Move Over Basics, Here Is The Famous Italian Food You Need To Try Now

While we all know about famous Italian food like pasta, pizza, arancini, or even risotto, the cuisine has so much more to offer. With a distinct food culture in each part of the country, Italy is a foodie’s paradise. Whether it is savoury dishes that you wish to explore or that famous Italian dessert that has been on your to-eat list for the longest time, a culinary trip is a great idea. 
What remains the same throughout all famous Italian meals is the simplicity of the ingredients and the love that goes into crafting and perfecting the cooking techniques. Apart from that, the different regions of Italy all have their famous Italian bread, pasta, pizza toppings, and main dishes. Calabria for example, has Spanish and French influences and is great for famous Italian meals with seafood as the primary ingredient, such as sardelle rosamarina. In comparison to this, famous Italian meals from the region of Lombardy in the north of Italy, are big on stuffed pasta and risottos.

So the next time you’re visiting the country, instead of your regular famous Italian pasta dishes, try these underrated dishes.

1. Parmigiana Bianca

The first in the list of famous Italian foods you’ve got to try is Parmigiana Bianca. In Southern Italy, ‘parmigiana’ is basically a dish with vegetables layered with tomato sauce and baked. These vegetables can be any of your choice. If you don’t enjoy the tomato sauce as much, we suggest you give this recipe a try. Eggplant is layered with fresh mozzarella cheese slices, and baked to perfection.

2. Cotoletta alla Milanese

One of the signature dishes of Milan and unmissable when it comes to famous Italian meals, is the Cotoletta alla Milanese. This is basically a tender veal cutlet coated in breadcrumbs and fried till golden brown. While it might have a bit of a French origin story, it’d be safe to say that it was perfected in Milan, and continues to win people over.

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3. Arrosticini 

If you thought that famous Italian meals were all about fine dining in fancy restaurants, well, you’d be wrong. One of the best Italian snacks you could find, arrosticini is a perfect example of it. Skinny kebabs made out of castrated sheep meat, arrosticini is a summer food that is cooked in gatherings when people get together and feast on snacks like these till the wee hours in the morning. It is served with toasted fresh bread and a handsome drizzle of a good extra virgin olive oil.

4. Braciole 

America has one of the largest Italian populations outside the country, and it is obvious that some influence would be visible in the famous Italian food meals. Braciole is an Italian dish that is a great example of this. The Italian American dish is essentially a roulade of thinly sliced beef, with great filling sauce. Perfect for hearty Sunday meals, it requires thinly sliced beef slices rolled with filling that consists of cheese, garlic, breadcrumbs, herbs, and sometimes even other meat like prosciutto. This is then cooked in the flavourful sauce often infused with wine. Bellissimo!

5. Bomba di Riso

Chances are that you won’t find this in the list of famous Italian food, simply because it is a homely dish, with tons of memories associated. Bomba di riso is essentially a rice cake, a rice bomb if you will, filled with succulent duck chunks and mushrooms, flavoured in a beautiful sauce. Known to unite the nobility and regular folks, this one will give you a taste of Italian cuisine like nothing else.

6. Pasta e Ceci 

We’re sure you’d have had famous Italian pasta dishes like arrabbiata, aglio-e-olio, and maybe even lasagna and gnocchi. And they’re all amazing, but they aren’t pasta e ceci. Stemming from the cucina povera set of dishes, or cuisine of the poor, pasta e ceci is made with chickpeas, pasta, rosemary, and sauteed vegetables, and is a great example of comfort food. Generally, this is made with smaller pasta but in some regions, it can also be made with tagliatelle. So the next time you’re done with famous Italian pasta dishes, and crave something flavourful but simple, give pasta e ceci a chance.

7. Soppressata pizza

If I say famous Italian bread, chances are you’ll think of a Margherita pizza, or maybe even a bruschetta, and rightfully so. But in the long list of pizzas that you can enjoy in the country, soppressata often gets overlooked. Made with spicy soppressata sausage slices, basil, and drizzled with hot honey, this fluffy pizza will just simply blow your mind. A beautiful clash of flavours, this one generally uses fresh mozzarella but if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you can also opt for goat cheese. And once you’ve had it, we promise you that when you see your friends inching towards any famous Italian bread the next time, you’ll know just what to introduce them to.

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8. Torta della Nonna

This is a quite famous Italian dessert, and honestly, it is quite easy to see why. Simple, easy to make, and so decadent, torta della nonna is perfect for a Sunday brunch. Made with sugar pastry, and dollops of lemon scented custard, studded with pine nuts, and dusted with powdered sugar, this famous Italian dessert is a must try whether you’re flying to the country, or simply bringing Italian cuisine to your kitchen.