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Spaghetti and Meatballs
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Traditional Italian dish, with meatballs made of minced pork and beef, herbs and minced onion and garlic, and served in a rich thick tomato based ragu sauce. Can be served sometimes with shredded fresh basil or oregano and shavings of parmesan. As with carbonara, it tends to be served with garlic bread and side salad.
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Italian
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Lamb cutlets with garlic and rosemary
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Usually on every Italian menu, small trimmed lamb chops or cutlets are served steeped in fresh rosemary and garlic and pan fried or grilled. Served with sauté potatoes and vegetables, it is a hearty plate of food and delicious flavours. Tender pink lamb is enhanced by the earthy rosemary and garlic.
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Italian
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Minestrone Soup
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The classic and renowned Italian soup, comprising small pasta shapes, a rich chicken stock and finely diced vegetables such as celery, onions, tomatoes, carrots beans and herbs. Created in Ancient Roman times this soup is now served in many different ways, some finely and others much more chunky and hearty. A sprinkling of parmesan and a good basket of bread makes this really filling.
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Italian
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Napoletana pasta sauce
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An amazing vegetarian italian option. Crushed tomato, onion, garlic, basil and parmesan. Sounds simple but bursting with lots of flavour.
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Italian
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Osso Buco
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A dish invented in Ancient Roman Times and perfected over the years to a more sophisticated Italian meal, consisting of cross-cut veal shanks, braised in red wine, onions, celery and carrots and served with a gremolata on the top (optional).
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Italian
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Bruschetta
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Delicious slices of bread, rubbed with garlic and tomato and seasoned before grilling. Various toppings are served, the most popular being diced tomatoes and red onion with finely chopped garlic and basil. Can also be served with a pesto topping, and sometimes with roasted aubergine and mushrooms. Usually a starter, but can be purchased as a main course.
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Italian
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Irish Stew
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It doesn't get more Irish than Irish stew, comprising long braised lamb, pearl barley, carrots, onions and potatoes in a rich gravy that makes this a hearty dish for any occasian. Sometimes served with Irish savoury biscuits. The lamb can often be served as chops with the bones in, but the meat is so tender that it melts in your mouth and falls of the bone. A very hearty and very tasty, classic Irish dish.
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Irish
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Beef and Gunniess Pie
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Very popular through Australia in Irish restaurants and most pubs is this pie. Tender beef, slow cooked in a rich Guinness
Gravy with mushrooms served in a crock pot, topped with flaky puff pastry. Typically Served with seasonal vegetables & some form of potato (chips or mash).
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Irish
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Chianti
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In rustic Italian restaurants, you can still see empty bottles of Chianti grouped together and hanging around the bar or ceiling! Old Chianti bottles used to be covered in a basket weave, and often used to house a candle on your table, so that the wax dripped down the outside of the bottle! The wine itself is red and relatively light in comparison to heavier Italian wines such as Barolo. Chianti is produced primarily in the beautiful region of Tuscany, and is eminently drinkable!
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Italian
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Soave
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Another popular wine, this white wine is produced in the Veneto region of Italy, around the city of Verona, home to many Shakespeare plays! It is comparatively dry and was once the ‘in’ drink in the 1970’s but was overtaken by Pinot Grigiot towards the 1980’s
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Italian
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Peroni
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The most popular of beers served in Italian restaurants, it is not the cheapest one around but still sells more than any other. 5% alcohol, a slightly ‘hoppy’ taste but very refreshing when served in iced cold frosted glasses.
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Italian
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Guinness Beer
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“Swirling Power and Living Magic” - Guinness is a popular Irish stout that originated from Dublin. Guinness beer is as dark as strong coffee and looks interesting. Some love it, some hate it, but it's always worth trying at least once a year.
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Irish
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Irish Coffee
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Coffee and Irish Whiskey! A must try and least once in your life – there is something rich and warming with this drink that really does make you want to have more. Rich coffee is accompanied by Irish whiskey which is mixed through with sugar, and the whole cup is topped with cream. True Irish coffee should have cream that is not whipped and just sits on the top of the drink. Other traditionalists say that any sugar used must be brown!
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Irish
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