What are some staple ingredients in Italy?
It really depends on the region. In America we tent to think of Italian food as one cuisine, but it actually varies widely from region to region. Pasta is one thing that seems to be constant throughout Italy, but the shape of the pasta differs depending on where you are. The coastal regions depend heavily on seafood as would be expected. Southern Italy uses a lot of olive oil and tomatoes sauce where in the North they are more likely to use butter and cream sauces. The food in Bologna is notoriously rich, and in the town of Verona the local speciality is actually horse meat.
