Best places to taste Milanese cuisine :)
Introduction
Pizza, pasta, and ice cream...how many times while traveling have I been referred to Italian cuisine in these terms...eh enough of these old-fashioned clichés that are not true except abroad. Italian cuisine owes its notoriety to pizza and pasta, but within Italy the variety of cuisines, depending on the area one is in, is remarkable.
Although one can find countless restaurants with a type of offer recognized as "typical Italian cuisine," that is, simple pasta and pizza, due to the amount of demand from tourists; in reality, there are plenty of places where one can taste the true Milanese tradition.
Let's take a look together at the history of some of the most traditional dishes, starting with the best known outside Italy: Cotoletta alla Milanese!
Cotoletta alla Milanese
The history of the cotoletta originated centuries ago. In fact, precisely because of its simplicity one is sure that many people could think of the concept of a breaded fillet of meat, but as we shall see, this tradition, like any tradition, is a bit more complex and specific.
We first find the dish of the Milanese " costoletta " in an eighteenth-century text by Pietro Verri; in the account of a banquet at the Basilica of St. Ambrose in 1134, the facts of "Lalombolos cum panitio," that is the mention of a veal loin breaded and fried in butter.
The name will take it a century later, precisely in 1814, from the Milanese dialect "cutelèta."
The debate between those who claim the title of inventor of this dish pits the Milanese against the Austrians: between Milanese cotoletta and wiener schnitzel. The big difference, however, lies in the type of meat (one is veal and the other is pork) and frying (one fried in butter and the other in lard).
Risotto alla Milanese
This dish is the most iconic and most renowned, along with cotoletta in terms of history and simplicity - although not in execution and ingredients. Despite being more recent, its history is actually a little more typical.
The choice of the golden coloro is thought to come from the idea that gold had a magical connotation. In 1574 from the experiment of an imaginative painter, who having to prepare a dinner for his guests, decided to color the simple risotto by adding saffron, normally used to obtain a particular shade of yellow for painting.
Risotto alla Milanese, uses a simple assortment of ingredients, the association of which brings to life the magic of the city: the color of art, the elegance of fashion, and the simplicity of its historic architecture.
Panettone
The history of panettone is unclear in that it incorporates several legends none of which is more verifiable than the other.
Milanese confectionery accepts in its tradition this Christmas cake that was legendarily born in the 15th century from a banquet of Ludovico il Moro (Duke of Milan) on the Christmas night. The name panettone would come from the term "Pan de Toni," an apprentice who helped the cook, after burning the dessert, to create a cake with only bread with butter, leftover dough and candied fruit and raisins. Another theory is that because of its size, it was called "pan grande" and, over time, morphed into today's "panettone."
This cake, which has been associated with Christmas Eve for centuries now, has an eternal shape and elegance, which are revived with varied and ever-changing flavors. Panettone with candied fruit and raisins is the iconic classic one, but it can also be found with: chocolate, cream, zabaglione, pistachio, coffee, hazelnut, even Nutella!
Ossobuco
Ossobuco derives from the eighteenth-century Milanese tradition, from the term "ossbus" (pierced bone), which indicates the piece of meat from which it is made: slices of veal shank that include the meat inside the bone, that is, the marrow, and the meat all around it. This dish is extremely poor, despite the fact that nowadays it is often accompanied by various condiments: such as salad, baked potatoes, or the renowned Milanese risotto recounted above.
Busecchina
This dish that is famous and easy to find especially during the fall season. Made from zero-mile chestnuts. this simple dessert consisting simply of cream, sugar and chestnuts combines the orange flavor of autumn with the sweetness of cream.
There are countless extremely delicious stands with respect to roasted chestnuts all around Milan. You won't have to search, but know that you will find them on every side and it is precisely because of the centuries-old tradition that survives.
Before moving on to the new tradition; a few mentions of some of the more typical restaurants that are true to the Milanese tradition:
the new tradition... the SUSHI
Sushi as many would imagine does not form part of the Italian culinary tradition, but this does not detract from the fact that in recent years it has become one of the most popular foods among the Milanese. Having lived in several European countries in recent years, I can say with absolute certainty that the quality of sushi in Milan is hard to match, in the rest of Western Europe, especially because of the option offered to everyone: "All You Can Eat."
Among the sushi restaurants in Milan, the choice is divided between the "Bomaki" option, which is clearly named after the restaurant chain; which is recognized precisely by the characteristic of offering a delicious assortment of sushi dishes from the most classic, to the most revisited ones; charging them by the piece (normally they are dishes of eight pieces the course).
On the contrary in AYCE restaurants, the price is fixed per person regardless of the amount of food consumed (with extra for each leftover dish).
Normally the difference between the two offerings, tends to be the quality of the product... but I can assure you that among the great capitals of Western Europe, I have never witnessed such a wide assortment of AYCE restaurants, of such high quality!
I offer a few of what I consider to be the best, precisely because of their quality both in the kitchen as far as hygiene is concerned, and in the goodness of the dishes served (up to you to let me know which ones you prefer!).
The ONO chain is where I personally have eaten best and with greatest variety of dishes in all of Milan.
THE END
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