Pasta con pomodorini e basilico is a traditional dish and a summertime staple in the country. The dish is usually made with a combination of raw cherry or grape tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, and short pasta such as trofie, penne, casarecce, lumachelle, cavatelli, maccheroni, maltagliati, or conchiglie. The tomatoes, basil, and olive oil are placed into a bowl, then sprinkled with salt and pepper. The mixture is left to sit for an hour and it should be stirred often. The drained al dente pasta is added to the bowl and it's tossed with the tomato mixture until it cools down a bit. As a finishing touch, a swirl of olive oil is added to the dish and the rim of a serving bowl is rubbed with garlic. It's recommended to pair the dish with a fruity white wine on the side, such as Lungarotti Torre di Giano from Umbria.
Tagliatelle ai funghi is a flavorful Italian dish consisting of fresh tagliatelle pasta paired with meaty mushrooms such as porcini (the most common choice), portobello, or chanterelles (finferli in Italian). The dish is often additionally flavored with shallots, black pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and white wine. It is said that tagliatelle ai funghi is best consumed in spring and fall, when seasonal mushrooms are available. When the dish is cooked, it is recommended to serve it with grated parmesan cheese on top.
Bruschetta alla caprese is a traditional type of bruschetta originating from the island of Capri, hence the name. This tasty appetizer consists of bread, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, garlic, and salt. The bread is sliced, toasted, rubbed with garlic, and topped with pieces of mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. A pinch of salt is added before serving in order to elevate the flavors, and the bruschetta is ready to be enjoyed.
Even though it is prepared throughout southern Italy, the flavorful caponata is a typical Sicilian vegetable dish whose origins date back to the early 18th century. In the original recipe, the most important ingredient was gurnard fish (capone in Italian), but due to its price, gurnard was soon replaced by the widely available and much cheaper eggplant. This version that has remained the most popular to this day. Today, there are over 30 different recipes for caponata, all of which make an amazing use of the rich late summer harvest of eggplants and tomatoes. Capers, olives, onions, and celery lend an invigorating bite to this delicately piquant dish, and with other ingredients such as pine nuts, raisins, almonds, and friggitello peppers, the colorful caponata easily becomes a wonderful embodiment of the true essence of Sicily. After being sautéed one at a time, the vegetables are seasoned with a pinch of sugar and simmered in vinegar, which slowly melts into a tangy medley of sweet and sour flavors. Caponata can be enjoyed while still warm, as a side with various meat, poultry, and seafood dishes, or it can be served atop rigatoni or ziti for a filling pasta meal. In Sicily, caponata is typically kept for a couple of days after cooking, allowing time for the flavors to deepen, after which it is most often served as a cold antipasto on a crispy bruschetta or alongside sfincione Palermitano - Sicilian-style focaccia bread.
Bruschetta al pomodoro is a popular Italian appetizer consisting of sliced, toasted bread that is rubbed with garlic and topped with finely chopped tomatoes. Although there are numerous variations, the appetizer is usually finished with a drizzle of high-quality olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and fresh basil leaves. The final result is a simple, elegant, yet flavorful finger food that is especially popular at celebrations, festivities, and parties.
Patatas bravas is a traditional tapas dish consisting of potato cubes drenched in a spicy tomato sauce with onions, garlic, chili powder, and pimentón. This flavorful combination of ingredients is a staple at numerous tapa bars throughout Spain, and it is especially popular as a late-night snack. The dish is traditionally served with aioli sauce on top, but there is also a variety of other toppings that can be ordered with the snack, such as chorizo slices or fried fish.
This garlicky Spanish invention is commonly served as a sizzling tapa in a clay-dish. It consists of mushrooms that are sautéed in olive oil with garlic. This tapa is typically enriched with the addition of white wine, and it is garnished with chopped parsley before serving. It is recommended to use pieces of bread for soaking up all of the flavorful juices once the mushrooms have been consumed.
Pasta e ceci is a thick Italian soup featuring pasta and chickpeas as the main ingredients. Any kind of pasta can be used in the soup, from maltagliati to cannolicchi. The dish is usually prepared with a soffrito of onions and celery that is simmered in a chickpea broth, while the pasta is added later. This classic, comforting dish is traditionally served on Friday throughout Italy.
Another classic of Roman cuisine, penne all’arrabbiata is a pasta dish prepared with a fiery hot sauce made with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and red chili peppers. As the Italian word arrabbiata literally means angry, this meal is often mistranslated as angry pasta – the name, in fact, refers to the pasta’s intense, spicy sauce, which packs such a punch that it can easily make you red in the face. In the absence of penne, ziti rigati or rigatoni can also be used. Even though it is traditionally enjoyed as an entrée or primo piatto, this simple, yet flavorful pasta recipe certainly holds its own as more than a mere prelude to the main course. And while the history of penne all’arrabbiata remains uncertain, this iconic Italian dish has been immortalized in two famous 1970s films: Federico Fellini’s Roma and Marco Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe.
This timeless Italian classic is another staple of cucina povera - the traditional Italian peasant-style cooking that makes as much as possible with the fewest ingredients. Even though the official name of this simple, iconic dish literally translates to spaghetti, garlic, and oil, there's also an optional ingredient that adds a spicy kick and a nice touch of warmth - the tiny red chili pepper known in Italian as peperoncino rosso, or diavolillo (lit. little devil), as it is affectionately referred to in some parts of the country. The dish is made simply by tossing spaghetti together with garlic (and crushed chili for aglio, olio, and peperoncino) sautéed in olive oil. It is sometimes suggested that this basic pasta recipe might have originated in the neighboring regions of Abruzzo and Campania, but the Italian Academy of Cuisine officially listed spaghetti aglio e olio as a typical dish of Lazio. As such, it remains one of Rome's culinary darlings that can be found in nearly every trattoria in the city and throughout the region.
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