From Genova to Napoli, many regional Italian cuisines are full of recipes for lo stoccafisso [stockfish, air-dried whitefish, usually cod, haddock, or hake]. But that doesn’t mean lo stoccafisso is native to the Italian peninsula. The male singular noun stoccafisso has its roots in the Dutch word stokvisch, which means fish on a stick, or fish dried on a stick. Not surprisingly, this is the … Continue reading Wednesday word: lo stoccafisso
The singular feminine noun bottarga (pronounced bot-TAR-ga) sounds a lot like bottega, but refers to something completely different. Nicknamed il caviale del Mediterraneo [the caviar of the Mediterranean], la bottarga is salted and dried roe (fish eggs). Especially in Sardegna [Sardinia], where about 150 tons are consumed every year, Italian bottarga is a delicacy that can get quite pricey, at an average cost of 12 Euro per … Continue reading Wednesday word: bottarga
Alice is a beautiful name in English, and can also be a beautiful name in Italian…a beautiful name for a fish, that is. The singular feminine noun l’alice, pronounced ah-LEE-chay, means anchovy. Its plural form is le alici. L’acciuga (pronounced ahch-CHEW-gah) is another word for anchovy. In terms of the species of fish that the word refers to, there’s no difference between alice and acciuga. In the past, alice … Continue reading Wednesday word: le alici
Italian Through Food 