Italy
Parmigiana di Melanzane
Southern Italian baked eggplant casserole layered with fried eggplant, tomato, basil, and mozzarella or caciocavallo. A summer comfort food.
southern-europe
Italy
Explore 447 foods connected to Italy, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
447 foods12 leading categories7 Essentials guides
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Bologna Essentials
10 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Italy.
447 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Parmigiano Reggiano
The 'king of cheeses': PDO hard cheese from Parma and Reggio Emilia, aged 12-36 months. Granular, nutty, and crystalline—never pre-grated.
Sicily, Italy
Pasta 'ncasciata
Sicilian baked pasta—penne or rigatoni bound with ragù or tomato, fried eggplant, caciocavallo, and béchamel, molded and inverted onto a plate.
Italy
Pasta al mascarpone
Pasta al mascarpone is a named Italian pasta from Province of Lodi, pairing its characteristic shape or filling with a defining sauce, broth, or seasoning; the form distinguishes it from a generic version.
Rome, Italy
Pasta alla Gricia
The white ancestor of amatriciana: guanciale crisped in its own fat, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper—no tomato. Sometimes called amatriciana bianca.
Sicily, Italy
Pasta alla Norma
Sicilian pasta of maccheroni with fried eggplant, tomato, basil, and salted ricotta (ricotta salata). Named by a playwright after Bellini's opera Norma.
Sicily, Italy
Pasta alla Trapanese
Trapani's raw tomato, almond, basil, garlic, and olive oil pesto (pesto alla trapanese) tossed with busiate pasta. A Sicilian alternative to Genovese pesto.
Sicily, Italy
Pasta chî Sàrdi
Sicilian pasta with sardines, wild fennel, pine nuts, raisins, and saffron. A dish born of Arab influence, traditionally made in spring when wild fennel blooms.
Italy
Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta e fagioli is a named Italian soup form combining borlotti or cannellini beans, small pasta, soffritto, and a savoury broth; regional versions may add tomato, herbs, or a Parmigiano rind.
Naples, Italy
Pasta e Patate
Neapolitan comfort dish of small pasta, potatoes, tomato, and Pecorino or Provola, cooked into a thick stew. A primo that eats like a meal.
Naples, Italy
Pasta e Zucchine
Neapolitan summer pasta of small pasta, zucchini, garlic, olive oil, and Provola or ricotta. A lighter cousin of pasta e patate.
Naples, Italy
Pastiera Napoletana
Neapolitan Easter tart of shortcrust filled with cooked wheat berries, ricotta, eggs, candied fruit, and orange blossom water. A spring ritual.
Rome, Italy
Pecorino Romano
PDO hard sheep's milk cheese from Lazio and Sardinia, aged 5-8 months. Salty and sharp—the essential grating cheese of Roman pasta.
Sardinia, Italy
Pecorino Sardo
PDO sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia, sweeter and milder than Pecorino Romano. Eaten fresh (dolce) or aged (maturo) with honey or fava beans.
Sicily, Italy
Pecorino Siciliano
PDO Sicilian sheep cheese, one of Europe's oldest.
Tuscany, Italy
Pecorino Toscano
PDO sheep's milk cheese from Tuscany, milder and softer than Pecorino Romano. Eaten young with honey or aged with pasta.
Genoa, Italy
Pesto alla Genovese
Liguria's basil sauce pounded in a marble mortar with garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano, Pecorino, and olive oil. The soul of Genovese cooking.
Emilia-Romagna, San Marino
Piadina Romagnola
A thin griddled flatbread from Emilia-Romagna, traditionally made with lard and served folded around prosciutto, squacquerone cheese, arugula, or other fillings.
Tuscany, Italy
Pici
Thick hand-rolled Tuscan pasta from Siena/Arezzo.
Rome, Italy
Piselli con prosciutto
Piselli con prosciutto is a named Italian appetizer from Rome, built around its defining ingredient and cooked in a specific local style; the texture, seasoning, and serving form distinguish the dish.
Naples, Italy
Pizza a Portafoglio
Naples' wallet-folded pizza: a small round pizza folded into quarters (like a wallet) so it can be eaten standing. A classic Neapolitan street snack.
Rome, Italy
Pizza Bianca
A cheese- and tomato-less Roman flatbread drizzled with olive oil and salt, served plain or split and filled with prosciutto, figs, or other fillings.
Naples, Italy
Pizza Fritta
Neapolitan deep-fried pizza: a disk of dough fried until puffed and crisp, folded around ricotta, provola, tomato, and sometimes cicoli. A street food born of postwar scarcity.
Naples, Italy
Pizza Margherita
The Neapolitan classic topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves, said to honor Queen Margherita of Savoy with the colors of the Italian flag.
Naples, Italy
Pizza Marinara
The oldest Neapolitan pizza: tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, and olive oil—no cheese. Named for the seafarers (marinai) who favored it, it is the purest expression of pizza napoletana.
Naples, Italy
Pizza Napoletana
Italy's most emblematic culinary creation: a thin-base, airy-crust flatbread topped with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, baked in a wood-fired oven. Only two authentic versions exist—marinara and margherita.
Lombardy, Italy
Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese
Buckwheat tagliatelle from Valtellina layered with casera cheese, bitto, Savoy cabbage, and potatoes, finished with garlic-and-sage browned butter.
Italy
Polenta
Northern Italian cornmeal porridge, slow-stirred for 40+ minutes, served soft or cooled and grilled/fried. The carbohydrate staple of the north.
Piedmont, Italy
Polenta Concia
Piedmontese soft polenta melted with fontina and butter, served in a clay pot. The ultimate mountain comfort food, often with truffle.
Lombardy, Italy
Polenta Taragna
Bergamo buckwheat polenta with butter and cheese.
Italy
Polpette
Italian meatballs of beef and pork, often with garlic, parsley, and Parmigiano, simmered in tomato sauce. In southern Italy they are smaller and served as a secondo.
Naples, Italy
Pomodoro San Marzano
PDO plum tomato from Vesuvio, the gold standard for pizza and tomato sauce. Long, elongated, and sweet with low acidity.
Italy
Porchetta
Central Italian boneless pork roast stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, and wild herbs, slow-roasted until the skin crackles. Sliced into sandwichs.
Italy
Prosciutto Cotto
Prosciutto Cotto is a named Italian cured meat from Italy, made from its defining local ingredient and finished with a characteristic texture, aroma, and serving form.
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Prosciutto di Parma
PDO dry-cured ham from Parma, aged at least 12 months with only sea salt—no nitrates. Sweet, delicate, and sliced paper-thin.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Prosciutto di San Daniele
Friuli's PDO dry-cured ham, sweeter and darker than Parma, aged at least 13 months where Alpine winds meet Adriatic breezes.