Northern VS Southern Italian Cooking

[Foodie-Girl]

Hello Mario !

What are your thoughts on the (possibly) simplistic feeling that Northern Italian cuisine is light and delicate whereas a dish in Sicily is sure to come with more heavy red sauce than pasta?

I always thought I'd prefer the food of Northern Italy...but, after three trips ranging from Lake Como to Taormina I'm not sure I agree....anxious to hear your thoughts.

Babbo is a fantastic restaurant with lunch at Salumi another favorite !

Char

[Mario Batali]

hey char heavy is simple not the word in either northern or southern cooking... my lusty preference is now for the slightly less tamed cooking of the southern part (ie campania and below) but it all depends where and when you are there... nothing compares to a plate of plum filled potato gnocchi in udine in the late summer... but alici marinati or braciolona in the city of napoli will fill my tub as well heavy southern food is a result of years of change in american southern italian family kitchens in italy it is substantially lighter... sicily on the other hand, is closer to tunisia, both geographically and in a flavor comparison, than to milano so it does not fit into north or south, but is its own delightful universe mb