World Flavors Cookbook

Italy Recipes

Italian cuisine is celebrated for its simplicity, fresh ingredients, and fierce regional diversity. Northern Italy embraces risotto, polenta, butter, and truffles while southern Italy is the land of pasta, tomato, olive oil, and seafood. This north-south divide created two of the world's greatest food traditions.

Recipes from Italy

• Involtini di Cavolo

  Italian cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and meat.

• Minestrone alla Milanese

  Rich vegetable soup with rice and pancetta.

• Risotto alla Milanese

  Golden saffron risotto.

• Cotoletta alla Milanese

  Breaded veal cutlet fried in butter.

• Gorgonzola

  Creamy blue-veined cheese.

• Grana Padano

  Hard, slow-matured semi-fat cheese.

• Fontina Val d'Aosta

  Rich and nutty mountain cheese.

• Taleggio

  Semi-soft, washed-rind cheese.

• Ribollita

  Tuscan bread and vegetable soup.

• Pappa al Pomodoro

  Thick Tuscan tomato and bread soup.

• Bruschetta al Pomodoro

  Grilled bread with tomatoes and basil.

• Piadina Romagnola

  Soft flatbread from Emilia-Romagna.

• Parmigiano Reggiano

  The king of cheeses.

• Bistecca alla Fiorentina

  Large T-bone steak from Florence.

• Pasta e Fagioli

  Classic pasta and bean soup.

• Zuppa di Cozze

  Mussel soup with tomato and chili.

• Focaccia Pugliese

  Puglian focaccia with tomatoes and olives.

• Taralli

  Crunchy snack rings from Southern Italy.

• Mozzarella di Bufala

  Fresh buffalo milk mozzarella.

• Ricotta

  Fresh whey cheese.

• Pizza Margherita

  Iconic Neapolitan pizza with tomato, mozzarella, and basil.

• Pizza Napoletana Marinara

  Tomato, garlic, and oregano pizza.

• Spaghetti alle Vongole

  Pasta with clams, garlic, and white wine.

• Pasta alla Norma

  Sicilian pasta with eggplant and ricotta salata.

• Porchetta

  Herb-roasted rolled pork.

• Panettone

  Christmas sweet bread from Milan.

• Tiramisu

  Coffee-flavored pick-me-up dessert.

• Panna Cotta

  Cooked cream dessert from Piedmont.

• Frittata di Zucchine

  Italian zucchini omelet.

• Uova in Purgatorio

  Eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce.

• Cacciucco alla Livornese

  Spicy Tuscan fish stew.

• Pasta e Fagioli (Traditional)

  The definitive bean and pasta dish.

• Risotto alla Milanese (Classic)

  Traditional saffron risotto.

• Fagioli all'Uccelletto

  Beans simmered with tomato and sage.

• Osso Buco alla Milanese

  Braised veal shanks with gremolata.

• Saltimbocca alla Romana

  Veal topped with prosciutto and sage.

• Lasagna alla Bolognese

  Layered pasta with ragù and béchamel.

• Pesto alla Genovese

  Fresh basil and pine nut sauce pasta.

• Cannoli Siciliani

  Crispy pastry tubes filled with sweet ricotta.

• Arancini Siciliani

  Fried rice balls with ragù and peas.

• Frittata di Asparagi

  A thick Italian baked omelette studded with tender asparagus and Parmesan — eaten warm or at room temperature.

• Tiramisu Classico

  The great Italian coffee dessert — espresso-soaked ladyfingers layered with mascarpone cream and dusted with bitter cocoa.

• Ribollita

  Tuscany's beloved thick bread and vegetable soup — reheated and re-boiled until it becomes a dense, warming stew.

• Caponata Siciliana

  Sicily's sweet and sour eggplant agrodolce — fried eggplant with celery, olives, capers, and a vinegar-sugar sauce.

• Pappa al Pomodoro

  A thick Tuscan tomato and bread porridge — simple, rustic, and deeply satisfying.

• Torta della Nonna

  Grandmother's tart — a double-crust pastry filled with lemon-scented custard and topped with pine nuts.

• Panna Cotta

  A silky cream-set dessert from Piedmont — wobbling vanilla cream served with fresh berry coulis or caramel.

• Pasta all'Amatriciana

  Rigatoni or bucatini with guanciale and a bright, spicy San Marzano tomato sauce — the Roman pasta of Lazio.

• Pasta alla Carbonara

  Rome's silky egg and guanciale pasta — no cream, just perfectly emulsified egg yolks, Pecorino, and rendered pork fat.

• Cacio e Pepe

  Rome's most minimalist pasta — only Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and starchy pasta water create an impossibly creamy sauce.

• Pasta alla Gricia

  The 'white Amatriciana' — guanciale, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper without tomato. Rome's oldest pasta.

• Ragu alla Bolognese

  The slow-cooked meat sauce of Bologna — veal, pork, and beef with wine, milk, and a whisper of tomato, served with tagliatelle.

• Arancini

  Sicilian fried rice balls filled with ragu, peas, and mozzarella — golden, crispy, and indulgent street food.

• Suppli al Telefono

  Rome's classic fried rice croquettes with a mozzarella center that pulls into a 'telephone wire' when bitten.

• Saltimbocca alla Romana

  Thin veal escalopes topped with sage and prosciutto, pan-fried in butter and white wine — one of Rome's great second courses.

• Coda alla Vaccinara

  Roman oxtail braised with celery, tomatoes, and dark chocolate in the classic 'alla vaccinara' style.

• Baccala alla Vicentina

  Salt cod slowly braised in milk, onions, and anchovy — the defining dish of Vicenza in the Veneto.

• Gnocchi di Patate

  Pillowy handmade potato gnocchi — light, soft, and perfect with sage butter or a simple tomato sauce.

• Risotto al Nero di Seppia

  Dramatic black risotto made with squid ink — rich, oceanic, and deeply flavored from the Venetian lagoon.

• Polenta Taragna

  A rich Bergamo-style polenta made with buckwheat flour and melted alpine cheese — thick, luxurious, and deeply satisfying.

• Trippa alla Romana

  Rome's beloved Saturday dish — tripe simmered in spiced tomato sauce with fresh mint and Pecorino Romano.

• Acquacotta

  "Cooked water" — the poorest Tuscan peasant soup of wild greens, onion, and bread with a poached egg on top.

• Farinata

  Genoa's beloved chickpea flatbread — crispy on the edges, custardy in the center, baked in a blazing hot oven.

• Stracciatella in Brodo

  Rome's Easter soup — rich chicken broth with egg and Parmesan poured in to create soft, wispy 'little rags'.

• Insalata Caprese

  The iconic tricolore salad from Capri — buffalo mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, and basil with only olive oil and sea salt.

• Cicoria alla Romana

  Chicory sautéed with garlic and chilli in olive oil — Rome's most beloved vegetable side.

• Peperonata

  Slow-cooked sweet peppers with tomatoes, onion, and olive oil — an Italian classic eaten warm, cold, or on bruschetta.

• Zucchine Trifolate

  Zucchini thinly sliced and sautéed with garlic and parsley until golden — the simplest and most satisfying Italian side.

• Pizzoccheri della Valtellina

  Buckwheat pasta baked with potatoes, savoy cabbage, and melted Valtellina Casera cheese — Alpine comfort food.

• Abbacchio Scottadito

  Roman grilled baby lamb chops — so hot they 'burn the fingers' (scottadito), eaten straight from the grill.

• Braciole al Sugo

  Neapolitan beef rolls stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, cheese, and herbs, slow-braised in tomato sauce.

• Torrone

  Italy's classic Christmas nougat — honey, sugar, egg whites, and whole almonds or hazelnuts encased in wafer.

• Pastiera Napoletana

  Naples' magnificent Easter cake — a shortcrust tart filled with ricotta, wheat berries, candied citrus, and orange blossom water.

• Sfogliatelle

  Naples' legendary shell-shaped pastry with hundreds of flaky layers filled with ricotta, semolina, and candied citrus.

• Bignole di San Giuseppe

  Cream-filled choux puffs eaten on St Joseph's Day (Father's Day) in Rome — deep-fried and dusted with icing sugar.

• Gelato al Pistacchio

  Intensely flavored pistachio gelato made with Sicilian pistachios — denser and more concentrated than ice cream.

• Porchetta di Ariccia

  Whole roast pork seasoned with garlic, rosemary, fennel, and black pepper — the legendary street food of the Castelli Romani.

• Vitello Tonnato

  Piedmont's celebrated chilled dish — paper-thin slices of poached veal blanketed in a creamy tuna-caper sauce.

• Bagna Cauda

  Piedmont's warm communal dipping sauce of anchovies, garlic, and butter — served with raw winter vegetables.

• Cotoletta alla Milanese

  A Milanese bone-in veal chop breaded in fine breadcrumbs and fried in clarified butter until golden — the original Wiener Schnitzel.

• Zuppa di Vongole

  Clams steamed in white wine with garlic, parsley, and olive oil over toasted bread — Italian coastal comfort food.

• Maccheroni al Forno (Timballo)

  A festive baked pasta drum — rigatoni with meat ragu, bechamel, and mozzarella, baked into a golden crust.

• Trofie al Pesto Genovese

  Twisted Ligurian pasta with the true pesto Genovese — fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, Pecorino, and olive oil.

• Pici al Ragu di Cinta Senese

  Tuscan hand-rolled thick spaghetti with a slow-cooked wild boar or Cinta Senese pork ragu.

• Focaccia Genovese

  The true Ligurian focaccia — dimpled, glistening with olive oil and brine, with a crispy base and chewy interior.

• Ciabatta

  Italy's most-exported bread — a wet, open-crumb loaf from Veneto with a crispy crust and intensely chewy interior.

• Zabaione

  A warm, frothy custard of egg yolks, Marsala wine, and sugar — Italy's most ancient dessert, eaten warm from a glass.

• Cannoli Siciliani

  Sicily's iconic crispy pastry tubes filled with sweetened sheep's ricotta, candied citrus, and pistachios.

• Tagliatelle al Tartufo Nero

  Egg tagliatelle tossed in olive oil and butter with fresh black truffle shaved generously over the top.

• Pizza Bianca Romana

  Rome's simple white focaccia — a thin, crispy, olive-oil-drenched flatbread eaten as a snack at any hour.

• Fagioli all'Uccelletto

  Tuscan white beans simmered in sage-scented tomato sauce — a classic Florentine side dish so beloved, Tuscans are called "bean eaters" (mangiafagioli).

• Polenta

  Northern Italy's golden cornmeal porridge — slow-stirred to creamy perfection, served soft with ragù or firm-sliced and grilled.