And, what would a buongustaio like Sam Lovera offer up to his customers to always have “on hand” to cook up an authentic Italian meal in no time at all?  Well, seek no further:  Here are some of Sam’s favorites:

Pasta  The word is practically synonymous with Italy; it comes in hundreds of shapes and sizes, some of which are used for very specific purposes.  For soup,  there is orzo, stelline (baby stars), ditallini (little thimbles), to name but a few.  Spaghetti (string) has many names, each determined by its “thickness”—there is spaghettini (little strings), linguine (little tongues), and vermicelli (worms).  Flat pastas include fettucini (ribbons), and lasagna.  “Short” pastas may be farfalle (butterflies), diti (fingers), rotelle (wheels), penne (feathers), and tortellini (filled little circles, a specialty of Emiglia Romagna). We won’t forget ravioli-- rolled dough stuffed with meat, spinach, cheese and cut into squares.  And not to leave out potato & semolina dumplings, known as gnocci in the industrious North and as cavatelli in the carefree South.

Rice/Riso  Rice is grown mainly in the Po Valley in Italy and there are a number of varieties—all from the japonica family of rices.  Arborio or Carnaroli rice is typically used in making creamy risotto and Lovera’s stocks both!   Carnaroli is the “preferred” risotto rice in Italy as it absorbs liquid better and is thus less likely to become “overcooked” and sticky; Arborio absorbs the liquid less well but is also an excellent choice.  Only the most finicky eater would notice any difference.  However, in the Veneto region (Venice) another rice is almost always used:  That is the Vialone Nano, which can absorb two times its weight in liquid for the creamiest risotto ever!

Polenta/Cornmeal  is another staple of “cucina povara” in Northern Italy, where large quantities of corn was always grown.  It is simply coarsely ground cornmeal, served simply with cheese and butter or more lavishly under a rich tomato sauce with meat, rabbit or sausage.  Leftover polenta is often cut in squares, poured over with cream, eggs and sugar and baked to create a tasty dessert (much like America’s own bread pudding).  Lovera’s has the authentic Italian cornmeal and it’s worth the “extra trouble” of cooking it for a taste of what real polenta’s all about.  Also available is the pre-cooked roll of cooked cornmeal and boxes of “instant polenta”…

Lovera’s pantry includes tomato sauces by the dozen (including Sam’s mother’s own recipe), jars of honey and jams, capers, olives in abundance, spices and herbs, candies, pickled and preserved vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes—all are here online at Lovera’s.