L'insalata caprese & Italian food prep terms

(or how to learn new words & eat them too!)

It's fun to study Italian.  

It's even more fun when you get to enjoy a delicious, and iconic, Insalata Caprese /in-sah-LA-ta kah-PREh-seh/ (Caprese Salad) as the fruit of your labor.

Read the transcript and review the ingredients and key terms before watching the video lesson: (Highlight in the spaces below to reveal the English translations)

Buongiorno amici di Ricette per Cucinare. Oggi siamo qui per parlare dell'insalata caprese. 
Greetings friends of Ricette per Cucinare.  Today we are hear to talk about the Caprese Salad.

Quest'insalata è facilissima da preparare ed è velocissima. 

This salad is super easy to prepare and super fast.

Vediamo di cosa abbiamo bisogno. Ci servirà: 
Let's see what we need.  We will need: 

una mozzarella di bufala campana

one buffalo mozzarella from Campania (d.o.c.)

un pomodoro ramato fresco

one fresh red tomato

del basilico fresco

some fresh basil

e dell'olio d'oliva.

and some olive oil.

~

Procediamo a preparare gli ingredienti.
Let's start by preparing the ingredients.

Tagliamo il pomodoro in due metà, e togliamo la parte del picciolo interno.
We cut the tomato in two halves, and we remove the interior part of the stalk.

Poi procediamo a tagliarlo a fette di media larghezza, in questo modo qua.
Then, let's proceed cutting it into slices of medium width, like this.

tagliare a fette

to cut into slices

Useremo solo metà mozzarella di bufala per una porzione, quindi adesso la tagliamo a fette.
We will use only half of the buffalo mozzarella for one serving, therefore now we cut it into slices.


In un bel piatto piano, disponiamo le nostre fette di pomodoro. 
In a nice flat dish, let's arrange our tomato slices,

e successivamente, mettiamo al centro le fette di mozzarella di bufala.
 and then, let's put in the center the slices of buffalo mozzarella.

mettere

to put

Facciamo a pezzettini il basilico, e lo mettiamo in modo irregolare sopra al pomodoro.
Let's tear into little pieces the basil, and let's put it here and there on the tomato.

Per guarnire, ci siamo tenuti una cima di basilico, e la possiamo utilizzare mettendola per esempio qua al lato. 
To garnish, we saved the top of the basil and we can use it putting it here on the side, for example.

Concludiamo il piatto, irrorando con un filo d'olio.
We finish the dish bathing (drizzling) a bit of oil.

Un saluto a tutti amici e amiche di Ricette per Cucinare, e arrivederci alla prossima.
Greetings to all the friends of Ricette per Cucinare, and see you next time.

Now, watch the video and see if you can pick out the terms and expressions without relying on the written transcript.  Notice the pronunciation and intonation— is anything said differently than you imagined?

Video & images via Ricette per Cucinare, check them out for more great recipes in Italian!

Now, the fun part! Get your ingredients and make the dish! You can do it! — I purposely chose one of the easiest recipes out there (and one of my favorites, too!) 

Practice saying aloud what you're doing, as you're doing it— as if you were on your own cooking show.  You can use the 1st person plural (we) as in the video...

Tagliamo il pomodoro.

We cut the tomato.

Or practice other conjugations, for example, the 1st person singular (I): 

Taglio il pomodoro.

I cut the tomato.

After you've cut, sliced, torn, arranged, and drizzled… it's finally time to...

Mangia! Mangia!
Eat! Eat!

Buon appetito!

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Potrebbe pure interessarti….

ITALIAN: Food Picture Dictionaries

VOL. 01

VOL. 02

VOL. 03

VOL. 04

Cosa bolle in pentola? (New and improved digital picture dictionaries)

Vol. 04: Cosa bolle in pentola? digital magazine

They say the way into a man's heart is through his stomach, but I say, "The way into Italian is through your own stomach!" 

Not as catchy, I admit, but very true.  Even before you could say your name in Italian, I'm sure you could recognize and use words like cappuccino, spaghetti, lasagna and others.  How is this so? You saw the words used in context repeatedly, and when you ate them, they were delicious, causing you to want to order them again… in short, you had a good reason to learn and incorporate otherwise "foreign" words!

It has been shown that vocabulary is more easily assimilated when it is shown in context and when that context provokes an emotional response, so with that in mind… I created the ITALIAN: Food Picture Dictionary series!  It has food vocabulary and related expressions with images and examples as well as cultural tidbits and advice so you can put everything in context.  When possible, I tried to find humorous examples and expressions, as well as interesting photos that hopefully provoke a sense of nostalgia for Il bel paese (the beautiful country— Italy's nickname) 

Hopefully, they whet your appetite, and get you thinking about Italian food vocabulary (and related expressions) in your day to day life.


I had previously published these digital magazines on another platform, and I've been gradually transferring that content to the new platform, Joomag (I pronounce it You-Mag, though I'm not sure what the creators intended.) For Vol. 04 Cosa bolle in pentola?, I re-did the layout and added new content to hopefully make it even better and more engaging, so be sure to check it out, as well as the other (new & improved) Volumes 01-03:

Vol. 01

Vol. 02

Vol. 03

    

I'm going to add more volumes in this series (next up: Le ricette e la preparazione— Recipes & Preparation) but I wonder, besides food, is there another topic that you're particularly interested in or working on that you'd like to see in a picture dictionary format? Let me know, and I'll prioritize those topics in future digital magazines!  (Use the comment form below, email me using the contact form in the right sidebar, or connect through Facebook, if you prefer!)

Avventatevi! 

(Dig in!)

Learning Italian from the streets: Cosa ti piace di più mangiare?

My favorite aspect of learning a new language is the opportunity to interact with new groups of people and learn about their culture and lives.  That's why I love the idea behind the Easy Languages series.  Originally developed as Easy German, its a series of free videos in which native speakers hit the streets and ask topic-based questions to people they meet.  Transcripts of the original dialogue as well as the English translation are included.  It's a great way to glean some insight about that particular culture as well as to hear how native speakers really speak and respond. 

In this first Easy Italian episode they take us to Matera, Italy and ask the question: 

Cosa ti piace di più mangiare?

(What is your favorite thing to eat?)

See how the people of Matera responded:

Did you notice how she asked questions in the informal "tu" form with some people, the formal "Lei" form with others, and the plural "Voi" for couples or groups of people?

Here are some of the questions asked in the video. (I've converted them all to the informal "tu" form) Try responding to them yourself (either on your own or in the comment section below.)

Cosa ti piace di più mangiare?

Cosa non deve mai mancare nel tuo frigo?

Sai cucinare?

Cosa sai cucinare meglio?

Qual'è il piatto che cucini peggio?

How do your food preferences compare to those expressed in the video?  Any similarities or differences?  Have you ever tried some of the dishes mentioned in the video?  If so, what did you think?

For additional grammar practice, try converting the above questions to the formal "Lei" or plural "Voi" forms. (Use the comment section below or email your answers for feedback.)

So far, I could only find this one Italian episode, but I'll keep you posted if I find any others.  If you're interested in other languages as well you can go to the Easy Languages site for Arabic, Malay, German, Spanish, French, and English.

Happy Studying!

-Alex

Italian Food Picture Dictionary, Vol. 04

UPDATE:  
Links to the new digital picture dictionary as well as previous volumes in this series available in this post:

Cosa bolle in pentola?

(Italian Food Picture Dictionary Vol. 04)

Italian Food Picture Dictionary, Vol. 03

UPDATE:  
Links to the new digital picture dictionary as well as previous volumes in this series available in this post:

Cosa bolle in pentola?

Italian Food Picture Dictionary, Vol. 02

UPDATE:  
Links to the new digital picture dictionaries available in this post:

Cosa bolle in pentola?

Italian Food Picture Dictionary: Vol. 01

UPDATE:  
Links to the new digital picture dictionaries available in this post:

Cosa bolle in pentola?