Italy is the culinary center of Europe. Italy and France have given Europe a lot of varieties of food and drinks. Italy is a nation known for pizza, pasta and wine. Traditionally, this nation is rich in the art of cooking. Italy has more than pasta and pizza in store for us all.
If you want to know which wines to pair your Italian food with, make sure to see this red wine guide.
Here are some of the best Italian cuisines it shared with the world: tasty, delicious, and lip-smacking. Let’s take a look.
10 Italian Cuisines That Can Be All-time Favorites
1. Italian Pizza
The most wanted food item on everyone’s list and the most favorite of the Italian cuisines. It is a joy to make pizza from scratch. The pizza base is made with all-purpose flour, yeast, and water to make dough. It is rested overnight. After kneading it well, it is topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and vegetables. Olives and garlic is used to garnish the pizza. Pizza has two kinds of crust, thin and medium, traditionally.
Pizza is famous worldwide today, it has its own different toppings as per the country.
2. Pasta
The second most favorite and the best dish of Italy. There are different kinds of pasta. Elbow, linguine, fettuccine, pappardelle. Spaghetti is a kind of noodle. Stuffed pasta is also a kind of pasta, made by filling the pasta dough and then cooking it in the sauce. Cappelletti, ravioli, tortelli are the types of stuffed pasta. Pasta is made in two kinds of sauces, white sauce made from milk and cheese or red sauce made from the tomato.
3. Italian Bread
Italian bread is made like any other bread, but olive oil is mainly used. Also, eggs are the main ingredient of the dough just like pasta.
4. Italian Wine
Wine is the finest drink of Italy. It was the country who gave wine as a beverage to the world. Aperitivo is a great chance to order wine. Aperitivo is more than just grabbing a drink, it is meeting friends and preparing your stomach for the meal. It is a great opportunity to chat. If you are able to visit a winery, it’s like a cherry on the top. If not, do not worry, you can always enjoy glass.
Prosecco is a type of wine. It is a sparkling wine, enjoyed before dinner.
5. Spritz
Spritz is made by mixing tonic water. There are different types of spritz. Aperol Spritz is made by adding prosecco to spritz. One can make different flavored aperol by choosing what they want to have.
Campari Spritz is made by adding prosecco, spritz and alcohol. The bitterness of alcohol is the special feature of this drink. It is garnished with a slice of green olive.
6. Digestive Biscuits
As above, drinks are mandatory before dinner. These are the drinks one should have after the meal.
Amari means bitter. It is a bitter, herbal infused liquor, often made with a complex mixture of herbs and peeled orange or lemon. Limoncello is a fantastic way to end a meal. It is sweet in taste, it can be replaced as a dessert as well. It is made by mixing liqueur, peeled lemon, strong liquor; often vodka or grappa.
Grappa is a drink made from stems, seeds and skin of grapes. Grappa has a grape and pepper taste to it. It is an alcoholic drink. Sambuca is another sweet digestive. It is a colorless, anise-flavored liqueur. It goes well with coffee and sometimes is served in a cup of coffee. It has three versions – white Sambuca, red Sambuca and black Sambuca.
Italy has a great food culture, here comes the desserts that are found here.
7. Tiramisu
It is one of the favorite desserts in the world. It is made of ladyfingers dipped into espresso. Layered with whipped cream. Garnished with cocoa. There are varieties of tiramisu seen all around the world. Some even make tiramisu cake.
8. Cannoli
The classic Italian pastry originated in Sicily. The tube-shaped shells which are fried pastry dough are filled with a ricotta filling. It is not bigger than a human finger.
9. Panettone
It is a type of Italian sweet bread. Usually, it is prepared during Christmas and the new year. It is in a circular shape, not bigger than a kg cake. This cake is made by adding raisins, almonds, and citrus.
10. Affogato
This is also a coffee-based dessert. It is formed by a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with or drowned with a shot of espresso. Some include a shot of liquor.
A lot of other desserts are made by adding local liquor to them, giving them a traditional Italian twist. Amaretto is a local alcoholic drink that is added to meringues, tarts, cakes, and other pastries for an Italian twist.
Italian recipes have a lot of tomatoes and cheese and eggs in them. The drinks also contain citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, and grapes. These are grown in and around Italy, they are a specialty of this nation. It can be clearly seen in their cuisines. That is what makes them unique and worth a try.
Read also – 8 Vegetarian Alternatives to Non-vegetarian Dishes
