Lesser Known Italian Recipes

Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

There is nothing like Italian food!  I don’t think I have ever had a dish that I did not love – well, except that pigeon dish I had in Tuscany. We are all familiar with Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Lasagna, Fettucine Alfredo, Osso Bucco and Ravioli, but I went exploring to try and find some lesser known Italian dishes. 

• Bagna Càuda: This traditional Italian appetizer is a warm dip featuring garlic and anchovies, typically served with bread or vegetables.
  
  
• Uova in Purgatorio (Eggs in Purgatory): A traditional Italian dish of eggs gently poached in a delicious tomato sauce with garlic and capers. It's a quick and fulfilling meal option.
  
  
• Modenese Pork Chops: A simple but flavorful dish native to Modena, featuring pork chops seasoned with garlic, rosemary, and white wine.
  
  
• Authentic Taralli: These crunchy, ring-shaped bread substitutes from the Puglia region are perfect for snacking, cheese boards, or with soups and salads. Cross between a bagel, pizza and a bread stick.
  
  
• Gnocchi alla Romana: Unlike potato-based gnocchi, these are baked dumplings made with semolina flour, milk, butter, and Parmesan cheese. Pair with your favorite sauce.
  
  
• Ribollita: A hearty Tuscan soup, literally meaning "reboiled," featuring white beans, greens, tomatoes, potatoes, and toasted bread. Can throw whatever it leftover into the soup. Often made with cabbage, Swiss chard or kale.
  
  
• Bracciole: Flank steak rolls filled with garlic, parsley, and Parmesan cheese, often served with egg noodles or as an accompaniment to pasta dishes.
  
  
• Patate Prezzemolate (Italian Potato Salad): A classic Italian potato salad with vinegar bass dressed with parsley, found throughout Italy.
  
  
• Cioppino: While Cioppino is a fish stew often associated with Italian-American cuisine, it has roots in traditional Italian fish stews.
  
  
• Scacce Ragusane: A Sicilian stuffed flatbread with a pizza-like flavor profile but a unique crispy and crunchy texture.
  
  
• Carabaccia (Tuscan Onion Soup): An ancient Tuscan soup believed to be the ancestor of French onion soup.
  
  
• Lemon Garlic Butter Chicken Spiedini: A flavorful and easy-to-make chicken dish with a delicious gremolata drizzle. 
  
  
• Castagne Chestnut and Mushroom Soup : A hearty autumn soup featuring chestnuts and mushrooms.
  
  
• Cinghiale in Agrodolce (Sweet and Sour Wild Boar): Traditional Roman dish  involving nearly twenty ingredients, including candied fruits and nuts, and chocolate.
  
  
• Bunet alla Piedmontese (Chocolate Crème Caramel with Amaretti): Silky chocolate Piedmontese dessert.
  
  
• Zuccotto: a fabulous, creamy Italian dessert cake with coffee and chocolate flavors.
  
  
• Bustrengo: Cooked grape must, stale bread, eggs, rice and citrus peel are the cucina povera ingredients used to prepare the traditional bostrengo, a Marche and Emilia-Romagna treat whose recipe and even name varies from village to village (you might encounter it as burlengo or frustingo).
  
  
• Panpepato: a dense, dark round cake studded with dried-fruit and nuts. It takes its name (literally ‘peppered bread’) from the generous dose of spices included in the recipe – not unlike most Italian traditional sweets from the Renaissance, commonly found in Umbria and Tuscany. 

These are just a few examples of the many lesser-known Italian recipes that showcase the diversity and richness of Italian cuisine beyond the well-known dishes.

Buon Appetito