish that is as common or as representative of the country as the humble pizza.
Typically an Italian meal consists of four courses (starter, first course, main course, and dessert), although this can be stretched to eight courses or more (starter, first course, fish main course, meat main course, cheese, and dessert). Do not feel obligated to eat this many courses.
The most common foods in the Italian diet include pasta, cheese, vegetables, olive oil, meats, and wine. Italians give a lot of importance to fresh ingredients. They use seasonal ingredients to prepare meals. The Italian diet consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and dinner (cena).
The primo: In Italy, pasta is a first course, or primo, served as an appetizer, not as the main event. Soup, rice, and polenta are the other options for the primo. The secondo: The main course is called il secondo, or the second course.
Primi: Primi, or “first dishes,” usually include pasta, risotto (creamy rice) or soup. Pasta, of course, comes in an especially endless variety of shapes, sizes, textures, and sauces.
Breakfast in Italy: what to expect
Homemade breakfast in Italy is usually a straightforward affair. Traditional breakfast drinks in Italian households are coffee, tea and cocoa milk for the kids and the main breakfast foods are bread with butter and jam, biscuits and cereals.
Ideally, lunch includes courses; a primo piattoor first course, like pasta, gnocchi, or rice, a protein, and vegetables. Normally, lunch is Italian's biggest and most sustaining meal of the day.
According to survey data by YouGov and Bertolli, 90% of Italians eat pasta multiple times a week, while only 23% of Americans eat pasta more than once a week. Better yet, about 25% of Italians eat pasta every day, while only 2% of Americans fessed up to eating pasta daily.
Italian-Americans are well known for keeping the pasta sabbath. Every Sunday around 2:00 or 3:00 pm, the whole family (and likely some extra cousins) will sit down for a big pasta meal. This is the way it has been done for most first- and second-generation Italian families.
That said, let's look at Italian mealtimes and customs, starting with breakfast or colazione. As in most places, breakfast can be most any time in the morning. Restaurants will usually serve between 7-11am. Italians will usually get cappuccino with a light choice like a croissant or yogurt.
Italy is known for it's very late meals - lunch is about 1.30pm (earliest!) and dinner depends on the season - it can be as late at 11pm! One of the reasons for such late dinners, is so that the members of the family can wait for each other to come back from work and sit down at the table all together.
Traditional meals in Italy typically contained four or five courses. Especially on weekends, meals are often seen as a time to spend with family and friends rather than simply for sustenance; thus, meals tend to be longer than in other cultures.
A typical Italian lunch consists of a primo (pasta, soup or risotto dish), a secondo (meat or fish-based dish) and a contorno (side dish). Italians love their carbs and enjoy adding freshly grated Parmesan cheese to their dishes. Italians also exhibit a truly incredible talent for reinventing leftovers.