# Italian Cuisine: Classic Dishes Everyone Should Try > A delicious journey through Italy, from pasta to desserts. We explore the classic dishes and regional flavors of Italian cuisine for food lovers. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/smachna-podorozh-italiieiu-vid-pasty-do-desertiv-vidkryite-dlia-sebe-bahatstvo-italiiskoi-kukhni-ta-ii-rehionalni-osoblyvosti/ - Language: en - Published: 2024-01-10 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Restaurants, Tours, Italy, Food & Drinks --- Think of Italy and, chances are, food comes to mind first, followed by all the beautiful places you could visit. Italian cuisine, or some version of it, has colonized the rest of the world so successfully that there are probably unexplored corners of the Amazon where you can sit down at a red and white checkered tablecloth and order a plate of pasta with sauce. There is a reason the food tastes so good. In fact, there are hundreds of reasons scattered across Italy's different regions. If you cannot visit them all, here are some of the classic dishes: ## Pizza Napoletana Italy's gift to soap opera fans, workaholics and delivery scooter makers needs no introduction. Pizza can be ordered almost anywhere on the planet, including on a long distance train, within 30 minutes, provided there is a phone signal and a decent tip. But that greasy slice you eat straight from the box (for breakfast? Seriously?) is far from the real thing. Genuine Italian pizza is thick, tender and chewy. It is traditionally made with fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, basil leaves and melting mozzarella, or fior di latte cheese, or simply served as a white pizza. The most aromatic version uses buffalo milk mozzarella. Many crimes have been committed in the name of pizza science: hot dog toppings? Or pineapple pizza? But the original still tastes best nowhere else but in Naples, the city of its birth. ## Tagliatelle al Ragu The rest of the world calls it "spaghetti bolognese." But the rest of the world is wrong. This perfect pairing of tender ragu sauce and fresh golden tagliatelle pasta is the calling card of the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, and of the city of Bologna in particular. Hence the global name. Legend has it that the shape of tagliatelle was inspired by the curly blonde hair of the formidable 16th century Italian noblewoman Lucrezia Borgia. The ragu is made from finely chopped or ground cuts of pork and beef, combined with celery, carrot, onion, tomato sauce and red wine. It is topped with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, like a snow capped peak. The original ancient recipe is guarded by the Azdore, the "priestesses of pasta," who make fresh tagliatelle daily for customers at fresh pasta boutiques throughout the region. ## Rigatoni alla Carbonara ![Rigatoni alla Carbonara](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-1-2024.jpg) This dish takes only a few ingredients to make, but the secret lies in their quality and the way they cling to the tube shaped pasta. Pecorino cheese, pork cheek and raw organic eggs are all it takes for this signature dish of Rome. Because it is a heavy, protein rich dish, it is usually served at dinner. Homemade rigatoni should be "al dente," cooked exactly to the point where they are neither soft nor hard, so the thick egg dressing sticks without running onto the plate. Spaghetti can also be used, ideally homemade with a grainy surface. Carbonara may owe its creation to American influence, as the egg and bacon pasta probably flourished with the arrival of American troops in Italy during World War II, but Romans and Italians as a whole prefer the local legend that the dish was a favorite of the charcoal burners who worked in the cold Apennine Mountains. ## Trofie al Pesto ![Trofie al Pesto](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-2-2024.jpg) The word pesto literally means "to pound" in the Genoese dialect. In this case basil, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, pine nuts, garlic cloves, coarse salt and extra virgin olive oil are crushed together in a Genoese marble mortar. They come together to create a thick, creamy sauce that smells of a Mediterranean garden and begs to be stirred through a plate of handmade twisted trofie pasta. This dish is at its best in Genoa, in the northwest of Liguria, a land of seafarers and adventurers. The region was a hub of the spice trade in the Middle Ages, when the use of herbs and flowers to flavor food became common. A legacy of those times, pesto flourished in the 1800s from an earlier, older garlic based recipe called "agliata." ## Lasagna ![Lasagna](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-3-2024.jpg) The freezer ready supermarket versions of this classic, more suited to propping open doors or smashing windows, have not done it any favors over the years. But when it is well made, with rich layers of ragu, bechamel sauce and Parmigiano cheese seeping between handmade sheets of fresh flat "sfoglia" pasta, it is still divine. Lasagna, eaten in recipes using either spinach or tomatoes, is closely tied to the modern northern city of Bologna, but its origins reach back to Roman times. Rumor has it that it was a favorite dish of the philosopher Cicero, because its delicacy and softness were easier to digest than many others that found his outspoken beliefs hard to swallow. He is said to have devoured huge quantities right up until his death. ## Brodetto ![Brodetto](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-4-2024.jpg) Solo diners should avoid ordering this dish unless they are: A) truly starving. B) very fond of fish. Brodetto is a fish soup of giant proportions. It is served as a single main course, but there is usually enough for two. Skate, mullet, flounder, redfish and shrimp stare up from a bubbling cauldron, floating in a pool alongside half ripe tomatoes, parsley and garlic. Pieces of toasted bread are dropped in before the meal begins and left to soak up the fishy liquid. Once all the fish has been eaten, it is time to devour the soaked bread. At the very end, thin spaghetti called capelli d'angelo (or angel hair) is tossed into the pot and mixed with what remains of the sea broth. It is an upside down meal, typical of Vasto on the Adriatic coast. ## Tortellini Handmade knot shaped pasta is stuffed with pork loin, ham, Mortadella salami, Parmigiano cheese, eggs and nutmeg, then tossed into a rich capon broth. According to a cheeky legend, a curious innkeeper in Bologna peeked through a keyhole to spy on Venus, Mars and Bacchus in the middle of a steamy threesome. He caught only a glimpse of the goddess's perfect navel and tried to recreate it in the shape of pasta. Voila! The tortellino was born. The original recipe is guarded by the Brotherhood of the Tortellino, staunch purists who will not tolerate creative twists. Many towns in the Emilia-Romagna region claim to be the creators of this staple, but there is a fierce rivalry among three of them: Modena, Bologna and Castelfranco Emilia, a small town halfway between them. ## Gelato ![Gelato](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-5-2024.jpg) Yes, we know a "real" gelateria has opened in your neighborhood. And we know it is good. But it is still not as good as what you can eat anywhere in Italy, with the warm evening sun on your face and an orchestra of ancient Vespas roaring in the background. Gelato is said to have been inspired by the ancient Sicilians, who mixed fruit juice with snow from Mount Etna. Today the recipes call for milk, cream, sugar and eggs. Traditional local flavors include pistachio, roasted almond, walnut, lemon, tangerine, fig and prickly pear. It can be enjoyed on its own or with a brioche bun, the way the Sicilians do it. Pieces of the bun are used to scoop up the gelato, which can also be spread inside like a peanut butter sandwich. ## Baccala alla Vicentina ![Baccala alla Vicentina](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-6-2024.jpg) This dish is made from dried fish. No, stay with us! This is not the jelly like reconstituted fish of Scandinavian nightmares. It is a far tastier proposition. The secret is in the preparation, a recipe invented by merchants from Vicenza in the 1500s and guarded by a brotherhood of cooks. The dried cod is softened by beating it, then placed under running water for two days. Extra virgin olive oil, milk, Parmigiano, onion and anchovies are then added and cooked slowly so the ingredients seep into one another. They say that, as you savor it, your mouth should sense a live fish still swimming in the ocean, a scenario we admit is a little nightmarish. ## Polenta ![Polenta](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-7-2024.jpg) This dish of boiled cornmeal is best served as a steaming, semi liquid mass on a wooden plate. It can also be chilled, set firm, cut into sticks and served grilled as rectangular snacks. Once a peasant dish believed to have aphrodisiac properties, it is now an excellent gluten free substitute for bread. With its neutral flavor, it pairs well with everything: rabbit, mushrooms, veal stewed with tomato sauce and milk. Even with Nutella. ## Carciofo alla Giudia This fried, crispy golden artichoke, which makes a crunchy sound with every bite, is a delicacy of Rome's Jewish quarter. The selection criteria are strict. Only the finest varieties are chosen. They are 15 centimeters wide, twice the usual size, and grow on the very top of the plant, which has soaked up the most sunlight. After the coarse leaves are delicately trimmed with a shoemaker's knife, the artichoke is dipped twice into frying oil at different temperatures. It is served as an appetizer, sometimes upside down, with the stem in the air, overflowing the plate like a blossoming flower. ## Risotto alla Milanese ![Risotto alla Milanese](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-8-2024.jpg) This is an Italian staple with an exotic flavor. This creamy rice dish gets its golden color and soft texture from saffron. That is why it is also called risotto allo zafferano, though the Milanese call it by the more prosaic name, risotto giallo. Local carnaroli or arborio rice is cooked with veal broth, butter, Grana Padano cheese and sometimes bone marrow. The secret to a great risotto alla Milanese is giving the rice time to absorb the flavors. As always, there is a backstory. This one revolves around a Dutch painter who, at a fancy dinner while on assignment decorating the windows of Milan's Duomo cathedral, served a rice dish that included the saffron he used as a yellow dye. It was an instant hit. ## Porceddu Do not be alarmed if, during a tour of Sardinia, you come across rural food fairs where suckling pigs are roasting over open fires. This is perfectly normal here, and if you love meat and are not squeamish, we are sorry to report that crispy suckling pig is extremely tasty. Porceddu (which means suckling pig in Sardinian) is a dish made from a piglet that has fed exclusively on its mother's milk and weighs less than 8 kilograms. This ensures tender meat and a milder flavor. After slaughter, it is roasted for hours in town squares and prepared in various ways. During cooking, drops of liquid lard are dripped onto the piglet to make it crispier and tastier. When it is ready to serve, it can be glazed with honey and sprinkled with herbs. Preparing it is a spectacle, and the secret to a great crispy porceddu lies in skillfully turning the giant spit so the outer skin is crisp but not burnt, while the meat stays tender. ## Bombolotti all'Amatriciana Amatriciana sauce was born in the town of Amatrice, in Italy's central region of Lazio, when a local recipe was adapted after tomatoes were brought here following the discovery of the Americas. It has since been embraced as a Roman classic, and its secret lies in choosing the right kind of pasta, and no one does it better than bombolotti. These thick, wide macaroni have ribs that catch the sauce, made from the best tomatoes, fried crispy pork cheek and sprinkled with grated tangy Roman pecorino cheese. True to their name, bombolotti burst with flavor in your mouth at the first bite. ## Caponata ![Caponata](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-9-2024.jpg) Sweet tasting vegetables are not something you would usually order in Italy, but this extravagant Sicilian medley will win anyone over. It is a sweet and sour mix of various vegetables, dressed with a sauce of tomato extract, onion, celery, capers and olives. There are many variations of caponata, but most use small potatoes, eggplant and bell pepper, cooked with almonds, pine nuts, raisins, sugar, vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil. ## Tiramisu It is no surprise that a country famous for its desserts and coffee found a way to combine them so wonderfully. What is surprising is that this marvelous combination was supposedly invented in a brothel. Tiramisu is made of layers of Savoiardi biscuits, dipped one by one into a whipped mixture of mascarpone cream cheese and a delicate blend of various coffee powders. Sometimes chocolate powder is added too, but purists prefer coffee alone. Traditionally it is prepared in large trays and served in rectangular portions, like lasagna. The name tiramisu literally means "lift me up" or "pull me up," a reference to the restorative powers it supposedly gave to brothel patrons in the northern city of Treviso, allowing them to spend more money. ## Insalata Caprese ![Insalata Caprese](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-10-2024.jpg) Cannot cook but want to learn how to make excellent Italian food? Start here. This symbol of the Mediterranean diet is made simply by alternating slices of fresh tomato and mozzarella cheese, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh basil leaves. They say the white of the mozzarella, set beside the red tomato and green basil, represents the Italian flag. Its birthplace is believed to be the chic island of Capri. Insalata Caprese means "salad made the Capri way." ## Bollito alla Piemontese Meat lovers will appreciate this dish, which hails from the northern region of Piedmont. Bollito simply means "boiled" and is a feast of different kinds of meat. A single dish contains boiled cuts from seven different parts of beef, as well as parts of other animals: calf's head, shoulder steak, ox tongue, oxtail, flank; a whole capon and one cotechino pork sausage. Carrot, onion, fresh rosemary, celery, garlic, salt and pepper are added to give flavor to this meat assortment. The meat can then be dipped into various sweet and sour sauces. The whole secret lies in getting the timing and temperature right. The longer the meat cooks, the tastier it becomes, but there is a risk of ruining the flavor by overcooking. ## Linguine allo Scoglio ![Linguine allo Scoglio](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-11-2024.jpg) "Sea rock" in Italian, scoglio is a fitting name for this dish of linguine intertwined with squid, clams, mussels, prawns and small shrimp, seasoned with hot pepper, parsley, tomatoes and a splash of white wine. It is a seafood pasta recipe that goes back to ancient fishing traditions, when families living on the coast ate their evening pasta with the fresh catch of the day. Linguine, also known as "little tongues," are flat, thin noodles, perfect for seafood dishes. This dish resembles coastal rocks after the crashing waves have left behind a handful of sea creatures. The original recipe hails from Naples but has spread to most of the southern cities. In Rome it is also served wrapped in foil. ## Parmigiana Not one to tackle at lunch unless you can nap afterward, this delicious dish is a melting stratification of fried eggplant, Pachino tomato sauce, eggs, fresh basil and caciocavallo or fior di latte cheese. The best eggplants are oval, dark purple and thick, ideal for frying. They can also be sprinkled with grated smoked ricotta. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with the northern city of Parma, but comes from the heart of Sicily and is a popular dish mainly in southern Italy. ## Coda alla Vaccinara ![Coda alla Vaccinara](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-12-2024.jpg) This dish comes together when you braise oxtail for hours in a huge pan with celery, carrot, onion and a liter of red wine. The best versions take two days to make, the ingredients simmering slowly over a low flame until the meat separates from the bone at the touch of your tongue. At the end of the meal, bruschetta croutons are often dipped into the pan to gather the leftover sauce of carrot, oxtail and celery. It is a typical Roman dish, usually served during holidays, so tender it melts in your mouth. ## Vitello Tonnato Italians usually do not like to mix meat and fish, but there are a few exceptions. One of them is vitello tonnato, or veal coated in a tuna cream. This unusual dish is made of boiled veal fillets, sliced into rounds and covered with a thick layer of mayonnaise blended with minced tuna, anchovies and capers. It is usually served cold as an appetizer. It is a specialty of the Piedmont region, which bears the influence of past French conquerors. ## Malloreddus alla Campidanese ![Malloreddus alla Campidanese](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-13-2024.jpg) Malloreddus is a tiny shell shaped pasta made from durum wheat flour, served with a sauce of onion, sausage ragu (ideally fennel flavored) or dried salami, and dressed with salty Sardinian pecorino cheese. Basil can also be added. The sauce slips inside the tiny pockets of the malloreddus. According to local lore, the name of the pasta means "little bulls" in the regional dialect, because its shape reminded shepherds of calves. It is a classic staple from the southwestern Campidano area of Sardinia. ## Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe The tasty Roman pecorino cheese, mixed with a sprinkling of black pepper, melts as soon as it is combined with thick, curly tonnarelli spaghetti fresh out of the boiling water. The secret to a great sauce lies in adding teaspoons of hot salted water from the pot of boiling pasta, to help the ingredients blend into a creamy, slightly sticky sauce that clings easily to the tonnarelli. Cheese lovers usually add an extra layer of grated pecorino to make it even tastier. It is a simple signature dish of Rome, found in typical trattorias. ## Sfogliatella ![Sfogliatella](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-14-2024.jpg) Those with a sweet tooth will be delighted by this finest of Neapolitan pastries, which is fun to eat. There are two types of sfogliatella. The riccia, meaning "curly," is shell shaped and has crispy layers of flaky pastry filled with fresh sweet ricotta, chopped candied orange pieces, vanilla and cinnamon. It is dusted with sugar. When you bite into its corner, the pastry unravels like a ball of wool, revealing the filling inside. The frolla sfogliatella is round and filled with the same ingredients, but wrapped in shortcrust pastry. Local poets wrote sonnets praising the wonderful taste of these "two sisters." It is a street sweet. In Naples, pastry stalls sell freshly made sfogliatelle every day. ## Culurgiones These handmade ravioli are filled with mashed potato, chopped mint, garlic and grated Sardinian pecorino cheese. They are best enjoyed plain, "in white," without any added sauce, just a little extra virgin olive oil or grated tuna roe (bottarga). They are arranged on the plate in the shape of a blossoming flower. Culurgiones are also eaten with tomato sauce and fresh basil. Shaping them by hand can be tricky; it takes time to learn how to do it properly. Once the ingredients are wrapped in dough, the edges are pinched together, forming small lines that resemble ears of wheat. It is a typical dish from the Ogliastra region of Sardinia, once prepared as a festive treat to celebrate the grain harvest, a kind of local Thanksgiving meal. ## Agnolotti del Plin ![Agnolotti del Plin](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-15-2024.jpg) These handmade square ravioli with zigzag edges, filled with roasted meat, are usually eaten either with veal broth enriched with meat sauce, or with butter and sage. Being a very nourishing dish, it is usually served at dinner and on special occasions. While the agnolotti are cooking, a glass of red wine can be poured over them to enhance the flavor. At the end, a thin layer of grated Parmigiano cheese is added as a topping. The plin is the final "pinch" made to seal the agnolotto. In the past, farming families ate them without any sauce, to better taste the ingredients of the Piedmontese recipe. ## Risotto al Gorgonzola This rich rice dish was born on the border between Lombardy and Piedmont. Gorgonzola blue cheese is the perfect dressing for risotto. It has a delicate flavor when added to local rice varieties, such as carnaroli, which absorb the aromas during cooking. To prepare it, the rice is cooked with vegetable broth, and pieces of gorgonzola are added at the end, just before the butter and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. It is topped with black pepper. Nuts and pieces of special sausages from the Piedmontese town of Bra, made from a blend of veal and pork fat, can also be added to the dish. Gorgonzola cheese was apparently created by mistake. They say a young dairyman, eager to meet his girlfriend, forgot to finish his work and left a pot of cheese outside. Instead of throwing away the nearly spoiled cheese the next morning, he added a fresh layer. Green veins of mold formed between them, resembling "parsley." ## Timballo ![Timballo](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-1-16-2024.jpg) Timballo is the art of repurposing leftovers from the previous day or after a festive meal. It is the Italian equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon pie. Anything can be placed inside the shortcrust pastry, as long as it has been cooked beforehand. Pasta, meat, cheese, vegetables, tortellini, eggs, sausages and even fish are mixed with bechamel sauce and placed inside the dough, which is then folded over and baked in the oven. It is eaten mainly in central and northern Italy, with family recipes passed down from generation to generation. Timballo was invented as a way to preserve expensive ingredients and stretch the meal over several days.