Let's tour Italy in fifteen delicious pasta dishes.
If there is something that Italians can boast about, it is their gastronomy and their good cuisine. Their fresh pasta is a delight. And its sauces are a blessing for those who enjoy dipping bread.
Every region, province and town make pasta your way , with its own ingredients and a lot of tradition.
We selected fifteen of the most delicious pasta dishes that you should try (at least) once in your life.
1.**FETUCCINI ALLA PUTTANESCA (NAPLES)**
If there is a pasta dish whose name is easy to remember, it is fettuccini alla puttanesca (or “prostitute style”). Its name comes from the prostitutes of Naples, who prepared this recipe between client and client to regain strength . And they did it with the first thing they found in the pantry, which used to be: garlic, tomato, dried chillies, virgin olive oil and anchovies in brine. It is also said that this recipe was made in the 50's, in restaurants with brothels. Hence its 'infamous' name. All in all, this Neapolitan dish is a delight. The taste of fish invades everything.
Pasta "in the style of prostitutes"
2.**TRENETTE WITH PESTO (GENOA) **
We travel to northwestern Italy, to the Liguria region to discover one of the healthiest pasta dishes out there: Trenette al Pesto. Its intense green color reveals one of the most famous sauces in Italy: pesto. . In this recipe, trenettes, similar to spaghetti, are made with basil, garlic, and extra olive oil. It is amazing how such simple ingredients result in such a rich dish. Do not be surprised if the recipe adds beans and cooked potato in pieces . According to tradition, this way gives more flavor and integrity to the dish. It is possible to find this same recipe made with tagliatelle or linguine.
Pesto, one of the most famous sauces
3.**PANSOTTI ALLA GENOVESE (LIGURIA)**
Pansotti are a type of pasta similar to ravioli but much larger. They are typical of the Genoa region and, unlike ravioli, they are not stuffed with meat, but with vegetables . As a curiosity, its shape reminds us of a potbelly. In Genoa they like it a lot with Walnut sauce and wild herbs that grow on the Ligurian coast –like the preboggion-. For cheese lovers, in this dish you will find the delicious parmesan or prescinseua, well known in the region and with a consistency halfway between yogurt and cottage cheese.
Pansotti stuffed with vegetables
4.**SPAGUETTI AL RAGÙ ALLA BOLOGNESE (BOLOGNA)**
We could say that spaghetti bolognese is one of the most internationalized Italian dishes and with the most variants that exist. Hence, it is very difficult to find a place where the traditional recipe is faithfully reproduced, as the Italians of Bologna do. Originally, this dish was cooked without tomato and the meat was cooked in white wine and milk . The origins of this sauce are lost in Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages. in Bologna, this stew was born at the stately tables of the nobles . Today, the recipe considered official is that of Emilia Romagna, presented in 1982 by a delegation from Bologna at the Chamber of Commerce. It emphasizes using a cut of lean meat called beef or veal cartella (never pork) and frying vegetables with bacon.
The original recipe, without tomato
5.**VERMICELLI WITH LE VONGOLE (NAPLES)**
Neapolitans love the sea and it shows in their gastronomy. One of its most traditional dishes is vermicelli with le vongole or spaghetti with clams, perfect to accompany with a good white wine from the region . It is cooked with a sauce of garlic and virgin olive oil, white wine and clams from the Adriatic Sea. A pinch of pepper or peperoncini (a type of Italian chili) is added. And now is when it comes the little dispute between the Italians: the tomato . There are those who add it and those who prefer to eat it without it (in this case the dish is known as spaghetti alle vongole in bianco). They say that the tomato version is much tastier. You'll have to try both to see for yourself.
The sea made paste
6.**PAPPARDELLE SULLA LEPRE (THE TUSCANY)**
In addition to good wines and film landscapes, Tuscany has some pasta dishes that are true delicacies. The one we like the most is the Pappardelle sulla lepre, a plate of wide ribbons of pasta (similar to noodles) accompanied with hare sauce, very typical of the hunting season. The secret is to marinate the hare in pieces and cook it with Chianti wine . The result is an exquisite dense sauce enriched by the pulp of the hare. It is a hearty and very nutritious dish. Prepare the bread because the sauce is for dipping and not stopping.
The hunter's paste
7.**PASTA WITH LE SARDE (SICILY)**
Another dish that brings the taste of the sea to the table is pasta with le sarde alla siciliana. Very typical of the area palermo , this recipe combines the flavor of fresh sardines with wild fennel. It also has pine nuts, toasted almonds, sultanas (typical of Sicily) and saffron. Sometimes you can add a little anchovy in oil to intensify the flavor . When choosing fresh pasta, Italians love to prepare pasta cche sardi (that's how they say it in Sicilian) with bucatinis, busiates or maccheroni. Before serving, it should stay a few minutes in the oven . It is a very old dish, its origin dates back to the time of the Arab invasions of Sicily and Malta. Later, Romans and Greeks continued to perfect the dish to this day. If we visit the island, we will find several versions. In Catania, for example, they replace the sardine with anchovies.
Sicilian spaghetti
8.**BUCATINI ALL´AMATRICIANA (ROME)**
We confess, this sauce is one of our favorites: the All'Amatriciana sauce (or alla matriciana), originally from Amatrice, in the province of Rieti (in the Lazio region), it is a variant of tomato sauce, although curiously it was not originally used. Legend has it that it comes from another sauce, Gricia, from the town of Grisciano, near Amatrice. Sheep cheese and bacon (guancile) are the protagonists of it, later with the tomato the name was changed to the current one, towards the end of the 18th century.
It is one of the most popular sauces in Italy and has many variants, for example, adding onion, garlic, pepper or chilli. Secondly, the result depends on whether priority is given to bacon fat or olive oil. The cheese can be Pecorino Romano or from **the Montes Sibillinos or Montes de la Laga. In addition to penne, they can be used other types of pasta, such as spaghetti, but also rigatoni or bucatini.
Bucatini all'amatriciana: a very Roman dish
In Rome it is one of the local favorites . To prepare this recipe bucatini is used, a kind of spaghetti with a hollow hole inside. If you like it spicy, you will enjoy the aftertaste left by the chilli pepper.
Penne Rigate all'Amatriciana
9.**TORTELLI DI ZUCCA (LOMBARDIA)**
We return to northern Italy, to Mantua, where we find a type of stuffed pasta declared as a traditional agri-food product . We are talking about the delicious tortelli di zucca, considered a symbol of Mantuan cuisine and of the Lombardy region, where it is still the tradition of preparing them as the first course at Christmas Eve dinner. The tortelli are filled with a mixture of boiled pumpkin, _amaretti -_some biscuits made with almond paste-, mustard, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg. This recipe comes from the Middle Ages and is an explosion of flavors. Devote your time to each bite and you will discover how the sweet mixes with the salty and spicy mustard. . It is usually accompanied with melted butter on bread, although in Piacenza they do it with a porcini mushroom sauce.
Tortelli of Mantua
10.**SPAGHETTI CARBONARA (ROME) **
A classic that cannot be missing from a good Italian table is spaghetti carbonara. Its origin is in Rome and the original recipe is based on eggs, pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, guanciale and black pepper. Although there are chefs and restaurants that prepare it with cream , for Italians is a big mistake. Quite a sacrilege for the original recipe. For comparison, it is as if we add fried tomato to the Valencian paella. The name of this sauce comes from coal: in northern Italy it was an essential dish in the diet of miners. It is also said that the visual effect of the sauce when adding black pepper is associated with this mineral. And hence its name.
A classic of the Italian table
12. PENNE RIGATE ALL'ARRABBIATA (CAMPAGNIA)
Some place the origin of this hot sauce in Rome, others in the Campagnia area, the Naples region. In any case, it is an economic recipe based on tomato, garlic, red or cayenne pepper and olive oil. Some add sprinkled parsley or basil, but beware, the Italians are not in favor of this last aromatic herb, as much as we like it... The name comes from the Italian arrabbiato (“angry”, “furious”), and in Sorrento they usually pair the sauce with penne, although it is also common to combine it with farfalle, spaghetti and maccheroni. You can also find it at stew, pizza or fish dishes, And be warned, it's addictive.
Penne all'arrabbiata with meatballs, basil (it never rains to everyone's taste) and parmesan
13. FUSILLI ALLA NORMA (CATANIA)
They say that it was the Italian writer Nino Martoglio who he exclaimed upon tasting this recipe: “This is a real 'Norm'!”, alluding to Bellini's famous opera (born in Catania). This traditional dish of Sicilian cuisine, apparently simple but delicious, that arose in the city of Catania, It is one of the most famous pasta preparations in the country. usually crafted with fusilli or macaroni, you should always have tomato, fried aubergines, salata ricotta cheese and basil.
Fusilli alla Norma with aubergine, tomato, basil, ricotta and marinara sauce
14. GNOCCHETTI SARDI OR MALLOREDDUS (SARDINIA)
Malloreddus are a typical Sardinian first course, whose name derives from the dialect term malloru ("bull"). It is believed that its origin is in Campidano, to the south, but it is widespread throughout the region, although with different names: in Sassari they are called tions either cigions, in Nuoro cravaos, in Logudoru macarons. For the rest of Italy they are gnocchetti sardi. Its dough is not made from potatoes like that of classic gnocchi, but from durum wheat semolina and water.
They are usually eaten on special dates such as Christmas or Easter and are often seasoned with hot sauces. Sometimes, the malloreddus They can have pecorino cream, saffron, mushrooms, meat and even clams or shrimp. A fairly popular recipe is the malloreddus alla Campidanese, with tomato sauce, sausage and pecorino cheese, being able to change the sausage for lamb or veal meat.
The famous gnocchi
fifteen. STROZZAPRETI ALLA NORCINA (UMBRIA)
Particularly popular in central Italy – rather in what was once the Papal State – it seems that its name derives from the widespread anticlericalism in some papal provinces, where resentment grew over tariffs and taxes. It is said that some women prepared this dish for the village priest in excessive amounts, with the intention of stuffing him, and there are those who even say that the name of strozzapreti ('suffocation' in Italian) comes from the fact that someone drowned eating it. Tasty and substantial, this dish owes its name to Nursia, the place where one of the fundamental ingredients in its elaboration comes from: the sausages.
In any case, although for purists the sausage must be from Norcia, a steakhouse and highly appreciated sausages, there are many variations of this pasta recipe. In addition to strozzapretti (an elongated variant of cavatelli or hand-rolled pasta) you can use penny or stringozzi, and it is common to add mushrooms to the equation (pioppini, chiodini and even truffles).
Strozzapreti with seafood and tomato
_This article was initially published on 04.22.2014
SUBSCRIBE HERE to our newsletter and receive all the news from Condé Nast Traveler #YoSoyTraveler