Stateside food

Jennifer Lee outlines the influence of European migration on food stateside

Throughout history, migration patterns as a result of struggles and displacement because of war, political upheaval or economic crisis have impacted the cuisine of nations. Certain cuisines can also be changed and developed thanks to an abundance of produce, as well as the necessity to adapt. American-Italian cuisine, one of the most iconic in the world, is a result of the latter. It’s one that stands on its own and has developed through immigrants evolving their traditions with the produce available to them in the US.

In the late 1800s, the US had the largest surge of immigrants that consisted of Italians, Slavs and Jews. Over five million Italians emigrated from Europe between 1876 and 1930. The majority were from southern Italy and consisted of labourers, farmers and a few craftsmen.

With grain prices dropping in Italy and disease spreading on grapevines, the US seemed to be the answer for many Italians as it offered lower taxes, better wages and plenty of land for agriculture.

From southern Italy came pasta, red sauce and meatballs. However, postwar America seemed to break away from ‘greasy’ and ‘garlic peasant dishes’ – and in the same way that Italian fashion from Milan became recognised as high class, so did northern Italian food. Ingredients and dishes such as risotto, polenta, porcino mushrooms, balsamic products and Parmigiano-Reggiano became extremely popular from the 1970s onwards. It was also during this time that US trade laws were lifted, allowing more ingredients to be imported, resulting in the preparation of a more diverse range of regional Italian dishes.

Nevertheless, even though Italian immigrants had access to plenty of local produce, they couldn’t find many authentic ingredients. Dishes became heavy on beef or veal, and laden with cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella.

Italian-American food today has an extremely broad range and become deeply rooted in American culture over time. Typical Italian American dishes include eggplant parmigiana (layers of eggplant, Parmesan and marinara sauce), porchetta (pulled pork usually served as a sandwich), veal Marsala (veal cutlets or scaloppine in a mushroom Marsala sauce) and lobster Fra Diavolo (lobster with spicy tomato sauce pasta).

Spaghetti and meatballs I believe, is the quintessential Italian-American dish. When the southern Italians immigrated to the US, meat was in abundance so they used whatever cuts that were available and turned it into something magical. Originally bulked up with bread at a 50:50 ratio, meatballs developed into more meat and less bread. The red sauce known as marinara consists of garlic, olive oil and canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes and spaghetti were two of the most common Italian ingredients available at the time.

There are many versions of spaghetti and meatballs, and I present my version to you. It’s a quick and easy dish where the sauce can be made in advance; and if there are too many meatballs, you can always freeze them for another time. The key is in the timing of the pasta and sauce, which results in a steaming hot saucy bowl of comfort food and one of the most iconic Italian-American dishes in the world.