Comfort Food for an Italian-American Expat

by Tina Ferrari

When we relocate to a country other than the one we were born in, we bring part of our culture with us – particularly our food culture.  We embrace our new home yet we can’t help sometimes missing things we enjoyed in our birth country.  I’ve heard many an American expat talk about peanut butter, ranch dressing and cheddar cheese, not to mention the wide ranges of choices in the supermarkets back home.

I get the peanut butter thing, as I’m a bit of a peanut butter addict.  But to be honest, I have never liked ranch dressing, and cheddar, while I like it, didn’t have as prominent a spot in our fridge as Parmigiano Reggiano and various stinky European cheeses (thanks to Husky’s deli in West Seattle!).  Growing up in a setting where the cuisine took on quite an Italian slant, I ate homemade garlicky bean soups much more often than Mac & cheese, and a lot of the produce I ate came from my grandparents’ garden.

On top of that I had a father who was always curious about international cuisine, so when we did eat outside of the home, it was Thai, Vietnamese or Middle Eastern.  When my American friends talk about childhood comfort foods, I don’t always know what they are referring to.  Unless it has peanut butter.

When I first came to Italy it was like coming home because I had finally found a place where I could find cooking similar to what my grandmother and my father would make at home.  In coming to Italy, I have come back to some favorite Ferrari family comfort foods.

I am still American, though.  What do I miss as an American?  Peanut butter with just peanuts as the sole ingredient.  Seattle’s plethora of Thai restaurants.  Pho.

Being raised “bi-culturally” has been a blessing, now that I think about it.  I’m able to appreciate the best of two different worlds.

Tina Ferrari is a translator, writer and tango dancer based in Perugia, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

Tags: expat in italy, Food, Italy