Italian cuisine is well-known for its variety in
pasta, sauces, cheeses and cured meats. Of course, the most common Italian
dishes include meat, vegetables and mostly tomato sauce.
After our trip to Italy, we wanted to make you a list
with Italian dishes and snacks that most people don’t know, but if you try
them, you will never forget them.
1. Cappon Magro
Cappon magro is the traditional dish for Christmas
Eve. The truth is that it’s not an everyday dish. Almost every Italian makes cappon
magro that day or on special occasions.
Cappon magro means “fast-day capon”, because it
doesn’t contain meat at all. It is totally a unique dish, because Italians try
to make it as spectacular as possible. More specifically, they emphasize on
cappon magro’s architecture, in order to make that dish extravagant.
Cappon magro is a hill comprised of alternating layers
of fish and vegetables, topped with a green sauce (“salsa verde”) and decorated
with vegetables, eggs, shellfish, olives and capers. The base is made out of
galettes and the most common ingredients for making cappon magro is lobsters or
crawfish, fish, potatoes, carrots, boiled eggs, capers and olives.
As we mentioned, this dish has no meat at all and
that’s why it’s suitable for Christmas Eve, since that day is a fast-day for
Catholics.
As for where you can find it, there are some
restaurants around Italy that serve it. However, we suggest that you should try
making it on your own for a family gathering and we are sure that everyone is
going to be amazed!
2. Orecchiette
Orecchiette is a pasta type. The name comes from the
Italian words orecchie (means ear) and -etta (means small). The reason is that
indeed they look like small ears, because of their size and shape.
Traditionally, they are served with pork, capers and
white wine. However, there are many alterations, using vegetables such as
broccoli or cauliflower.
Lastly, each region of Italy has its own alterations
of orecchiette. For example, in Salento they serve orecchiette with tomato
sauce, small meatballs topped with ricotta cheese.
3. Maritozzo
Maritozzo is a traditional Italian sweet, that
originated in Rome. It was the typical breakfast for Romans and as time passed
by the way of making it changed constantly. More specifically, at first
maritozzo was a loaf of bread, made with flour, eggs, honey, butter and salt.
Later, candied fruits and nuts were added to the mix.
The modern day maritozzo
comes from the 19th century, where they cut maritozzi in half and
filled them with whipped cream. That’s when it got the name “maritozzo”, that
comes from the Italian word “marito”, which means husband. More precisely, in
the 19th century, a tradition was invented: On the first Friday of
March, Roman men used to offer a maritozzo to their loved ones. They hid some
kind of gold jewelry, in order to propose to them.
Today, it is a very popular sweet, that you can find
everywhere in Rome and Italy in general. For your information, there are many
alterations. The original one is full of whipped cream, topped with fruits, but
there are maritozzi with chocolate or even savory ones.
We tried one maritozzo with strawberries and one with
pistachio. We hadn’t tasted anything similar before and we really loved the
experience.
4. Testaroli and Panigacci
Testaroli and panigacci are similar and that’s why we
are going to mention them together. They originated from the same region in
Italy (between Tuscany and Liguria). The dough, used for making them, is
exactly the same and both of them are cooked in the same special pan (“testo”).
However, they differentiate later.
More specifically, after testaroli are cooked in the
“testo”, which is a circular terracotta pan, they are cut in triangular pieces
and boiled, like pasta. Lastly, testaroli are served with some kind of sauce
and usually pesto.
On the contrary, panigacci are cooked in the testo
until they are golden brown. They are basically crunchy pita breads, that are
served as a side dish with various cheeses and cured meats.
5. Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Bistecca alla Fiorentina is the steak taken from an
ancient breed of cow in Tuscany. It literally means “steak from Florence”. This
kind of meat is really tasty and expensive. That’s why Bistecca alla Fiorentina
is prepared without using many ingredients, in order to preserve the flavor of
the meat.
We have to point out that the specific piece of steak
(T-bone or porterhouse) is really tasty and pricey, and especially if it comes
from the cow-breed we mentioned before, it’s totally unique. Moreover, Bistecca
alla Fiorentina is cooked rare and it is traditionally served with cannellini
beans, covered in oil or with salad. Italians never sprinkle lemon on top of
that steak.
6. Zeppola
The zeppola sweet is basically the Italian donuts.
More precisely, it is a fried donut, covered in powdered sugar and many times
filled with custard cream, jam or cannoli’s cream. Zeppola is really crunchy
and its aroma will truly captivate you!
Italians use to eat zeppola during St. Joseph’s day,
which is a fast-day for them. Furthermore, it is important to mention that this
sweet is so beloved by Italians, that they took it with them wherever they immigrated.
Therefore, nowadays not only Italians but Catholics around the world eat
zeppola sweet in St. Joseph’s day.
7. Frutti di mare pizza and Fritto misto
For seafood lovers, be advised that in Italy you can
order a seafood pizza as well as a dish of mixed fried seafood.
More specifically, one of the many ways to serve a pizza
is, the well-known by Italians, seafood pizza. Fruitti di mare means fruits of
the sea and it points out that this kind of pizza is full with a great variety
of seafood. In detail, frutti di mare pizza is topped with mussels, crawfish
and squid and contrary to other pizzas, it is traditionally made without any
cheese, but only tomato sauce.
Moreover, it is important to mention that there is
also the pescatore pizza, which means “fisherman’s pizza”. It is topped with
mussels, fish, octopus and squid. Also, pescatore pizza has mozzarella cheese
and it is usually served with lemon.
As for fritto misto, it literally means mixed fried
(food). However, this dish comprises only seafood and many times vegetables.
Fritto misto consists of squid, octopus, shrimp, small fish (such as whitebait,
sardines etc.) and scallops. The vegetables are usually broccoli, potatoes and
fennel bulb. Lastly, fritto misto can be served with tartar sauce (sauce with
mayonnaise, capers, gherkins, anchovy and garlic).
8. Pizza al taglio
Pizza al taglio means “pizza by piece”. It is the most
common pizza variety and beloved in the whole Italy! More specifically, pizza
al taglio is the pizza that is baked in rectangular trays and later it is cut
in squares or rectangular slices.
For the pizza
al taglio to be perfect, you have to let the dough rise longer than regular
pizza. Also, the dough is baked on its own at first and later it is baked
again, together with its toppings. As a result, pizza becomes airier and more
digestible.
The truth is that pizza al taglio is indeed different
from what you know as pizza. It is totally digestible and you can eat as many
slices as you want without feeling full or guilty. Especially if you visit
Italy, you will find countless flavors and toppings and believe us, you will
eat more slices than you intended at first!
9. Tartufo
Tartufo means truffle. However, when Italians refer to
tartufo, they usually mean the famous Italian ice-cream-dessert, that is made
out of truffle, ice-cream and syrup.
More precisely, for the making of tartufo it needs two
or more scoops of ice-cream and fruit syrup in the center, such as strawberry
or raspberry. The interesting part is that tartufo is covered with a shell of
chocolate or cocoa!
The truth is that it seems a bit weird to combine
truffle with chocolate, or generally use it for a dessert, but on the contrary
you will only feel a pleasant flavor of intense chocolate. The taste of tartufo
resembles the one of brownie or chocolate pie. Nevertheless, it is certain that
if you love ice-cream, you will be head over hills in love with tartufo!
10. Arancini
The Italian side dish arancini is basically breaded
rice-balls. The name comes from the Italian word “arancia”, which means orange,
because the shape of arancini is spherical and the color is golden brown.
Arancini are traditionally filled with ragout (stewed meat and vegetables in tomato
sauce), beans and mozzarella cheese. Nowadays, you can find many alterations of
arancini, with the use of various meats and vegetables. Don’t forget that there
are also sweet arancini, filled with chocolate or sour cherry syrup.
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