It's a firm favourite up and down the country, but if you're about to enjoy a meal at your local Italian restaurant, there are a few dishes you should be wary of, according to top chefs.
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you → enjoy → chefs
For those looking for a fresh and authentic experience, the likes of chicken in pasta, carbonara made with cream and even a much-loved side of garlic bread should be avoided.
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likes → look → bread
Head chef at The Franklin in Knightsbridge, Roberto Roncolato, who grew up near Verona and trained in Michelin-starred kitchens, insisted Italian food is all about 'great ingredients treated simply'.
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food → grow → ingredients
Sharing the shortcuts to watch out for, he told The Daily Mail: 'There's nothing wrong with a chef putting a creative twist on a dish, but there's a big difference between reinventing a classic and faking one.'
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chef → share → one
From pizzas overloaded with ingredients to quick risottos, these are the tasty-sounding dishes some of the top Italian chefs in the UK believe could actually make you regret your menu choice and leave you dissatisfied...
It's a firm favourite up and down the country, but if you're about to enjoy a meal at your local Italian restaurant, there's a few dishes you should be wary of, according to top chefs
Chicken on pasta
'Italians never put chicken with pasta.
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Italians → overload → pasta
Chicken is a course of its own,' said Roberto who is also head chef at The Pelham in South Kensington, both part of the Italian-owned Starhotels Collezione.
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who → say → Collezione
'Seeing it in a creamy penne usually means the menu is built around what's cheap and easy, not tradition.
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what → see → tradition
You won't find it in Bologna.
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You → find → Bologna
There, ragù is slow-cooked for hours and served with fresh egg tagliatelle, which holds the sauce.
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which → cook → sauce
'If spaghetti alla bolognese is on the menu, the kitchen, most likely, is cooking for tourists, not Italians,' insisted Roberto.
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Roberto → cook → tourists
The creaminess comes from technique, not cream.
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creaminess → come → technique
'Cream is often a shortcut, or a sign the sauce was made in a batch earlier, and we don't use shortcuts,' explained the chef.
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chef → make → shortcuts
It's a side dish you can't go wrong with when serving up homemade Italian for your loved ones - and yet, you shouldn't find it on the menu at a good Italian restaurant, insisted Roberto.
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Roberto → go → restaurant
He said: 'It isn't really Italian and is very often frozen.
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It → say → ?
'
Risotto that arrives in five minutes
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that → arrive → minutes
It's a family favourite, but if your risotto is arriving within five or ten minutes, there's a problem.
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risotto → arrive → minutes
The chef explained: 'A proper risotto takes around 18 minutes, stirred to order.
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risotto → explain → minutes
'If it's on your table almost instantly, it was pre-cooked earlier and finished off.
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it → pre → table
If the menu warns you it will take a while, that's a good sign.
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that → warn → while
Roberto warned: 'If there are 60 dishes, they can't all be fresh.
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they → warn → ?
A short, seasonal menu is the sign of a kitchen cooking from scratch.
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menu → cook → scratch
Diego Reali, owner and head chef at Stefania, in London, who grew up in Rome, agreed.
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who → grow → Rome
He said: 'If a small restaurant offers dozens of pasta dishes, pizzas, meat, fish and every Italian specialty imaginable, I would ask how everything is prepared and stored.
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everything → say → dishes
A focused menu with seasonal changes often suggests greater attention to ingredients and consistency.
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menu → suggest → ingredients
'
Pizza
'Toppings Italians would never recognise - like BBQ chicken - usually hide poor dough and poor ingredients,' explained Roberto.
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Roberto → recognise → dough
Diego also warned against pizzas with too many toppings, explaining: 'A pizza overloaded with ingredients can hide the quality of the dough and the balance of flavours.
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pizza → warn → flavours
'Be careful with seafood pasta that is overcooked or swimming in sauce,' insisted Diego.
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Diego → swim → sauce
'Seafood should taste of the sea, not be overwhelmed by garlic, cream or heavy sauces.
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Seafood → taste → garlic
'Look for dishes where the fish or shellfish is cooked properly and the ingredients complement one another.'
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ingredients → look → one
The Aporia
