There’s a distinction (well, many distinctions) between Italian dishes and Italian-American dishes. In the latter camp, you’ll find shrimp scampi, chicken Parmesan, and meatballs in marinara sauce. Italian food, as in the Italian cuisine you’ll find in Italy, is a little different. It varies from region to region and generally involves more beans, greens, fresh veggies, and stews; less meat and mozzarella cheese.
That doesn’t mean you can’t love both! We do. (And it’s okay to lean on jarred tomato sauce. We do too.) But for this particular recipe roundup, we’re focusing on the traditions you’ll find in Milan, Tuscany, Rome, Sicily, and beyond. Here are our 47 best Italian Italian dishes.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens
BA’s Best Bolognese
We begin this list of Italian dishes as we should: with pasta. A classic meat sauce that hails from its namesake Bologna, bolognese requires a lot of patience and the best Parmesan cheese you can find.
Photograph by Paola + Murray, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
Cherry and Dark Chocolate Crostata
Piedmont is a region known for its many varieties of cherries. This crostata—an open-faced fruit tart that’s a classic Italian dessert, often with a decorative lattice top—makes the most of them.
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The Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors