Historically, Australian diners have been led astray by crops of ‘Little Italies’ popping up in capital cities, spruiking bowls of ragù bolognes, pizza and chicken parmigiana.
But despite its status as Italy’s most well-known national dish, spaghetti Bolognese is nowhere to be seen in Italy; there, the meaty, tomato-based ragu is more commonly served with the thicker tagliatelle – unless it’s being cooked for out-of-towners, that is.
It’s a common misnomer seen in touristy hotspots around the world; curries lacking heat in Southeast Asia, hard-shell tacos virtually non-existent in Central and South America.
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions about Italian food is that if you are cooking Italian food, you must be serving pizza,” says Matteo Margiotta, owner and chef of Pino's Vino e Cucina in Alexandria, Sydney.
Margiotta, born in Genoa, the capital of the seafood-rich Liguria region (though his Dad, Pino – the restaurant’s namesake, was from Naples) grew up feasting on the local catch bought at the markets each Sunday, spaghetti with mussels, octopus salad and cured fresh anchovies.
At Pino's Vino e Cucina, Margiotta has brought some of these regional specialties to life via dishes such as nduja with octopus antipasto, panzanella, and swordfish with fennel and radish.
“Basically, we wanted to recreate an atmosphere that eventually translated to our old neighbourhood bar and restaurant,” Margiotta tells SBS.
The raspberry and chocolate mousse at Olio Source: Olio
Pino's Vino e Cucina is one of many Italian restaurants shining the light on lesser known regional Italian cuisines. In Adelaide, Pizzateca, Antica, Godi La Vita and Pane e Latte are doing their part to offer an education in regional Italian food while Melbourne’s Vieni Qua favours the Sardinian speciality of culurgionesare: little potato and mint-filled ravioli, rather than the regular veal variety.
Sydney diners are also getting a taste of Sicily thanks to Olio in Sydney’s Chippendale Kensington Street.
“I was born in a small village called Gangi, located in central Sicily,” says chef and owner Lino Sauro.
Born into a family of self-sufficient farmers, Sauro was raised on a diet sourced almost exclusively from the 100-year-plus farm he calls home. There, they cultivated vegetables, fruit, as well as farmed sheep, cattle, pigs and chickens.
“All our meals came from the property; the only thing we purchased was seafood from the market.”
“We also sold homemade cheeses, cereals and of course, olive oil to make a living,” Sauro says.
It was this olive oil that formed the inspiration for his Chippendale restaurant; it’s used liberally to enhance all the restaurant’s dishes.
“I source my olive oil – the base of all my dishes – from my family's Sicilian farm.”
Olio’s menu remains faithful to Sicilian flavours, featuring seasonal seafood, wild fennel, raisins, saffron and couscous throughout.
“Italy is so diverse in terms of food and cooking techniques; each region has its own gastronomic journey to explore and its own traditions and specialities. For example, caponata (which is on the Olio menu) is made completely different region to region.”
Sauro’s version features a sweet and sour eggplant base finished with pine nuts and raisins; it’s a far cry from the soft, tomato-ey ratatouille you might be expecting.
“Olio is my way of showing Sydney that Sicilian food is the new Italian.”
Have we got your attention and your tastebuds? Tune in 6pm weeknights to SBS as this week explores rich Italian cuisine. Check out the for episode guides, cuisine lowdowns, recipes and more.
