Italian food & wine
If you have ended up here, it is perhaps because you want to learn more about food and wine from Italy.
Italian food culture, yes this is what this article is about, is perhaps the world's best cuisine - la cucina italiana…or at least for italians it is!
Get ready to learn intriguing details about Italian food and of course Italian wine!
How to use this guide?
The site is divided into sections with content, and by hoovering over the images, you can click on the images to get to the topic you want to explore.
The table of content are:
- Italian cuisine in its entirety
- The diversity of the Italian cuisine
- The Italian meals, serious business
- Primi (first course)
- Secondi piatti (second main course)
- Dolci (desserts)
Italian cuisine in its entirety
Italian gastronomy has influenced food culture all over the world and is considered by many to be a form of art.
If one made it his life's work to taste all the different dishes and drinks that can be found in the food mecca of Italy, it would truly take a lifetime.
Throughout the year, a multitude of festivals are organized in everything that pleases the palate and stomach.
From Sicily and the southern parts of Italy and all the way up north, there is something new to discover whether it concerns raw materials, preparation, food, drink and the surrounding traditions.
If you ask food connoisseurs all over the world what comes to mind when they think of Italian food, their answer is very simple: the taste, the joy.
But there is one more thing, which perhaps not everyone thinks about, and that is the combination of the food that creates a delicious and unforgettable meal.
Italy has managed, with its brilliant organization of the meals, to create dishes that harmonize perfectly, starting from antipasti, continuing with primi, secondi and ending with dolci.
Salty cheese and seasoned ham against dry, fresh bread, smooth olives, fried eggplants, sizzling tomatoes, pasta that warms you deep in the heart and meat that melts on the tongue after cooking for 12 hours.
Add the wine and you're in heaven.
Variations and some food history
Finish with a dessert of Savoiardi biscuits, cream, mascarpone, chocolate kisses and perhaps the world's best caffè, and you will forget where you came from and wish you were Italian.
Yes, there are few other places on earth that offer such an intensely tasty and also varied food culture as Italy.
Although you can find the same dish in many different parts of Italy, it is said that it changes character about every thirty kilometers.
Because as the landscape varies, so do the raw materials. And if there's one thing the Italians know how to do, it's using fresh ingredients from their region. What in Italian we call chilometro zero.
The dishes often consist of just a few ingredients.
High quality ingredients produced under good growing conditions with the needed rain, drought, humidity, heat and cold - are majestically mixed together to create dishes that are a joy to eat.
Have you ever wondered why Italian food tastes so good? How can a dish containing only a few ingredients delight the palate so much?
The answer may be that the ingredients are grown locally in a perfect climate and that the recipe has been passed down through many generations and that it is kept "sacred".
In Italy, it is always grandmother's recipe that will be considered the most valuable. Because she also had a grandmother. And the joy around this original food is also strong among the younger generations. There is no better food than what nonna cooks!
The diversity of the Italian raw materials also has an interesting history.
If we go far back in time, we see signs that many trees, plants and plants have found their way to Italy from the areas around the Tigris and Euphrates and have spread throughout the country!
In the great area of Persia, large dams were built in ancient times and the aforementioned rivers' water sources supplied the food that grew in the soil with nourishment - water!
Historically, we know that both the Greeks, but also the Phoenicians and Arabs have brought seeds, plants and crops to Italy.
The plants had such good growing conditions that they got a solid breeding ground; they were here to stay. Plants found their way to Italy via Alexander the Great and later also the Byzantines.
Some claim that Italian cuisine originated in Sicily, and that is quite possible, but don’t tell the Napoletans or the Romans or those in Puglia please!
It is honestly very difficult to pin down the origins of Italian cuisine but since the aforementioned Greeks settled in large numbers in southern Italy we almost have to attribute it to these Southern regions.
When the Arabs came to Sicily, they built sophisticated irrigation systems and planted, among other things, trees for olives, nuts, lemons, oranges, dates and figs.
Sicily is, together with Calabria, the largest producer of tangerines and oranges. And several of the oranges are what today are called red oranges arance tarocco (in the past they were called blood oranges)
If you go to Calabria in December or January, you can bring back boxes of mandarins and oranges.
The taste of these fruits is simply unbelievable, very sweet and good!
We Italians are so fond of these southern agrumi (organges and mandarins) that we search for them everywhere. It’s quite common to see trucks around the towns that will sell “arance dalla Sicilia”.
These are producers that will drive their trucks from Calabria and Sicily all the way to northern Italy to sell them! They sell fast!
Unfortunately the season for these oranges is short, so if you are in Italy in those periods enjoy them while you can!
The diversity of the Italian cuisine
As plants, crops and trees have spread across the Italian peninsula, each part of Italy has developed its own distinctive cuisine. Sometimes a dish with the same name can taste different just a few kilometers away!
With its 20 regions and cultural traditions stretching back thousands of years, the boot country is often referred to as the world's pantry.
If you've been to Italy, you've probably experienced how passionate Italians are when it comes to food and drink.
And if you ask an Italian how they prepare their food, the recipes are often handed down through generations. Let’s jump back in time, and let's think about what society was like before, how did we eat and how did we get our food?
Probably you will immediately think about small shops and markets. Well in Italy street markets are still a vital part of society and they for sure contributed to Italy's food diversity.
Local farmers will sell you local food and in the end that’s what will end up in an Italian’s household.
In Italy, the local street markets and fresh produce shops are much stronger than the supermarkets.
Yes, supermarkets exist and we visit them when we are in a hurry, but if we want the best food quality we go to the street markets or small specialized food shops, like fruttivendolo, macelleria, pescheria and so on. Whether you travel around Italy, or live there you will for sure bump into a food market.
Sniffing in the scents, hearing the cries of the vendors standing in the stalls - it's soul penance.
When you learn how to shop like a real Italian, you know for sure where to go to buy the best ingredients.
For example if you visit Turin, and buy baked bread, you can go to a bakery with one of the oldest ovens in Europe. This historical oven was started by Jews back in the 17th century, and it is up and running to this day!
If on the other hand you are wondering how this are in smaller cities, well if you ever come to my hometown in Gallarate (Lombardy) you will find amazing bakeries just walking distance from your house, usually family owned and that date back many generations.
As you live the city, as a tourist or as a resident you will soon find out by word of mouth where to go find the best food.
For example if you want to buy the best Parmesan cheese in Turin - you should go to Porto Palazzo, which is incidentally the largest outdoor market in all of Europe. An amazing experience! You will find everything here!
But there are also many other markets in and around the city, and now let me show you what you can find.
Gorgonzola with Mascarpone
Imagine you have a good piece of gorgonzola. Then spread Mascarpone cheese all over, and then sprinkle chopped Pistacchio over it.
It's super good, and when you need ideas for an Italian evening, maybe this is the one you should put on the menu? Your guests will surely give you compliments if you serve Gorgonzola with Mascarpone.
You can find Gorgonzola cheese in almost all the street markets in Italy, if you are interested in the original one and you happen to be in northern Italy then Novara is the place to stop for Gorgonzola.
Zucca (Pumpkin)
We are used to getting the rather large pumpkins, but here in Italy they are available in many different sizes and colors.
In northern Italy, especially in the area of Mantova, pumpkin is very much appreciated.
We have festivals called “sagre” where entire villages organize events and cook food with pumpkin.
Ravioli di zucca is probably a typical dish that you must try if you are a pumpkin lover!
They might not be easy to make but you can always find a “pastificio” (fresh pasta shop) that will sell them for very cheap. Or if you visit a local street market your aim is to find the stall with the “pasta fresca” (fresh pasta) and hunt for ravioli!
La sagra (food festivals) is something very typical of Italy. If you visit Italy at different times of the year you will find seasonal festivals depending on what the earth is producing at that time!
You can find, sagra della patata, sagra del carciofo, sagra dell’asparago, sagra dello stico, sagra del polpo. The list is neverending!
Carosello Pugliese
These are a type of cucumber that is very tasty. Quite different from regular cucumbers. They are harvested from May to August and they are a typical vegetable from Puglia.
Le cime di rapa
Another typical vegetable from Puglia. I must say that this is a very important vegetable for me because I married into a family from Puglia and “cime di rapa” is a must. You will not find them all year round, and this is something that makes the vegetable even more precious.
The season with these starts in January and lasts a few months.
I’m sure that when you try it it will become your favorite vegetable too!
It’s easy to make, but yet a very tasty dish. The vegetable is washed, cut into smaller pieces.
This is how you make cime di rapa con spaghetti:
In a frying pan, you add olive oil, garlic and peperoncino which are heated and fried.
Then you add the cime di rapa, and leave it in the pan for 5-7 minutes.
Cook pasta on the side, and when it's almost done, you put it with the vegetables in a pan, and let it all come together.
Use the cooking water from the pasta to cook with, to get a creamy consistency with oil, water and the pasta.
Serve it hot with a little extra oil on the plate, and good bread. If you like you can also have anchovies (acciughe) and grated bread.
Some people use le orecchiette (an ear-shaped pasta) as a substitute for regular spaghetti. If you go to Puglia this is the pasta option!
The dish is called “Orechiette con le cime di rapa”. Making them is incredibly hard but many households (like mine… or better… like at my in-laws) still make them from scratch!
As you may know, there are about 300 different types of pasta in Italy, each with its own function and area of use.
Pasta is serious business and the choice depends on the sauce that you will use not the fun looking shape of it!
La catalogna
La catalogna (feminine word therefore added the article la) is another good vegetable from Puglia.
When it's in season, this one together with Cime di rapa could be ones that fight to be on your table. It has a slightly bitter taste, but after it has been washed well, boiled in its own water, it is ready to be put together with pasta.
It tastes excellent and, like cime di rapa, is also common in Puglia, although it is also grown in other regions.
When you go to the market, and learn how to shop like an Italian, you will learn which stalls to go to and you will find regional stalls. Knowing the origins of a vegetable will make you go to the best regional stall and get the best cime di rapa or catalogna.
Arance Siciliane
Around Christmas time and well into the New Year, delicious tangerines and oranges flow both from Sicily and Calabria - and then all you have to do is buy in to make freshly squeezed juice for breakfast.
Yes, you can find them in the supermarket but the ones that are either flown in from the South on a weekly or daily basis are the most mature and juicy ones!
Salsiccia Calabrese
These are with peperoncino, and they are very hot and spicy!
You can eat it as it is or you can cut them into small cubes, let them have a round in the frying pan, before pouring them into the pasta with garlic and good oil.
Olive Calabrese
Good olives from different parts of Italy are available throughout the year.
I always choose olive schiacciate e condite as it is called. This means that they have been in oil, and peperoncino. I use them in pasta together with anchovies, garlic and oil. Or they can be used as a quick appetizer or even better for “aperitivo”
The Italian meals, serious business
Let's take a look at the traditions and how meals are enjoyed at the Italian dining table.
Breakfast
Although many Italians eat breakfast at home, it is also very common for many to have colazione at their favorite cafè. Usually the one closest to where one lives, or near the place of work.
The Italian breakfast is a sweet one, so it is common to have some cookies, a cornetto (or brioche as it is called in northern Italy, a type of croissant) or a freshly squeezed juice that is matched with a coffee - espresso, cappuccino, caffè lungo, caffè macchiato or caffè americano.
Want to learn more about Italian coffee?
Lunch and dinner
The main meals, lunch and dinner, are enjoyed at the dining table. This happens everytime the entire family is home.
Obviously if we are out for work or the kid are at school the dynamics change but dinner will be done everyday together.
Family meals are very important in Italian households. It’s where we share not only amazing home cooked food but we talk, we share experiences and we take a nice break from everything chaotic around us.
Lunch is often followed by a "pausa di pranzo" where the shops close and the pace slows down.
If you are working in a company you might go to “mensa” or in a restaurant close by which offers “menu di lavoro” or you might bring food from home and if you live in the north you will call this “schiscetta” (northern dialect for lunch box)
La cena - dinner - is eaten late, once all the family members are back home and when the sun is almost setting.
The Italian meals can be divided into 4, namely antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci.
Finally comes coffee, and at the very end maybe an amaro which we like to call “ammazza caffè” (coffee killer).
Lunch and dinner during the weekdays consist to some extent of the same dishes, except that lunch often consists of only one dish (primo or secondo) - and both end with coffee.
However, some choose to eat two courses for lunch, and rather have something simpler for dinner. It depends on the family needs.
Fun Fact!
The entire family will eat the same thing. Children in Italy will not be served different “child” approved dishes. They begin eating healthy and well balanced food at the age of 6 months and they continue eating all the veggies and all the types of meat just like adults. So yes, my children each broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, as well as salmon, lamb and other fish and meat.
Lunch and dinner in Italy can be divided into;
- antipasti (starter)
- primi (first course)
- secondi (second main course)
- dolci (desserts)
Before lunch or dinner, besides water which can be frizzante (sparking) or naturale (still) and bread, wine is the first thing on the table, so let's look at wine first:
Italian wine
In the boot-shaped country, a lot of wine grapes are grown, and because wine often comes on the table after water, let's start this article about Italian gastronomy with precisely wine!
Few, if any, have a good enough overview of the different types of grapes which are all unique, because many are the same grapes but have different names.
For example, the Greeks brought wine grapes to Calabria, and a wine there called Nerello is called Nero d'Avola in Sicily.
This is just one of several examples of wine grapes having different names in different regions.
One of the best places that I suggest visiting to admire and taste the best wines in Piedmont and the specific area is called Monferrato and Le Langhe.
Walking between vines in these places around July/August in Piedmont is simply a dream.
If you have never been to this part of Italy I strongly recommend it!
Not only in the summertime but also around the months of October through December when you have an amazing festival called “Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo” in Alba.
If you like white truffles this is the place to be! Your senses will be overwhelmed by the typical perfume of white truffles and you can buy directly from the truffle hunters.
These can consist of everything from a platter of cured meats, bruschetta and salads, to various dishes of seasonal vegetables, marinated fish or simple meat dishes.
When you visit the wine producer Franco Conterno in Monforte d'Alba in Piedmont, the father and owner of the vineyard himself might offer dished homemade salumi perfectly matched with his wine.
Bruschetta
With good toasted bread, sun-ripened tomatoes, some spices and good olive oil, it becomes a good experience that can be enjoyed alone or with friends like it happens in Sicilia and in Calabria.
Yes, you can eat them in Northern Italy as well but you can imagine the explosive taste of ripe tomatoes freshly picked from a local orto the sunny south of Italy.
Unfortunately my hometown doesn’t offer this quality of tomatoes so you must load up on the taste when you care in Southern Italy for a summer holiday!
La caponata
An Italian appetizer that we like a lot is La Caponata. When you are in Sicily, I can recommend trying this - if you like sweet and sour flavors.
Vitello Tonnato
While this dish, Vitello Tonnato, which comes from Piedmont, is suitable all year round, it is particularly tasty on a spring or summer day - preferably with a wine from Piedmont. It’s an amazing dish that you can prepare beforehand and serve cold.
Primi
These dishes often consist of risotto, pasta or polenta, so let's look at each of these separately.
Pasta
Italian pasta is not just a dish; it is a journey through centuries of culinary art and tradition.
To understand the essence of Italian pasta, we must take a step back in time and follow the road to Italy, where each type of pasta tells a story of the region's culture, passion and pride.
I have heard that there are supposed to be over 300 types of pasta in Italy which can be classified as dry and fresh pasta (solid or with holes), short, fine, smooth and striped.
The shape is not random, but linked to the consistency and the sauce it is to be combined with. There is no messing around when it comes to the choice of pasta to use!
The countless varieties of pasta are actually distinguished by the type of dough, shape, surface and filling.
If you visit a pastificio you can probably count up to almost 100 different varieties of pasta! The choice is truly endless.
This is what pasta is made of:
As I told you pasta is serious business here and the content of pasta dough is regulated and defined by the authorities, and the pastas are divided into, respectively:
- durum wheat semolina pasta: the dough contains durum wheat semolina, water and a large amount of bran. Among the requirements to fall into this category is a maximum moisture for the final product equal to 12.50%
- whole durum wheat pasta: the dough contains whole durum wheat semolina and water and is characterized by a higher fiber content;
- egg pasta: the dough contains semolina, water and eggs (not less than 4 whole chicken eggs/kg) and is characterized by a higher protein content
- fresh pasta: the dough is also prepared with soft wheat flour. The final product is characterized by a variable humidity between 24-30% and must be stored at a temperature that does not exceed +4 °C, with a tolerance of 2 °C
- stabilized pasta: the final product is characterized by a moisture content of no less than 20%
- dietary pastas: characterized by a specific combination of ingredients, they are divided into gluten-free, protein-rich, whole grain and quick-cooking (contains larger amounts of water)
- special pastas: the dough contains additional food ingredients (e.g. spinach and tomato). By law, they are named on the basis of the basic ingredient used (semi semolina, semolina or whole durum wheat semolina).
Each region has its own pasta varieties, each with unique ingredients and preparation methods.
As a food lover who wants to explore the good flavors of Italian pasta, a trip to Italy is truly the ultimate experience.
Finding the perfect places to discover authentic Italian pasta can seem like finding a needle in a haystack but honestly with a few inside hints from a real Italian like me you will be able to find the best places to experience authentic Italian pasta.
The secrets probably lie in the local markets, family-run trattorias and osterias and picturesque villages, slightly outside the tourist tracks.
If you haven't been there I suggest that you go to Bologna for a deep dive into the world's best ragù sauce, popularly called spaghetti bolognese!
Here are some examples of pasta:
Cappelletti
They look like ravioli but they are not! Be careful ravioli are bigger and square shaped.
They are the shape of a small hat and that’s why they are called “cappelletti” (cappello = hat).
They are a special type of egg pasta that is filled with meat.
It’s typical of the provinces of Emilia Romagna but very common also in Marche and Umbria. It’s a dish that is commonly eaten during the Christmas season. It can be made with a special sugo with tomato sauce, carrots, celery or they can be with broth.
I usually buy them at my local pastificio.
Agnolotti (Piedmont)
Small pillow-shaped pasta filled with a mixture of three types of meat. If they don't have the right mix of beef, veal and pork and spices, it's not Agnolotti.
Maccheroni
These have many different forms.
Risotto
Risotto, the creamy, delicious rice dish that originated in the flat plains of northern Italy, is not just a food dish.
It is a story that tells of the passion for local ingredients and culinary traditions.
So let's embark on a tasty journey through the enchanting world of risotto, and at the same time you will learn how to make a good risotto.
You will find various recipes, and get tips on what kind of wine you can pair your risotto with.
Risotto rice is grown here in Italy:
La Pianura Padana, is an area of just over 46,000 square kilometers that stretches across Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto.
Although you can find risotto on the menu in many other regions, it is in these regions that a real foodie who wants to immerse himself in the authentic risotto experience should begin his visit. If you are a risotto enthusiast then Milano is the place for you.
Only here you will find the authentic Risotto Giallo or Risotto alla milanese.
Not only is it a delicious and beautiful dish (it’s yellow, my favorite color), but it has a fantastic story to it as well!
Did you know that the Risotto alla Milanese dates back to 1574 when Italy was building the Duomo di Milano?
Apparently during the construction of the Duomo Mastro Valerio Fiandra (a painter working on the windows of the Duomo) had an apprentice nicknamed “Zafferano” because he liked to add saffron to the colors that he was using to make the colors stand out even more!
Well, funny enough during the wedding of Mastro Fiandra’s daughter “Zafferano'', probably as a joke, asked the chef to add saffron to the risotto that was going to be served during the wedding reception. Amazingly enough the reaction of the guests was that of awe for a beautiful looking yellow dish that had the same color of gold, a symbol of richness and prosperity, a perfect “gift” to the newlyweds!
The road to discovering authentic risotto has to start in the local trattorias or osterias where you can enjoy delicious risotto made from the freshest ingredients of the season. Risotto can be of many colors (not only yellow) and the colors are usually due to the seasonal ingredients used to make risotto.
Visit local farmer markets to find the best ingredients and learn the secrets behind the perfect risotto. Check this article here to find more exciting recipes.
The three regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto in Northern Italy, are very famous for risotto.
Each region has its own unique geographical characteristics that affect the taste, texture and consistency of the grain of rice.
So be careful, to make the perfect risotto you have to learn about the different types of rice available.
Some of the most characteristic rices are grown in Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto:
Carnaroli
Carnaroli has a high starch and absorbs a lot of liquid, giving the risotto a creamy texture while the rice grains remain firm. It is cultivated mainly in Piedmont, but also in some areas in Lombardia. It is ideal for risottos such as Risotto al Barolo and Risotto ai Funghi and Risotto Giallo.
Arborio
Another popular risotto rice is grown mostly in Piedmont. Arborio rice is known for its ability to absorb a lot of flavor. It is versatile and is used in a variety of risotto recipes.
Vialone Nano
Cultivated in the plains around Mantua in Lombardy, but also in Veneto. Vialone Nano is another high starch type of rice. It absorbs liquid evenly and gives the risotto a firm texture. It is well suited for recipes such as Risotto ai Frutti di Mare and Risotto al Nero di Seppia.
Baldo
This is another rice typical of the Veneto region. Baldo is known for having shorter grains and gives the risotto a softer texture. It is often used in dishes such as Risotto al Limone and Risotto con Zucca.
Polenta
If you've eaten polenta in Italy then you may have come across dishes with meat.
Polenta is made from corn, and although it is eaten elsewhere in Italy, it is primarily used extensively in northern Italy, it’s very typical of Lombardy.
Very tasty with the famous italian sausage, Salsiccia
Polenta can be bought both in packs and bags at normal shops.
You can buy the instant polenta which cooks very quickly in 5 to 8 minutes or the traditional polenta.
In this second case it will take up to 45 minutes to make and you will need to constantly stir it for that time or buy a mechanical metal stirrer to help you out!
I suggest you use the instant polenta, it tastes amazing I promise!
Just cook it according to the instructions on the package, you can add gorgonzola (which I recommend to buy at the market when in Italy), go to a wine shop for a bottle of vino sfuso and you have everything ready for a quick but super tasty dinner.
When you have vegetables at home, making a good sugo (sauce) is a no-brainer!
With some onions, a bit of garlic, good tomatoes, some celery, fresh bay leaves, a sprig of rosemary, we cut directly from the plant in the garden (or the pots on the balcony) quality oil, salt and pepper and you are good to go.
We Italians hardly ever buy pre-prepared sugo, we make it super quickly as our pasta cooks in its water or we make lots of it beforehand and we store it for the month to come.
So if you are making polenta con salsiccia, you have your polenta on the side and all you need to do is prepare the salsiccia and some sugo to go with it.
Because the best thing about polenta is picking up the tasty sugo and eating it in one bite.
So if you have the basic ingredients (veggies and species) all you need to do is wash them and let them simmer in one frying pan, while the sausages are cooked in another pan. Once all is nicely cooked, place them in a dish with polenta and enjoy!
Secondi piatti (second main course)
These are either fish or meat or salads.
Just remember that when it comes to side dishes such as vegetables and potatoes, this is something that everyone orders themselves.
This is called contorni and is specified under a separate heading in the menu at Italian restaurants.
You will not automatically get a side of vegetables unless it’s specifically mentioned in the menu. Salad for italians are a fully meal and not only a side dish.
Meat
If you are a meat lover, a must have is Brasato al Barolo. It is meat that has been marinated overnight and cooked slowly in a sauce with added red Barolo wine.
You can actually use other wine in it, this is quite common especially due to the high price of Barolo.
You can try it with a good Nebbiolo or Barbera wine, two amazing wines from the Piedmont region… yes as you might have guessed I quite like the food and wine of this region!
Fish and seafood
Who hasn't heard of Spaghetti alle Vongole?
If you visit Nunzio at Trattoria Oinos in Palizzi Marina, Calabria.
He might ask if you want: “normale o abbondante”, abbondante means generous in this context, i.e. a large portion.
And if you love food and are hungry, the answer is obvious!
In a place called Mammola on the Costa Ionica in Calabria they have a special water.
And here they water dry fish from Norway, and use their own ingredients to create Lo stocco. You should definitely try this tasty fish stew.
Dolci
The list of Italian desserts can be very long, but this means that you have many options and your Italian culinary adventure will never end! As you may know, desserts are called dolci.
Take Tiramisù (which means cheer me up - tira mi sù) is often made in several ways.
Now, be careful here because this is my favorite Italian dessert of all! I will steal my mom’s authentic recipe and teach you how to make it!
The biscuit used is called Savoiardi.
The name gives it away that its origins are for the Italian Royal history “I Savoia” (the Savoia family) so this dessert will take us back to when Turin was the capital of Italy… yes… you read that right Rome has not always been the Capital.
There is a lot of history to get to Rome as the capital of Italy and I will leave that for another day, but for now you can learn that before Rome we had Florence as a Capital and before that Turin!
Back to my favorite dessert. I’m probably not wrong if I say that Tiramisù is the most popular dessert from Italian cuisine?
And on the cake front, you can of course try caprese al limone, which is always a hit if you are organizing an Italian evening.
Coffee and amaro
In Italy, dinner ends with coffee after dessert.
And if you are at a restaurant and have spent money, or are a regular guest, the restaurant will gladly offer an amaro or an “ammazza caffè” , a coffee killer, so a strong, very alcoholic substance that will “zero out” the coffee that you have just had.
In some places, they even put several bottles of different types of amaro on the table, so that you can help yourself.
Amaro is a liquor, such as Limoncello. As with all things that are linked to the Italian food and wine also in this section here you have an infinite amount of options to choose from and they will vary depending on the region.
If you visit Veneto you need to try the GRAPPA. You can use it to “clean” your cup of espresso.
So if you are drinking it like a real Veneto would you drink your coffe and then you pour a bit of grappa in the cup and you “clean it” by drinking it.
Another very good liquor you can find in Calabria is this:
Kaciuko is a bitter amaro based on bay leaves, wild fennel, bergamot and licorice.