Are these must-have Italian ingredients in your kitchen right now?
Ever wonder what an Italian cook’s pantry looks like? Nah, me either. But I’ll bet they’ve got all 6 of these ingredients. These must-have ingredients are essential for clean Italian cooking.
When I first started adhering to a diet without cheese or grains it was hard to forego those staple Italian items. A sprinkle of cheese here, a bowl of pasta there. In fact, if you search for staple Italian ingredients you’ll almost always come across a few that just don’t fit in a healthy diet. But there’s a way to make this cuisine tasty and flavorful with just a few ingredients on hand. Italian food CAN be healthy and fresh. Just ask the folks from Italy. J There are plenty of Italian pantry items that don’t include pasta, Parmesan cheese, or cannellini beans. In fact, some of the best Italian recipes are based on clean and simple ingredients.
For example, zucchini can replace pasta and act as a vehicle for so many other meals. It’s the taste you don’t want to skimp out on. In fact, zucchini is pretty flavorless which is what makes it so versatile. You can add any spices and herbs and condiments to spice it up. It provides a blank slate for your cooking imagination!
Most of the items below are pantry items. So you can store them for a while and whip ‘em out when you need ‘em.
Here are my essentials for a healthy Italian pantry.
OLIVE OIL
Cooking with olive oil is a staple in any Italian kitchen. I add that stuff to everything! But my favorite way to use olive oil is to drizzle it on meals before serving. Since olive oil has a low smoke point it’s not always the best cooking option. Heat can alter the flavor negatively. So add it at the end and it finishes off the dish wonderfully.
CANNED PLUM TOMATOES
Keeping extra cans of tomatoes is always a great idea. There’s plenty of options but my favorite is obviously to make sauce. If you’re cooking up a one-skillet dinner and need an ingredient to tie everything together… plum tomatoes! You can crush them, blend them, stick ‘em in a stew. 😉 I say plum specifically because they are sweeter and lower acidity than other varieties. For a tasty marinara sauce just simmer crushed canned plum tomatoes with olive oil, Italian herbs (parsley, basil, oregano, thyme), onion powder, and garlic.
GARLIC
Quite possibly the best ingredient of all timeeee! Thanks to my heritage I have never seen a vampire. And my food is always tasty. Adding garlic adds dimensions and flavor to your food. Or you can roast the whole bulb and use the soft cloves for a sweeter flava flav! You can store a garlic bulb for months in a dark and dry location.
Raw garlic smell stuck on your fingers? Avoid it by using a garlic press instead of chopping. Or you can scrub your fingers against the grain of stainless steel with soap and water.
ZUCCHINI
Squash is a friend to lots of folks on restricted diets. Zucchini is low carb, high water, and versatile ingredient. The possibilities are endless – zucchini noodles, zucchini fries, zucchini boats, zucchini chips, roasted or grilled zucchini. You can even add all the other ingredients to sliced zucchini in this list for a yummy side dish. It is the only ingredient on my list that is perishable. That’s how strongly I feel about keeping it on hand. One zucchini has lots of vitamins and even a few grams of protein! In fact, it’s one of the few non-cruciferous or leafy green veggies with high protein.
BALSAMIC VINEGAR
What’s a tasty way to add acidity and sweetness to a dish? Yup. Balsamic vinegar. It is much more than a salad dressing condiment. Mix with herbs and spices for a chicken or pork marinade. Consider cooking down the vinegar for a thicker and tangy reduction to drizzle on a meal. Whisky in fruit preserves to flavor chicken wings. Or even add a splash to your sauce – it complements those canned plum tomatoes well.
DRIED HERBS: Oregano, Parsley, Basil
Spice up your life! Herbs add an earthy and brighter flavor to any dish. What’s a recipe without seasonings and herbs? That sounds like a terrible time. Parsley is great at freshening up flavors. Oregano adds that deeper earthiness and is strong (think pizza flavor). Basil is that perfect brightness for sauces and pretty much anything. The three together are must-haves. But you can always add rosemary for a sharper and piney note or thyme for a floral note in soups or fish.
PLUS Bonus recipe using all ingredients above!
Stewed Zucchini & Tomatoes
- 3 medium zucchini
- 1 14 oz. can plum tomatoes
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions: Chop zucchini into 1/2 inch thick slices. Then cut slices into fours for bite-sized chunks. Set aside. Heat small saucepan with olive oil. Add zucchini and garlic. Sauté on medium-high heat until brown. Lower heat to simmer. Then add plum tomatoes with salt & pepper to taste. Add herbs and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes. If tomatoes are whole, dice them or crush them to smaller pieces than zucchini chunks. Before serving, drizzle olive oil. MANGIA!