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QUADRUCCI – Stuffed pasta squares that are added to soups, or clear broth.

QUAGLIA – Quail. A popular small, wild game bird that is usually roasted or grilled.

QUINQUINELLE – Quenelles. Dumplings commonly made from a mild fish like pike, which are bound together with egg whites and seasonings.

PAGLIA E FIENO – Translates as “Straw and Hay.” This is a mix of green spinach pasta and yellow egg tagliatelle or tagliolini, commonly sauced with cream, ham and peas. A Tuscan specialty.

PAGNOTTA – A large round loaf of bread.

PALLIARD – Thinly pounded slices of meat, often veal, chicken or beef.

PALOMBO – Dogfish. Commonly stewed or used in soups.

PANE AL LATTE – A light, spongy, cake-like type of bread.

PAN BIGIO – “Gray bread.” Coarse gray-colored bread made of unrefined flour.

PANCETTA - Unsmoked bacon made from pork belly and then cured in salt and spices giving it a mild flavor. It can be eaten raw as an antipasto, but is usually cut into strips and fried to flavor many Italian dishes.

PAN CON UVA – Raisin bread.

PAN DI RAMERINO – Bread flavored with rosemary, a Tuscan specialty.

PAN DI SPAGNA – Sponge cake. Used in many Italian desserts such as Cassata, and Zuppa Inglese.

PANE GRATTUGIATO – Bread Crumbs.

PANETTONE – A tall, fat cylindrical egg-rich cake studded with candied fruit and served traditionally at Christmas and Easter. A specialty of Lombardy.

PANFORTE – A dense, cake filled with dried fruits, nuts and spices that is a specialty of Tuscany at Christmas.

PANINO – A bread roll, generally made for sandwiches.

PANNA – Heavy Cream. Used in sauces and deserts. The most famous sauce using cream is Fettuccine Alfredo.

PAPPARADELLE – A favorite in Tuscany, this pasta consists of long ribbons of fresh pasta about 1 inch wide.

PARMIGIANO REGGIANO – Parmesan. One of the best known Italian cheeses which is made in a strctly regulated fashion around the Parma area. Parmesan is a dry cheese, and has a mild flavor. It can be eaten on it’s own, or grated and used in many dishes in an Italian kitchen, particulary to top a finished pasta dish.

PASSATA – Purée of Tomato. Also used to make sauces. If you pass chopped or whole tomatoes through a food mill or blend them you will get passata.

PASSATELLI – A traditional first course in the neighboring regions of Romagna and the Marche, passatelli were named because they are passed through a special iron that looks like a slotted spoon mounted on two horizontal handles. In Romagna, the dough is made with fresh bread crumbs, eggs, Parmigiano, and a grating of nutmeg and lemon zest; beef marrow can be used to make passatelli particularly rich. In the Marche, passatelli include ground beef, and the lemon is omitted.

PASTA FROLLA – Short pastry used in baking both sweet and savory dishes.

PASTA GRATTUGIATA – Pasta dough that has been dried and then grated into very small grains, and cooked as couscous or served in broth.

PASTA SFOGLIA – Puff Pastry. Also called millefoglie.

PASTA VERDE – Green Pasta, most commonly made with chopped or pureed spinach.

PASTELLA – A basic batter used for deep frying, consisting of flour and water, and sometimes eggs.

PASTINA – Any tiny dried pasta most commonly used in soups, as for Pastina in Brodo.

PATATE – Potato. Patate fritte are french fries, and patatine potato chips.

PECORINO – All Italian cheeses made from sheep’s milk are called pecorino although they may vary greatly in texture and flavor.

PELATI – Peeled Canned Tomatoes. You can either peel fresh tomatoes, remove the core and seeds or buy bottled or canned varieties, either whole or chopped. Buy a good imported brand, as the good brands are less acidic and give a good proportion of tomatoes to liquid. San Marzano tomatoes are an exceptionally flavorful tomato either canned or fresh.

PENNE – Shaped like a quilll from where it’s name originates, this dried pasta shape is very common.

PEPATO – Sicilian pecorino cheese, with black peppercorns set in the middle of the cheese. Has a very sharp flavor.

PEPE NERO – Black Pepper. Pepe bianco, white pepper, and pepe rosso, red pepper are also commonly used.

PEPERONI – Sweet Peppers. These peppers, also know as capsicums, come in a variety of colors. They have a sweet taste and crunchy texture, and are used in many regional recipes across Italy, often being roasted first.

PEPERONCINI – Red chilies. These dried, hot peppers are added to many southern Italian specialties, including pasta sauces and pizza.

PERA – Pear. Eaten fresh in place of dessert but also made into preserves, sorbetti and pastries.

PESCA – Peach. Eaten fresh in place of dessert but also made into preserves, sorbetti and pastries.

PERCIATELLI – Dried, thick strands of spaghetti with a hollow center.

PERSICO – Fresh Water Perch. Most commonly fried.

PESCE SPADA – Swordfish. Most often sold in steaks, they can be found throughout Italy. Often grilled or roasted, they are also sliced thinly and rolled around a flavorful filling before grilling.

PESCIOLINI – Tiny fish that are coated in a light batter and deep fried.

PESTO – A sauce made from blending fresh basil with garlic, parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts. Traditionally, it is made by hand with a mortar and pestle. This sauce is used on pasta, as well as to flavor other dishes such as soups as a garnish.

PIADINE – Thin rounds of bread that are grilled on a special pan called a testo and served with cold meats and cheeses such as prosciutto, salami and provolone.

PICCIONE – Cultivated Pigeons. Also known as torresani. These are farm-grown birds, preferably less than seven months old. Piccione selvatico, is a wild pigeon, also called colombaccio or palombaccio.

PICI – Twisted Tuscan noodles made by hand with a grooved rolling pin like tool.

PINOLI – Pine Nuts. These are actually the seeds from the stone pine trees that grow along the Adriatic sea. They are usually toasted before using, and are used in many Italian dishes both sweet and savory.

PISELLI – Peas. Usually boiled and served with onions and garlic as a side dish, or added to soups and stews. Pisellini are small or baby peas.

PISTACCHIO – Pistachio. A favorite nut for snacking, pastrymaking, gelato and as a flavoring.

PIZZA – A flat yeasted bread topped with a variety of toppings, commonly including tomato sauce, cheese, meats, and vegetables.

PIZZA DOLCE – Sweet Pizza. A dessert form of pizza which is topped with a variety of nuts, candied fruit, citrus and sweet flavorings.

PIZZA RUSTICA – A savory tart made with ricotta, mozzarella, prosciutto, mortadella and seasonings that originated in Abbruzzi.

PIZZOCCHERI – Fresh buckwheat noodles that are usually 1/2 inch wide and 4 to 5 inches long. The dish is completed with chopped potatoes, cabbage, cheese, butter and garlic.

POLENTA – A staple in northern Italy for centuries, polenta is a type of cornmeal made from ground maize. Generally, in Italy two common types are used, coarse and fine. Polenta can be served soft as a porridge type of dish topped with sauce and meat, or allowed to cool and harden and then served fried or grilled.

POLIPI – Octopus. Much larger than squid, they are generally coked long and slow to tenderise them after being pounded with a mallet before cooking. Great in salads with other seafood, or on it’s own.

POLLO – Chicken. Very popular in many dishes such as Pollo Cacciatore, A gallo is a cock or rooster, a gallina a hen. The free-range variety is pollo ruspante, while pollastro or galletto is a young chicken.

POLPETTA – Meatball. Made from a variety of ground meat, fish or vegetables, that is most commonly fried, boiled, or cooked in sauce.

POLPETONE – Meatloaf. Commonly made with a combination of ground meats, often with some vegetables such as mushrooms and onions, and cheese added.

POMMAROLA – A simple tomato sauce.

POMODORI – Tomatoes. Most definately one of the most important ingredients in Italian cuisine, a number of varieties of tomatoes are grown across Italy. The best tomato for cooking is always said to be the San Marzano tomato which can be found now canned and imported from Italy.

POMPELMO – Grapefruit. Eaten fresh or made into marmalade.

PORCHETTA – Whole suckling pig, boned, stuffed with herbs and roasted over an open fire or in a wood-burning oven. In North America, porchetta can also refer to a boneless, rolled roast of pork studded with garlic and herbs.

PORCINI – Porcini mushrooms are definitely the most famous of Italian mushrooms and many varieties can be found across Italy. Young, fresh porcini can be sliced and eaten raw, while larger caps are best grilled or sauteed. Dried porcini are also popular, and added an earthy depth of flavor to many dishes.

PORRO Leak. Most commonly used in cooking, particulary soups and stews.

POWDERED SUGAR – Icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar.

PREZZEMOLO – Parsley. The Italian version is the flat leafed variety which has a fresh, robust flavor. It is used throughout Italian cooking to flavor an unlimited number of savory dishes.

PROSCIUTTO – Italy is famous for it’s prosciutto crudo, or cured ham, and the most famous ones come from the area around Parma. San Daniele hams, produced in the Friuli region are also a very popular prosciutto. Commonly eaten fresh as an antipasto, it can also sometimes be cooked to flavor other dishes.

PROVOLONE – This is a southern Italian cheese that is straw white in color, with a smooth texture. Milder, fresh provolone can be eaten on it’s own, although once aged it is generally used in cooking and for Cheese Platters

PRUGNA – Plum. This fruit is commonly eaten fresh, stewed, or made into preserves and dessert pastries. Prugna secca refers to dried prunes.

PUNTARELLE – Wild chicory spears, with a sharp, bitter flavor that are eaten raw and dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and anchovies.

OCA – Goose. Commonly roasted, often served with chestnuts.

ODORI – Refers to aromatics such as onion, carrot and celery used in recipes.

OLIVE – Olives. A wide variety of olives are grown across Italy, most being used to produce olive oil. Both black and green olives are eaten raw or used in cooking many Italian specialties.

OLIO DI OLIVE – Olive oil. In Italy, olive oil, or olio di oliva, is the most commonly used fat. It is pressed from the pulp of ripe olives. Different regions produce very different flavored oils depending on the growing conditions. Tuscan oil is most often considered the best tasting oil of all. Extra virgin olive oil is made by pressing the olives with no further processing. It’s regulation is very strict, and produces oil with a very distictive flavor. Olive oil is used as the fat of choice for most Italian recipes, while extra virgin olive oil is used uncooked as a condiment only.

OLIO SANTO – Translated as “holy water”, this is a spicy olive oil flavored with peperoncino.

ORATA – Sea Bream. This fish has a tasty, flaky white flesh, and is usually baked, broiled or cooked on a grill.

ORECCHIETTE – Called “little ears” for it’s shape, this pasta from Puglia is made from flour and water, and is often served with a vegetable based sauce.

ORIGANO – Oregano. This herb is used more commonly in southern Italian cooking, while marjoram, maggiorana is more commonly used in the north. Oregano has a stronger flavor, and is often used in sauces as well as a flavoring for meat.

ORZO – Barley, also Pearl Barley. Barley is used in porridge and soups, but also for making hot and cold beverages. The name is also given to a small dried pasta, similar to rice in shape but larger, ideal for soups.

OSTRICA – Oysters. Most commonly consumed raw or baked.

NOCIOLE – Hazelnuts or filberts. Along with almonds, these are one of the most commonly used nuts in Italian desserts and baking.

NOCI – Walnuts. Grown throughout central and southern Italy they are usually eaten straight from the shell as a dessert. As well as a popular ingredient in desserts, they are also ground and chopped and used in a delicious sauce for pasta.

NOCINO – Bittersweet liqueur made with green walnuts in their husks.

NUTELLA – A thick smooth paste made from chocolate and hazelnuts. Can be spread on plain cookies, bread, or toast.

MAIONESE – Mayonnaise

MAIALE – Pork. Much of the pork in Italy is turned into sausage, salami and hams, although Italians across Italy do enjoy fresh pork. Common methods of cooking it are roasting, grilling, and braising it with milk. Roasemary and sage are both popular herbs used with pork.

MALLOREDDUS – A southern Italian style of gnocchi made with semolina flour. In Sardinia, they also add saffron to the dough.

MANDORLE – Almonds. Two varieties of almonds are grown and used in Italy, dolci or sweet almonds used in desserts and baking, and mandorle amare or bitter almonds which are used in liqueurs and in ammaretti cookies.

MANICOTTI – Large tube maccheroni stuffed with a ricotta cheese filling and baked. Italo-American

MANZO – Beef. Although much of the beef found in Italy is though to be of poorer quality than that found in North America, Tuscan beef from Val di Chiana used in the famous bistecche alla fiorentna is thought to rival any other beef worlwide. Less tender cuts of beef are stewed, braised or ground.

MARSALA WINE – A sweet Sicilian wine that adds a special flavour to meat dishes and desserts.

MARZAPANE – Marzipan. Sweetened almond paste used in a variety of desserts.

MASCARPONE – A soft Italian cheese that is a delicately flavored tripple cream cheese. Often used in the same fashion as whipped cream, it is an important ingredient in TIRAMISU’

MELA Apple. Fruit Widely used in pastry and desserts.

MELANZANE – Often considered the Queen of Italian vegetables, this particular vegetable is especially popular in southern Italy. In Italy, there are a number of varieties of eggplants found, including the usual large purple variety, a delicate white version, and a striped reddish pink version. Very versatile, they add a depth of flavor to any dish they are added to.

MELOGRANA – Pomegranate. Principally used as a flavoring and coloring in beverages.

MELONE- Melons. A variety of fruit which all have a thick, hard, inedible rind, sweet meat, and lots of seeds. Common examples are watermelon and cantaloupe.

MENTA – Mint. Many varietes are used in cooking to flavor meats and vegetables such as zucchini and eggplants.

MIELE – Honey. There are numerous different varieties of flavored honey throughout Italy.

MIRTILLO – Blueberry. Eaten fresh or used in desserts.

MOLECA Soft shell crab. Very popular in Venice when in season, and most commonly served fried.

MOSTARDA DI CREMONA – Mustard Fruit Chutney. This Italian specialty consists of candied fruit chutney with a bite of mustard flavor that originates from Cremona. This relish is usually served with cotecchino, or a combination of boiled meats called bolito misto.

MORTADELLA – This sausage originates from Bologna. It has a distinctive pink color, and is studded with cubes of creamy fat and sometimes pistachios. It is usually thinly slices and eaten cold in sandwichesor as an antipasto with other cold cuts.

MOSTO DI VINO – Wine must. Made into a syrup and used in many traditional recipes as a sweetener.

MOZZARELLA – Mozzarella is a soft, white cheese with a very delicate flavor that is the cheese of choice for most recipes calling for a melting cheese. Buffalo mozzarella is made from water buffaloes aound the Naples area, and is best eaten fresh

LAMPONE – Raspberries. Either eaten fresh or made into granita or gelato.

LARDO – An extremely fatty bacon always used in cooking.

LASAGNA – A baked layered pasta dish made throughout Italy with many variations.

LATTE – Milk.

LATTUGA – General name for lettuce.

LENTICCHIE – Lentils. They grow in a pod in the area around Umbria, and are always podded and dried before using. Often stewed with vegetables as a side dish, or made into a salad, they also are served with zampone or cotechino.

LIMONE – Lemon. Lemons grow across Italy, both in some of the northern regions as well as the south. The Almafi coast however is the most famous region in Italy growing lemons where they flourish. The juice of the lemon is used in many Italian dishes, and enhances the flavor of many vegetable, meat, and seafood dishes.

LIQUORI – Liqueur. The term covers the range of distilled spirits, such as grappa and brandy, and compositions, such as amaro, limoncello and sambuca.

LONZA – Cured pork tenderloin. Usually roasted.

LUGANEGA – This sausage is a specialty of northern Italy, and is made from pork, often containing parmesan cheese.

LUMACHE – Snails. Often prepared with garlic and olive oil.

INDIVIA – Endive. Refers to all types in this family such as invidia riccia and scarola (curly and broad-leafed escarole), and invidia belga (Belgian endive).

INSALATA – A general name referring to all salads. Popular examples are insalata mista (mixed), insalata verde (greens only); insalata russa (mixed cooked vegetables diced with mayonnaise). Insalata di mare is a mix of cold seafood.

INVOLTINI – Rolls of thinly sliced veal, pork or fish cooked with a stuffing.

G

GALLINA – Hen. Normally an older bird used for Soup.

GAMBERETTI – Shrimp. There are many varieties of shrimp in the waters around Italy, including gambaretti, small pink shrimp, gamberelli, larger shrimp most often used in fritto misto or mixed fry, and larger still are gamberi. Shrimp are used in a vast number of Italian recipes.

GARGANELLI – This fresh pasta is a square that is rolled around a dowel over a ridged comb like tool. It’s final appearance is a grooved, diamond shaped tube.

GELATINA – Gelatin. Often used to make aspic dishes.

GELATO – Frozen dessert, such as ice cream or sherbet, of wide-ranging flavors, chiefly fruit, nuts and chocolate.

GEMELLI – Translated as “twins”, this dried pasta looks like two strands of short pasta twisted together.

GNOCCHI – These are small dumplings, and can be made from just about any starchy vegetable (commonly the potato), ricotta cheese, or semolina flour. They are served like pasta or risotto, as a first course, and should be light in texture, and almost melt in the mouth.

GORGONZOLA – This is an Italian blue cheese that is creamy in color with greenish blue veining throughout. Young, it has an almost sweet, mellow flavor, although once aged it can become quite powerful.

GRANA – Two of Italy’s most widely acclaimed cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, belong to the Grana (granular) group of cheeses, those finely-grained hard cheeses which originated in the Po Valley to the north of the country. They are basically very similar cheeses although of the two, Grana Padano matures marginally faster.

GRANCHIO – Crab of various types, which may be boiled, roasted, baked, or grilled.

GRANITA – Made by freezing liquid (often coffee or lemon juice) into crystals of grainy texture. Granita are usually made with a simple flavored sugar syrup rather than an egg custard or cream base as gelato is.

GRAPPA – A colorless alcohol with an alcohol content of 40 percent distilled from the pressed skins and seeds of the grapes left after wine making.

FAGIANO – Pheasant, usually grilled, roasted or stewed.

FAGIOLI – Beans in Italian.

FAGIOLINI – String beans, either yellow or green. Usually boiled and served cold or stewed with tomato, garlic and herbs.

FARAONA – Guinea Fowl or Hen. This bird is very popular in Italy and is prepared as you would prepare chicken. They are often pot roasted, or cooked in a casserole with wild mushrooms and other seasonings.

FARFALLE – This dried pasta is often called bowties or butterflies for it’s shape.

FARINA – Flour. Most Italian bakers use 00 or doppio zero flour which is softer than all-purpose flour. If you cannot find it, use 2 tablespoons less of all-purpose flour per cup than the recipe calls for.

FARRO – Farro in Italian, this hard wheat is most often used in Tuscan cuisine. One of the hardest of all grains, it must be soaked for a long period before cooking, and is commonly used in soups and salads.

FAVA – Fava beans are best eaten very fresh in the spring and early summer when they are small and tender. Later, they can be cooked and skinned. Very popular around Rome they are often served with prosciutto or pecorino cheese.

FAZZOLETTI – Named for an irregular handerkerchief, these delicate pasta sheets are folded over a savory filling and topped with sauce and commonly baked.

FECOLA – A starch such as corn starch used for thickening and baking.

FEGATO – Liver. Usually calves liver is preferred. Fegato alla Veneziana is a famous dish made with liver.

FETTUCCINE – A broad, fresh long strand pasta commonly made from eggs and flour.

FICO – Figs. Figs are grown across Italy, and are eaten both fresh in the summer months and dried throughtout the rest of the year. Figs can be either purple or green, and both are sweet and tender when ripe. Often served on their own, figs are often served with nuts, prosciutto, salami, or cooked in desserts.

FILLETTI DI ACCIUGHE – Anchovies. These are small fish preserved in oil or salt and often used in Italian dishes for flavoring.

FINOCCHIO – Fennel. Yet another important vegetable to Italian cuisine, it has a delicate flavor of aniseed and a very crisp, refreshing texture similar to celery. Often eaten raw, it also makes a great vegetable side dish baked or braised.

FINOCCHIELLA – Fennel Seeds. Yellowish in color and very fragrant, fennel grows wild in the highlands of Italy. The seeds are used to flavor roasts of meat and fish, as well as cured meats and sausages.

FIORE DI LATTE – “Flower of milk,” a soft fresh cow’s milk mozzarella.

FONDUTA – Cheese Fondue. A mixture of melted cheese (usually Fontina) and wine into which foods like bread and vegetables are dipped, typical of Northern Italy. It may also be used as a sauce for vegetables.

FONTINA – Genuine Fontina cheese comes from the Val d’Aosta area in Italy. It is a young cheese, with a mild, nutty flavor and creamy texture. Although it is great on it’s own, since it melts so well, it is often used in cooking.

FRAGOLA – Strawberry. Fragola di bosco or selvatica is the wild type.

FRISELLE – Also known as Frisedde or Frise, this is a hard twice-cooked bread roll that looks similar to a split bagel, which is first soaked in water, then dressed with tomatoes, oregano and extra-virgin olive oil.

FRUTTA DI BOSCO – “Fruit of the forest”. Refers to a mix of berries often served with lemon, sugar, or ice cream.

FUNGHI – General name for mushrooms.

FUSILLI – Short, twisted corkscrew like pasta that holds sauce well.

ERBA CIPOLLINA – Chives.

ESPRESSO – Coffee in Italy.

ESTRATTO – Extract. Can be such flavors as lemon or vanilla, or even beef.