Have you ever had the feeling that all you have to do to make a dish Italian is put a sprig of basil on top? Like in movies or cooking videos?
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For many people, basil is the main spice in Italian cooking. And how many others can you list that are just as popular in Italy? And there are actually a lot of them!

Basil
Fresh or dry. Perfect for almost any dish made in Italy. You can even make lemonade with fresh basil.

Different Peppers.
Black, fragrant, pink, white.
They are in almost any dish. I probably don’t have a mill just under my pillow. As it is, in my kitchen, my desk, my kit bag – there’s a miller everywhere.

Nutmeg.
I like to use ground, but it quickly wears out in storage. So – it’s better to nutmeg and grate it under cooking. A small pinch and any dish becomes much more delicious and unusual.

Sage
Fresh sage is rare, but I stockpile dry sage and use it for vegetables and pork.
I remember it very much in its fresh form after filming a porchetta recipe. The pork and sage went together perfectly.

Cloves and cinnamon.
I put them together since they are used mostly for sweets and very often in this particular combination. A lovely pair that makes not only baked goods, but also other dishes much brighter in flavor. The main thing is not to go overboard.

Saffron
What would Italy be without saffron? After all, it is used to make the world famous Milanese risotto. It’s enough to make it perfect. In addition, it is delicious to add saffron to vegetables in a stew.