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!

Vuoi far parte di Via Optimae?

{Subscribe here!} 

and get social!

Potrebbe pure interessarti….

ITALIAN: Food Picture Dictionaries

VOL. 01

VOL. 02

VOL. 03

VOL. 04

A scuola | At school 01

How many of the above school-related vocabulary words do you recognize?  Try testing yourself first, then check out the English translations and useful phrases below. For example, do you know how to say "I passed my exam"?… 

Also, see if you can decipher the meaning of the quotes interspersed among the definitions below—

a scuola (at school)

NOUNS  |  NOMI

l'alfabeto
alphabet

l'aula
classroom

gli appunti
notes

il banco
student's desk

la calcolatrice
calculator

la campanella
school bell

la cattedra
teacher's desk

la classe
class*

Whereas in English we say "go to class" to refer to an individual session of class, Italian uses lesson or "lezione" <-Click to jump to example

la colla
glue

i compiti
homework

(in the singular "il compito"— homework assignment)
~

La differenza tra la scuola e la vita? A scuola, si insegna una lezione e poi si da un compito. Nella vita, si da un compito che vi insegna una lezione. (Tom Bodett)

~
l'esame
test

l'esercizio
exercise

il foglio di carta
sheet of paper

le forbici
scissors

il gessetto
chalk

la gomma
eraser

l'insegnante
teacher 
(both male & female)
~

La nostra insegnante parla sempre al suo amico immaginario chiamato classe. (Anonimo)

~
la lavagna
chalkboard

la lettura
reading

la lezione
lesson/lecture

il libro
book

la matematica
mathematics

la materia
subject

Quale materia ti piace di più?
Which subject do you like best?

La mia materia preferita è la storia.
My favorite subject is history.

la pagella
report card

il pastello
crayon

la penna
pen

il quaderno
notebook

il righello
ruler

la scrittura
writing

lo studente
student (male)

la studentessa
student (female)

lo zaino

backpack

VERBS  |  VERBI

imparare
to learn

insegnare
to teach

leggere
to read

scrivere
to write

studiare

to study

PHRASES  |  FRASI

andare a lezione (di)

to go to class

Vado a lezione di geometria.

I go/I am going to geometry class.

~

to pass a test

Ho superato l'esame di matematica!

I passed the math test!

~

to fail, flunk

Sono stato bocciato all'esame di ieri. (male speaker)

Sono stata bocciata all'esame di ieri. (female speaker)

I failed yesterday's test.

~

essere bravo in

to be good at

Sono bravo in matematica. (male speaker)

Sono brava in matematica. (female speaker)

I am good at math.

~

essere scarso in

to be bad at

Sono scarso in ortografia. (male speaker)
Sono scarsa in ortografia. (female speaker)
I am bad at spelling.

There are a lot of words and phrases that could be added to this category… can you name a few?  Comment below!

Buono studio!

Vuoi far parte di Via Optimae?

{Subscribe here!} 

and get social!

C'è , Ci sono…

(There is  ,  There are... in Italian)

You're lounging on a boat… gently cruising through the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean, taking in the many sights and sounds of the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily.  You decide to write a letter describing everything you see. 

image via Turismo Eolie

It's all so beautiful, that only poetic Italian will do, and you start by telling of the volcano in the distance:

"There is… There is…" 

Hmm.  Maybe you'll start with the boats you see behind you?

"There are… There are…"

"Ah! If only I'd studied 'There is' and 'There are' in Italian!" you think to yourself.

You wake suddenly and realize you're not on a boat in the Mediterranean and that knowing "There is" or "There are" isn't the only thing standing between you and poetic greatness in any language.

Still, you're reading an Italian lesson and that's a good start! So you decide to seize the day and learn these invaluable forms so that no matter where you find yourself, you can describe your surroundings in beautifully poetic Italian.

To talk about what there is/there are… Italian uses the pronoun CI and the third person forms of the verb ESSERE:

As you can see, when ci and è are used together, they get contracted into c'è.  C'è (there is) is used when talking about just one thing:

C'è un vulcano.

There is a volcano.

And ci sono (there are) is used when talking about more than one thing:

Ci sono tre barche. 

There are three boats. 

It isn't always necessary to specify the exact number, as long as it's plural, you use Ci sono…

Ci sono barche. 

There are boats. 

Ci sono tante barche. 

There are so many boats. 

Ci sono delle barche.* 

There are some boats. 

Related lessons:

Pluralization, talking about more than one thing… 
* The Partitive Article, how to say "some"

Negation:

You can also add the negation word "Non" before each to describe what isn't there:

Non c'è un vulcano. 

There isn't a volcano.

Non ci sono barche. 

There aren't any boats.

In Questions:

C'è un gatto?

Is there a cat?

No, non c'è un gatto.

No, there isn't a cat.

Quanti gatti ci sono?

How many cats are there?

Ci sono due gatti.

There are two cats.

Ci sono gatti?

Are there cats?

C'è un solo gatto.

There is only one cat.

---

Putting it all to use:

Take a look around where you currently find yourself and practice describing what there is….

C'è un computer. Ci sono libri.

There is a computer. There are books.  

Or instead of just listing, you can ask and then answer your own questions, like: 

(1) Che cosa c'è?
What is there?

C'è un computer. 

There is a computer.

Ci sono dei* libri. 

There are some books.

* Review the The Partitive Article or how to say "some", if desired, or just exclude the partitive and say "Ci sono libri — There are books"

(2) Quanti* [       ] ci sono? (How many [    ] are there?)
*If the noun is feminine, it becomes Quante

C'è un solo computer. 

There is only one computer.

Ci sono quattro libri. 

There are four books.

If you're missing the vocabulary or just want to be reminded— try using Via Optimae's free label pages to label a wide variety of items around your home and use them as a basis for practicing all of the above!

More practice:
Try describing what you see in this picture (another beautiful island off of Sicily— Pantelleria)  Not sure about the vocabulary?  Mouse over the green dots to see words displayed in Italian and English!

---

Hai capito? (Got it?)  

"Like" Via Optimae on Facebook and post your own photos and descriptions of "Che c'è" (What is there?) in your surroundings!

For written practice, print the C'è | Ci sono worksheet on page 14 of the Beginner's Italian Workbook and fill-in both the "notes" section and the quick exercises that follow! 

 —be the first to know about new lessons & worksheets! {Subscribe here!} 

{Additional practice:  The final exercise of the Partitive Article Worksheet features C'è and Ci sono and can be found on page 15 of the Italian Basics digital workbook} 

Happy Studying / Daydreaming! 

These final weeks of summer and my mind is on Italian island hopping.  Check out Conde Nast Traveller's Guide to the Aeolian Islands for your own travel inspiration!

Panarea, Isole Eolie

All lessons in the Beginner's Italian series:

  (1) How Italian verbs work, (Intro to verbs & grammar terms)

  (2) Italian present tense: -ARE verbs

  (3) Italian present tense: -ERE verbs

  (4) Italian present tense: -IRE verbs 

  (5) La negazione - Negation
  (6) Ogni quanto? Quante volte? (Adverbs of frequency)
  (7) C'è & Ci sono — CURRENT PAGE

Potrebbe pure interessarti….

ITALIAN: The Basics Series, starting with:
(01) Indefinite Articles (How to say "A/AN" in Italian