Al forno

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In cooking, al forno is an Italian phrase describing food that is "at/from the oven". Baked pizza, breads and pasta dishes are often part of this genre. Pasta that is "al forno" is also often al dente which means "at/to the tooth". One of the most common pasta dishes one will see the label "al forno" affixed to is lasagna. Al forno usage can vary from a more strict use of only the traditional wood-fired brick oven or more loosely used in more modern recipes that use a conventional oven like the casserole "Ziti Al Forno".[1]

[edit] History and culture

Al forno is a term that described cuisine in Northern Italy which has the tradition of using wood-burning ovens and open-flame grills. Wood-fired pizza ovens have often been constructed by Italian restaurants that offer "al forno" or "furnace" to continue this tradition. This style has spread all over the Mediterranean in terms of becoming a bread, pasta, dough cooking technique. The brick oven has become a kind of symbol for "al forno" with its arched oven door and a wooden board upon which the food was put in and taken out, the wood acting as a kind of insulator.[2]