Italian cuisine is known throughout the world and today it is one of the most popular cuisines in the world. For many years Rome has been one of the main gastronomic capitals of the world. The basis of Italian cuisine consists of the dishes from different provinces of the country – Naples, Bologna, Venice. In the preparation of most often used vegetables, dough products, cheese.
To come to Italy and not taste the world famous local dishes is simply inadmissible. So what are the dishes that are an integral part of Italian cuisine? See more chef-chef-chef.com
1. Artichokes
Artichokes (carciofi) belong to the antipasti, which in Italy means “cold appetizers” . This section of the menu has a special place in Italian restaurants. Artichokes have been a favorite dish of Italians for centuries. The thing is that in Italy this “flowering vegetable” bears fruit for eight months of the year.
This famous “appetizer” is served here in different forms – boiled, grilled, fried. I recommend you try the baked artichokes, I liked them best.
2. Prosciutto with mozzarella
The local prosciutto ham is a traditional Italian dish. Like artichokes, it is served as an appetizer, usually in company with mozzarella. Sometimes arugula is also added to this tandem.
3. Caprese
Caprese is a traditional Italian salad of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, seasoned with salt (sometimes pepper) and olive oil. The ingredients symbolize the colors of the Italian flag: red, white and green. In Italy, the salad usually serves as an antipasti (appetizer), unlike most other salads, which are served as separate dishes.
4. Tortellini
Tortellini are Italian dumplings, which are slightly smaller than our Russian ones. This dish is prepared with different fillings – meat, vegetables, cheese, seafood. As a rule, tortellini are served in sauce or broth. It’s worth mentioning that the size of dishes here is simply huge, and this applies not only to the tortellini. If you order one dish, you can safely divide it for two, and sometimes for three people.
5. Minestrone
Minestrone (minestrone) – the famous Italian soup, which is prepared from several vegetables. The composition varies depending on the season.
The peculiarity of this soup is its density. Often the vegetables are ground in a blender to achieve the desired consistency. I would say that it looks more like porridge than soup. Minestrone is often made with the addition of beans or pulses.
6. Gnocchi
The national Italian dish gnocchi has its analogue in Russia – gnocchi. In Italy the main products in the preparation of gnocchi are potatoes, corn flour and riccotta. Italian gnocchi are most commonly prepared in two ways – boiled or baked. The first is more common.
Gnocchi are usually served with different sauces or with the addition of vegetables, cheese or seafood.
7. Lasagna
Lasagna (lasagna) is a traditional Italian dish that is layers of dough together with a filling. Lasagna in Italy is cooked in two forms – vegetarian and meat. The most common is Lasagna Bolognese. In addition to the filling and dough, a creamy béchamel sauce is added to the dish.
8. Pizza
Probably the most famous Italian dish, beloved all over the world. It is considered that the pizza in Italy was invented several centuries ago. And this national dish had its present appearance in 1800.
Today, there are many varieties of pizza. But the most real pizza is of course the traditional Margarita. Its composition is unpretentious: dough, tomatoes, mozzarella, tomato paste and basil. These ingredients give the pizza its red-white-green color, symbolizing the flag of Italy.
The original pizza in Italy is made exclusively in wood-fired ovens freshersweb.com.
9. Pasta
After visiting Italy, I finally understood why people in other countries call Italians “pasta people. Pasta (or macaroni) is probably the second most famous dish after pizza. The Italians just love this dish and know how to cook it. There are a huge variety of pasta dishes – with vegetables, meat and seafood 123musiq.ws.
In Italy they use several types of pasta, the main of which are fettuccine – long ribbons of width about 1-2 cm, lasagnette – thin ribbons, capellini – long thin pasta and farfalle known to Russians as butterflies.
10. Tiramisu
Italian tiramisu is the best I’ve ever tasted in my life. These days, this famous dessert is popular all over the world. But no other country in the world has learned how to make it like Italy. Here it is served exclusively in glass molds, unlike in other countries where you can see tiramisu in the form of a cake or a pastry film indir mobil.