Civilization’s relationship with bread goes back many hundreds of years. Today, it plays an important role in many culinary traditions. However, few countries can claim to have quite the same significance attached to their bread that is attached to Italian breads.

The average Italian will consume roughly a half-pound of bread every day, seldom eating a full meal that doesn’t contain some form of bread. This is a tradition that traces its roots back to ancient times in the Roman Empire. Back then, it was considered highly prestigious to be a baker; even temples would often have their own bread ovens, where they would prepare breads as a form of ritual. In the first century AD, Rome founded an entire school devoted to baking so as to perfect and propagate the trade.

In modern-day Italy, bread remains just as important as it was in ancient times. You can still find distinct regional recipes from town to town, all baked in real brick or stone ovens. At our Bothell Italian restaurant, you can experience the magic of Italian bread in the form of our bruschetta al pomodoro, our salumi grinder, and a whole lot more.

You may be familiar with gelato as an Italian variation on conventional ice cream. This long-time favorite dessert is similar in many ways to the ice cream we know and love in the US, and can even be indistinguishable in some cases. However, there are important differences between the two.

The main difference between gelato and ice cream is that gelato may or may not contain cream. Some types of gelato, known as sorbetto, will not have any sort of dairy product in them at all. For this reason, gelato is often known to be lower in both fat and calories than most other ice creams, as well as an acceptable alternative for diners who practice a vegan or lactose-free diet. In whatever form it may take, it is a soft and delicious dessert for hot, summer nights.

At our Bothell Italian restaurant, you can enjoy this Italian treat in the form of our vanilla affogato di gelato, served in espresso, or our gelati and sorbetto dish. Try it out for yourself at Amaro Bistro tonight!

If you’re a fan of shellfish, consider trying a plate of cozze. This dish, taking its name from the Italian word for mussels, is a delicious way to enjoy the great taste of shellfish with a dash of distinctive Mediterranean flair.

A diet rich in mussels gives you a good many health benefits. Not only are these shellfish a good source of lean, healthy protein and valuable omega-3 fatty acids, but they are also rich in a long list of valuable vitamins and minerals. Among these are iron, vitamin C, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, and some B vitamins. In a single three ounce serving of mussels, you can get more than 300% of your recommended daily value of vitamin B12, which is an important part of building healthy red blood cells, maintaining your nervous system, and encouraging healthy development in a growing body.

At our Bothell Italian restaurant, you can try cozze steamed in a white wine broth. Come enjoy it tonight at Amaro Bistro, and make mussels a bigger part of your diet.

Rice may not be the first dish you think of when you think of Italian food, but this well-traveled grain has been a big part of dining throughout the Mediterranean area for a long time. Consider, for example, the classic Italian risotto.

Rice originally was brought to Italy from the Middle East. Early records show us that risotto has been enjoyed in the country at least as far back as the 1500’s. Over time, the recipe spread throughout Italy. Different regions have their own special variations on the dish, but it generally includes frying rice with onions, garlic, and other herbs in butter or oil. The chef then coats this mixture in white wine and stirs the dish until the wine has fully evaporated. It is then combined with cheese and broth until it becomes chewy and creamy, and served with some form of meat, vegetable, or seafood.

When you feel like experiencing risotto, come to our Bothell Italian restaurant for our risotto of the day. You’ll find there are many great ways to enjoy this old Italian favorite.

The roots of pizza can be traced back to ancient times. Dishes that resemble our modern pizza pies have been enjoyed for at least seven thousand years, though most of these were simply flatbreads topped with assortments of ingredients and condiments. It would not be until the 16th century that something more recognizable as pizza would first be prepared.

It was during this time that Naples was a thriving Greek settlement, populated largely by working-class poor. In an effort to provide this workforce with quick and easy nutrition on the go, street vendors began serving a dish they called pizza. The earliest pizza came in the form of a flatbread topped with much of what we use today, including cheese, tomatoes, anchovies, and garlic.

After Italy unified, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples. The couple was bored with French haute cuisine, and developed a taste for the local peasant food. Margherita had a particular liking for mozzarella pizza. The dish therefore came to be known as pizza Margherita, which was embraced throughout the country.

Today, you can enjoy several varieties of pizza at our Italian restaurant in Bothell. Try a Margherita, a pepperoni, a pollo, a polpette, or a flat iron pizza at Amaro Bistro tonight!

In America, most people are largely unaccustomed to any cheese that is made from any milk other than a cow’s. If this is your experience, you may find that goat cheese is a delightful alternative to your more familiar cheeses. A lot of diners find that goat cheese offers you a distinctly rich and satisfying flavor.

Goat cheese stands out from cow-based cheese because of its different fat composition. Since goats are smaller than their bovine counterparts, they don’t produce the agglutinin protein found in cow milk that causes the fat to clump together in the cheese-making process. The fat found in goat milk remains more dispersed and naturally homogenized, lending it a creamier texture.

Further, goat cheese contains higher levels of caproic, caprylic, and capric acids than is found in cow-based cheese. These give the cheese a delightfully tangy taste that many diners find irresistible. If you’ve never experienced the pleasure of goat cheese for yourself, try it out at our Italian restaurant in Bothell in the form of our quinoa and asparagi salad, our funghi frittata, and more!

Do you know the difference between shrimp and prawns? Many diners would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. Indeed, you may occasionally find that these two terms are used interchangeably. However, it is generally accepted that prawns are larger than shrimp.

One way or the other, prawns have largely the same health benefits found in shrimp. Prawns offer a healthy dose of the omega-3 fatty acids you need to maintain a functional circulatory system. Since these animals are a low rung on the food chain, you can expect even those caught in the wild to have a low mercury content. On top of all this, you get a rich array of vitamins and minerals, among which are vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, potassium, iodine, selenium, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. These nutrients help you to maintain good health in your skin, your blood, and many other important systems.

At our Italian restaurant in Bothell, you can enjoy the great taste of white prawns in the form of our gamberoni, sauteed in Italian vermouth, vine ripened roma tomatoes, and basil. Make this delicious favorite a bigger part of your life with Amaro Bistro tonight!

Pepperoni is one of the biggest staples of American Italian-style dining. It’s our favorite topping for our pizzas, a common ingredient for our sandwiches, and more. If you’re a fan of meat, you could hardly have avoided pepperoni. But do you know what is in these Italian-style sausages, or how they are made?

Pepperoni is made of a mixture of different ingredients, though pork is the primary meat. Beef will generally be added as a supplement. Both of these are ground together, and then dried. They are then mixed with an assortment of spices, including salt, black pepper, sugar, anise, cayenne pepper, and paprika. It is the paprika that gives pepperoni much of its color and spicy taste. The mixture is packed into a hog intestine or collagen casing and allowed to dry for between six and eight weeks. Finally, the sausage is cured, after which it is ready to be served.

At our Italian restaurant in Bothell, you can enjoy pepperoni on one of our wood stone fired pizzas. Come and taste this long-time favorite at Amaro Bistro tonight!

Formaggi is a type of Italian cheese-based sauce popularly used in pasta. It derives its name from an Italian word for cheese. It comes in many different forms, with individual chefs coming up with their own recipes; some formaggi will feature only one variety of cheese, while others will feature a mixture. One popular choice is the quattro formaggi, wherein four different hard and soft cheeses are combined so as to achieve a rich variety of textures and flavors.

You can experience the taste of formaggi at our Italian restaurant in Bothell on our heirloom tomato formaggi sandwich. Try this hearty classic at Amaro Bistro today!

Rigatoni is a popular type of Italian pasta that comes in the form of a tube-like shape with ridged edges. It is from these ridges that the pasta derives its name, which comes from rigati, an Italian term for “ridged”. It closely resembles penne, but different in that rigatoni features a larger diameter and is not cut on a diagonal line.

Since the distinctive rigatoni shape has enjoyed popularity in many countries outside of Italy, it can be found in many American Italian-style restaurants. At our Bothell Italian restaurant, you can enjoy this classic pasta in the form of our rigatoni bolognese, which comes with ground veal and lamb ragu, rosemary, red wine, and pecorino-romano.