Italian Regional Cuisine

Italian regional cuisine. Let's discover regional Italian cuisine. What are the best known dishes? The Italian culinary tradition promises to make a journey through the typical flavors and tastes of each region possible. From north to south, each locality offers its inhabitants a series of typical products that are sold treated with the utmost care to create special dishes. There are many restaurants that take care to offer their diners delicious dishes that best represent the gastronomic tradition of each place.

But what are the main Italian preparations, what are the most famous dishes of Italian regional cuisine? Let's discover them together during a journey from North to South.

Regional Italian Cuisine: North

Italian regional cuisine

What are the most popular and tasty preparations and dishes in Northern Italy? The regions most knowledgeable about the preparation of mouth-watering recipes are: Piedmont, Liguria and Emilia Romagna. Whether it's ossobuco, trofie with pesto, lasagna Bolognese or tortellini in broth, each dish brings with it a very specific story that is absolutely worth remembering. Each preparation has become part of the Italian menu and each dish is generally served in local restaurants and beyond.

Piedmont is known for osso buco or the classic Milanese risotto, or saffron risotto. In the first case we are talking about a truly delicious second course of meat. This dish is very full-bodied and has a truly intense flavor especially given by the sauce which is prepared with lemon peels, parsley, garlic and anchovies.

But the Milanese risotto was also born in Piedmont, a typical first course made with fresh saffron. A first course with a yellow color perfect for warming up the cold Milanese winter evenings.

Italian regional cuisine

Genoese pesto is instead the heritage of Liguria, here a special green sauce is born, made with basil, pine nuts and parmesan. This preparation lends itself well to a specific type of pasta: trofie.

If you are in Bologna, you can't help but try the lasagna alla Bolognese or the tortellini in broth. Two types of very substantial homemade stuffed pasta.

In the first case these are sheets of fresh pasta which are seasoned with a sauce with minced meat; in the second case, however, we are referring to small morsels of fresh pasta made with a meat filling.

Regional Italian Cuisine: Southern

From the North we move to the South. Here we often hear about high-level cuisine. Genuine dishes made from an ancient and familiar culinary tradition. Campania, Puglia and Sicily certainly bring the level of southern Italian regional cuisine to a high level.

In Campania it will be impossible not to taste the many typical desserts: from Babà to pastiera. But not only that, this region is famous for the classic Neapolitan ragù but also and above all for the margherita pizza.

Moving to Puglia instead we will be able to taste the classic orecchiette with turnip tops. This dish generally begins as a plate of fresh pasta seasoned with broccoli from Bari, a real delight.

Finally, how can we forget Sicily, home of delicious food.

Lots of goodness to enjoy at the table but also "quick" food. Here then are the arancini, and the many other typical Sicilian rotisserie products, and then we move on to dessert, with the classic and sugary cassata, without forgetting the traditional cannoli.

In short, in Italy there really is something for everyone!

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