A Food Fun Travel Guest Post
Known for its impressive history, gorgeous cities, and a significant part in the world’s growth, Italy is equally famous for its cuisine. No person is a stranger to Italian food, and its gastronomy is one of the highest-praised in the world. However, the recipes are not always enough – you must taste the real thing in Italy! So, check out our ultimate list of mouthwatering dishes here!
Pasta Alla Carbonara
Originated in the capital city of Italy, Pasta Alla Carbonara is a spaghetti dish with eggs, cured pork cheek, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Mixed in with spices, the pasta goes lovely with Italian wine. And while you will find it on every menu across the country, we suggest taking any trains to Rome from wherever you are, to taste it from its home city.
Sfogliatelle
After eating the best pasta in the world, we suggest you rush to catch the Rome to Naples train for the best dessert ever! Sfogliatelle is a lovely Neopolitan sweetness made of semolina, ricotta cheese, dried fruit, and limoncello, filling the thin dough with sugar powder on top. This creamy dessert was actually discovered by accident, as many Italian dishes were, by nuns in the 1600s.
It is a great symbol for Naples and its inhabitants, so do not miss out on the historical dish and rich flavors.
Risotto
A typical northern Italian dish, Risotto, can be cooked in many different ways, but if you deal with real Italian chefs in a local restaurant, there is no way you will not enjoy the way it is done!
Generally speaking, Risotto is a rice dish cooked in broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. Many of its variations include butter, onion, white wine, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Interestingly enough, Risotto was introduced to Sicily during Arab rule!
Pizza
Well, pizza is an inseparable part of Italy. And the whole world knows it, trying to recreate the best flavors, yet nothing compares to real Italian ones!
Topped with all kinds of hams, cheese, spices, and oils, pizza in Italy is still the most popular dish, even when being created centuries ago when the country was starving and someone decided to take a chance and mix up random ingredients to make something edible. And we are still grateful for it!
Did you know that UNESCO has recognized pizza as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity?
Gnocchi
Something you would expect at Grandma’s house in Italy, gnocchi is a simple yet extremely tasteful traditional Italian dish made of potatoes! They mash the potatoes, prepare them with cheese, spinach, and eggs, then form them into small balls accompanied by a sauce of choice, usually based on olive oil.
Some might say the dish is quite primitive and uninspiring, but there is nothing primitive about the taste it leaves on your mouth!
Pesto Alla Genovese
We have Italy to thank for the spicy sauce Europeans love to put on everything! However, unlike the previous dishes, many do not know that Pesto comes from here.
This delightful dressing comes from Genoa, Liguria. Traditionally, it is made using a marble mortar and a wooden pestle. The ingredients creating the unforgettable taste are Genoese basil DOP, extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan cheese, Pecorino cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and salt. Preferably, all from Liguria!
Gelato
Another dessert, Gelato, is traditional Italian ice cream. You might think that ice cream is not something that can differ so much, whether made in Italy or anywhere else. Well, there might not be a clear explanation, but Italian Gelato is much tastier than any other!
However, the Italians know it quite well, so Gelato tends to be a lot pricier, especially in places near tourist attractions. Nevertheless, it is still worth the money – a hundred different flavors will melt on your tongue and leave you sweet and satisfied!
Ribollita
Coming from the Tuscany region, Ribollita is a historical dish, symbolizing the Middle Ages and the food of the poor. Of course, the dish is now a delicacy! Similar to pizza, it was created in a moment of desperation and hunger, when the lower class people were starved and threw together all kinds of ingredients they could find in the countryside.
Today, it has become a traditional Italian rural soup of vegetables, beans, herbs, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and pieces of dried bread.
Focaccia
Nowadays, bought by many to put on a dinner table, Focaccia bread actually belongs essentially to the northern shores of the Meditteranean, created and perfected there.
It is said that Focaccia is a bread that anyone can make, and while that might be true, nothing beats the hands of a skilled Italian to prepare it for you! The bread is like a snack in itself and from only four ingredients! Focaccia is a humble mixture of yeast, water, salt, and flour.
Order it anywhere in Italy with your appetizers or the main, but do not miss out on the traditional taste.
I Formaggi
Or simply, the cheeses. The product is so essential to 90% of Italian cuisine that it requires a separate dedication. If you ever attempt an Italian dish yet cannot deliver it to excellence, you should probably just add more cheese.
Try the mozarella, Gorgonzola, a DOP blue cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, and many others. Some restaurants even bring a piece of cheese as a pre-appetizer, packed in something similar to a candy wrapper!
Are you ready to taste the Italian perfection? Because it is unavoidable if you are genuinely committed to getting the country’s essence. Try out everything, and do not forget to wash it down with the wine. Saluti!
