Top 10 Italian Foods and Dishes You Must Try

People are crazy about Italian food! What is it about Italian food that it’s so dedicatedly followed by all generations? Well, the top reason definitely has to be pizza but there’s a lot more than Italian cuisine has to offer.

Originated in a country with extraordinary culinary delights, Italy, Italian food consists of quality ingredients, delicious taste, and simplicity. Below we share the top 10 Italian foods and dishes you must try once in your lifetime.

 

Top 10 Most Popular Italian Foods and Dishes

Here are the top 10 most popular Italian dishes that you just can’t miss.

Pizza

Is a celebration even complete without pizza? No, right? Deep and fresh pan, soft, crunchy, and thin, pizza in itself is a wholesome meal that requires nothing but a bottle of cold drink to drink along! In Italy, people hop on pizzas to celebrate a good time with their dear ones, be it while watching movies or after watching a game.

Italian pizza has a lot of variety. Here are the popular Italian pizzas with different names:

• Margherita
• Prosciutto e funghi
• Capricciosa
• Marinara
• Diavola
• Pizza Napoletana
• Pizza Fritta
• Siciliana

Pasta

Another popular Italian food has to be pasta. Did you know Italians, each year, eat more than sixty pounds of pasta per person? Infused with the goodness of wheat flour, you can make a great pasta by just adding a delicious sauce and some veggies if you like. And treat yourself to an amazing meal. Here are the most popular types of Italian pasta:

• Spaghetti
• Macaroni
• Linguine
• Ravioli
• Lasagna

These dishes are very popular in America. There are some best outdoor dining in NYC that provide their customers with a delicious variety of pasta.

Also Read: Pasta Designed To Cater To Every Dietary Restriction

Risotto

Risotto is another mouthwatering northern Italian rice dish cooked carefully with broth (meat, fish, or vegetables) until the mixture reaches a creamy texture. Risotto normally enjoys the place of a first course which is usually served before the main course. However, risotto Alla Milanese with ossobuco Alla Milanese is often served as a main course.

Pesto Alla Genovese

Simply known as Pesto, it is a sauce that originated in Italy. Prepared with the flavors of crushed garlic, pine nuts, basil leaves, hard cheese, olive oil, and coarse salt, pesto is generally mixed with trenette. The dish comes in many varieties, both traditional and modern. People use Pesto with pasta and other dishes.  This combo is loved by Italians and non-Italians too.

Lasagne

Originated during the middle ages in Italy, Lasagna is the oldest type of pasta made of very wide and flat sheets. The dish is basically made of stacked layers of lasagna with the fillings of meats, sauces, vegetables, and cheeses like ricotta and mozzarella. The dish also includes Italian seasoning, such as garlic, basil, and oregano. Another popular serving technique is the melted topping of grated cheese on Lasagne. It tastes super yummy.

Arancini

Arancini are small round-shaped Italian rice balls that are stuffed and coated with bread crumbs. The dish is deep-fried with the coating of bread to deliver the crunchy flavor to the plate. Arancini is normally filled with al sugo,mozzarella, peas, besciamella, etc. Some regions like eastern Sicily even eat the dish in a conical shape.

Ossobuco

Ossobuco is a famous Lombard cuisine made with vegetables, broth, and white wine. The marrow (bone marrow of animals popularly used for food) in the hole in the bone is what’s the specialty of the dish. Ossobuco is commonly garnished with a green sauce (gremolata) and is served with polenta or risotto Alla Milanese.

Gelato

Gelato has to be the most famous frozen dessert of Italian origin. It is also popular with the name of Gelato ice-cream. This ice-cream contains more density and richness by using a wide variety of flavors, making it the most loved Italian dessert.

Gelato is available in different flavors, such as chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, almond, pistachio, cream, pineapple, strawberry, lemon, apple, and raspberry.

Also Read: Essential Ingredients to Cook Good Italian Food

Ribollita

Ribollita is a delicious dish made with leftover bread and vegetables. Baked in a clay pot, it is a Tuscan bread soup or porridge that contains ingredients, such as cannellini, beans, cabbage, lacinato kale, carrot, potatoes, onion, etc. The dish is also served with bread.

Cannoli

Cannoli is another popular Italian dessert in the form of pastries containing tube-shaped fried pastry dough filled with the goodness of a sweet and creamy filling. In mainland Italy, the dish is known by the name of cannoli siciliani.

Why Is Italian Cuisine So Popular?

Italian cuisine enjoys a dedicated following for its deeply rooted traditions which are common to the entire country as well as other regions. An ultimate fusion of ingredients, recipes, and Italian cooking techniques developed since antiquity is what makes this cuisine so special and loved all around the world.

Its simplicity, quality ingredients, variety, and affordability is what’s cherished by its hoppers. Over the course of time, the cuisine got widespread support from different regions of the world for its taste and simple cooking style. Cut to the year 2022, people still prefer Italian foods to other cuisines.

Bottom Line

Summing up the entire blog, it could be said that Italian cuisine with its spectacular offerings has left its mark on different regions of the world. From America to India, one can easily find Italian foods and dishes in almost every second street. After all, you also end up ordering pizza as a part of your celebrations!