The Top Dishes of Italy

The Top Dishes of Italy

If you’ve ever eaten a pizza or pasta, an sprinkled fresh parmesan on top while you did, you probably consider yourself a low-key connoisseur of the Italian cuisine.

The truth is there is so much more to be discovered once you venture to the homeland itself. What I love most about Italian cooking is that even the most basic dish, like penne marinara for example, might be made completely differently depending on the families in which the recipes were passed down from — yet the experience of the dish remains largely the same.

Making Polenta – by Dario Zontini – Dario Zontini

It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand once you start eating out in Rome, Milan or Naples. Read on to learn a bit about the top dishes to look out for!

Lasagna

I’m confident everyone’s mother attempted to make a lasagne at some point during their childhood, Italian descent or not.

Lasagna is an age old pasta dish consisting of layers of flat pasta sheets, mince meat, sauce and cheese. Today, lasagna is made with tomatoes as a key ingredient along with the meat, but originally it never contained tomatoes at all — instead the meat was mined with mozzarella or parmesan cheese.

You won’t have a shortage of opportunities to eat this when in Italy.

by Elin B – Wikimedia Commons

Pizza

Another thing you won’t have to venture very far for is good old Italian pizza.

Thin base, thick base, round, square, meaty, vegan… whatever your poison, you’ll find your pizza match quite easily.

Enjoy eating your way through Italy and sampling as many different renditions of this dish as you can. Dine in, get take out, get grab-and-go slices, drive to small villages and eat their pizzas… it’s a world of dining opportunity.

by David Adam Kess – Wikimedia Commons

Prosciutto

To the unfamiliar eye, prosciutto can look like giant sheets of really thin pickled ginger. It’s actually a dry-cured ham that is sliced incredibly thin.

Italians will put prosciutto on anything; you’ll see them piling it on pizza, topping off their pasta, wrapping it around melon slices or stuffing it in with a mouthful of cheese.

This is one of the most popular items that are smuggled out of Italy by travelers returning to countries where cured meats are not realty available.

by Kuchtici.eu – Wikimedia Commons

Tiramisu

You and Tiramisu will be come fast friends during your time in Italy. Like lasagna, it’s on just about every menu you’ll come across, and is the perfect way to end of a traditional meal.

Tiramisu is a dessert made from layers of coffee soaked biscuits, mascarpone cheese, whipped eggs, sugar and topped with cacao.

It’s a spongy, creamy mess of goodness. If you’re traveling to Rome you’ll find many shops dedicated to tiramisu only; some of them with over 100 variants of the dessert for you to try. Eat one alongside a cappuccino and you’re practically a local.

by Carlos Lopes – Wikimedia Commons

Arancini

I find that most countries in Europe have some sort of variation of arancini on their own cuisine lists.

Arancini are quite simply just rice balls. They are soft of the inside, and crunchy on the outside as they are coated in breadcrumbs and then deep fried.

Different cooks will fill their arancini with different things, but the most common fillings are a mixture of mozzarella, peas, a tomato based sauce and ragù if desired. You’ll find arancini on the starter menus at all reputable trattorias.

by Ewan Munro – Wikimedia Commons

Risotto

You don’t find rice often in Italian cooking. Risotto is a rice dish where the rice is cooked in a broth for longer than necessary until it becomes so well done that it’s actually creamy.

Butter, onions, parmesan cheese and white wine are usually added into the broth mix. Meats and vegetables can be added later on to give the risotto a unique flavor.

In Rome I enjoyed many a mushroom risotto. Something to keep in mind, however, is that this dish is very easy to do badly, given the fact that they are essentially overcooking something. Be weary about ordering it at just any old trattoria.

by H. Alexander Talbot – Wikimedia Commons

Ribollita

Ribollita is one of the most important dishes in the history of Italian cuisine. It originated as the poor man’s dish, back in times where peasants lived in the cities and would scavenge for any leftovers they could find.

Everything gathered would be boiled into one big soup, making for a hearty meal, especially if they’d acquired some bread along the way too.

Today the preparation of this meal is far more structured, but still open to any ingredients the chef deems suitable. It’s great on a cold day!

Ribollita – by LupoCapra – Wikimedia Commons

Gelato

Another Italian classic that you will become very well aquatinted with while in the country.

The Italian ice cream scene is ever evolving; gelato is now available in many different forms including vegan and gluten free friendly.

Again, sample as many renditions of authentic Italian gelato while you have the chance! After a while you’ll be able to pick up on the different usage levels of sugar in the different variants, and even which gelatos have used fresh fruits and which are probably synthetic (though this is rare in Italy, and probably punishable by law).

by Shoichi Iwashita – Wikimedia Commons

Polenta

We tend to assume that Italy’s staple grain is maize, but on the country the people of the north have actually relied on corn for generations.

Polenta is mushed cornmeal, put simply. It’s got a porridge like consistency and a bright yellow tone to it. When left to cool, it can be manipulated into different shapes and fried up into crispy bites; but a lot of people eat it as is in its porridge state.

by Rocky Yeh – Wikimedia Commons