For generations, Australia’s understanding of Italian food has been shaped by the country’s south.
Pizza from Naples. Pasta from Rome. Sun-ripened tomatoes, olive oil and seafood that evoke memories of Amalfi holidays and Sicilian summers. It’s the version of Italy most Australians know by heart – and for good reason.
“Italian cuisine reached its popularity through emigration and culture sharing, and the majority of people leaving Italy in the 1900s, when Italian cuisine started taking over the world, were from the southern regions,” explains Chef Rhys Nicholson of Latteria, Adelaide. “They were looking for opportunities around the world and bringing with them their culture and traditions, including their culinary ones.”
That migration helped shape the Italian food that many countries, including Australia, came to know and love. Southern Italian cooking travelled across borders, carrying with it recipes, memories and traditions. Nicholson also points to the influence of Italy’s most iconic travel destinations, with places such as Capri, Sicily and Sorrento becoming closely associated with the flavours people want to revisit through food.
“And let’s admit it,” he says, “it’s pretty hard to resist some deliciously simple tomato-based sauces and fresh Mediterranean produce.”
Yet beneath this familiar layer of Italian cuisine exists a vast regional diversity that has always been part of the country’s culinary identity. And, according to Nicholson, this familiar interpretation represents only one part of a much larger culinary story – one where northern Italian regions, particularly Milan, are beginning to capture the curiosity of diners looking beyond the classics.
“They have always been sleeping giants in the very diverse Italian culinary heritage,” he says.
Now, he believes diners are becoming increasingly interested in discovering these regional differences – not because they want to replace the Italian food they already love, but because they are curious to understand the stories behind it.
“I think, as a whole, we are becoming more interested in understanding provenance, not only related to ingredients, but to concepts and inspirations,” Nicholson says. “Same as a beautiful artwork can be enjoyed at a different level while knowing the life of the artist, so we are willing to go the extra mile to understand new culinary ways, to make the most of our dining experience.”
It is this sense of history, place and connection that sits at the heart of Milanese cuisine. Unlike the sun-soaked simplicity often associated with southern Italy, Milan’s food reflects a region shaped by agriculture, trade and cultural exchange.
“Milan has been the economic centre of Southern Europe for a long time and has seen influence from the Mediterranean and the spice route, the French occupation, and Austro-Hungarian influence,” Nicholson explains. “There is so much diversity and playfulness in the dishes. Spice, earthy flavours, skilled techniques, simplicity and complexity side by side.”
That diversity can be seen through the ingredients that define Milanese cooking. Surrounded by some of Italy’s most productive farming lands, the region has developed a cuisine that celebrates rice, vegetables, root vegetables, different grains and flours, as well as rich cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Taleggio.
“Saffron is the spice that made Milanese risotto an icon,” Nicholson says. “Allegedly used to dye the stained glass of the Duomo Cathedral, the most iconic in the city centre, it then became the ingredient that made the city’s risotto shine.”
Milanese risotto represents much of what Nicholson admires about the region’s approach to food: an ability to transform simple ingredients into something memorable. Built around rice from the region, saffron from the spice route and enriched with butter and cheese, the dish has become one of Italy’s most recognisable expressions of place.
But perhaps just as interesting is what happens after the first serving.
“With a true resourceful approach, Milanese people even found a way to re-purpose the leftover of risotto, by sauteing it the following day, flattened into a frying pan to a crisp, serving it as Risotto al salto.”
That resourcefulness is also reflected in Mondeghili, Milan’s traditional meatballs, which demonstrate the region’s ability to find value in every ingredient.
“Proteins are from both premium and more humble cuts, and always with a focus on minimising waste,” Nicholson says. “In the Mondeghili, for example, meat is used cooked, not raw, from the off-cuts of stock making and other preparation, giving it that juicy bite.”
For Australian diners, part of the appeal of Milanese cuisine may come from the fact that many of its flavours already feel familiar. Saffron, bay leaves, artichokes, ossobuco and panettone are all ingredients and dishes that have found their way into Australian kitchens, while others feel like they have a natural connection with local dining traditions.
Nicholson points to cotoletta as one example.
“Think about the shnitty, or schnitzel. We embraced it in our culture and made it our own. Well, the Milanese always had cotoletta, and we’d love you to come down to Latteria and try how such a simple and familiar dish can be juicy and exciting all over again.”
For Nicholson, exploring Milanese food is not about challenging the Italian dishes Australians already know. Instead, it is about expanding the conversation and recognising the depth of one of the world’s most celebrated cuisines.
“Milanese cuisine doesn’t want to challenge the status quo, it’s not one or the other,” he says. “It’s about showing that Italian food is much more than pizza, meatball spaghetti and cannoli. While all of these are delicious, there is so much more diversity in the food of the peninsula that really showcases one of the richest cuisines of the world.”
That evolution mirrors Milan itself – a city where tradition and innovation exist together.
“It is glamour, and it is working class, and design, and creativity, and change,” Nicholson says. “Modern Italian cuisine, the one that people truly experience every day, goes much beyond the stereotype and the classics. It is an ever-changing and ever-evolving beauty, with strong cultural roots and a keen curiosity to explore, change and evolve.”
Ultimately, the lesson Milanese cuisine offers may have less to do with individual dishes and more to do with the way food brings people together.
“As a cuisine, it is a meeting point of many cultural influences, and through its food, it wants to bring people together through thoughtful and heart-warming dishes. Patrons become friends, friends who go on and create unforgettable memories around the table. As we all know, food tastes much better when enjoyed with our loved ones,” says Nicolson.
