Italian food recipes include easy Italian recipes such as Risotto and more traditional Italian foods such as Tiramisu.
Italian pasta recipes are much lighter and usually contain a variety of vegetables instead of a lot of meats.
Easy Italian recipes include rice dishes and in some regions of Italy rice is actually preferred over pasta.
Traditional Italian foods such as pizza are typically made with a thin crust and tomato sauce. The pizzas in Italy are generally not loaded with tons of ingredients and meats like in America.
The Italian Diet
I think most people associate Italy with pizza and pasta dishes. And its true that Italians love these foods.
Italian food is a bit more than just pizza and pasta though and Italian Food Recipes are very diverse and differ from region to region.
Italians also love cheese, rice, bread, seafood, meats, eggs, beans, olive oil, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and wine.
Breakfast is usually the lightest meal with some sort of coffee drink such as espresso.
Lunch is typically the largest meal of the day and various courses can be eaten during what can sometimes be a 3 hour lunch period.
Pasta or pizza, meat or fish, sandwiches, veggies, and fruits or dessert can be eaten during lunch time.
Dinner will generally consist of a meal made from one or more of these choices - pasta, pizza, soup, bread, cheese, seafood, meats, or vegetables.
The Italian Diet is full of many organic foods and most of their food is locally grown. This is one of the main reasons why Italians remain fairly healthy.
Italian Pasta Recipes
Puttanesca Sauce
- a spicy and incredibly flavorful sauce typically made from ingredients such as olive oil, chili peppers, black olives, anchovies, and tomatoes.
Pesto Sauce Recipe
- this sauce was first made by crushing olive oil, basil, and cheese together with a mortar and pestle - hence the name.
Marinara Sauce Recipe
- is a light tomato sauce typically made from carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, and olive oil.
Traditional Italian Foods
Italian Pizza Recipes
- are usually made with a thin crust and topped with one or more toppings such as tomato sauce, pesto sauce, cheese, vegetables, meats, or herbs. Nowadays, you can make a raw pizza crust to replace a pizza dough recipe.
Tiramisu Recipes
- one of the most popular Italian desserts which consists of layers and usually contains some coffee.
Cioppino Recipe
- a delicious and somewhat spectacular seafood soup. This soup contains a variety of seafood such as fish, shrimp, clams, scallops, crab and is cooked in a tomato based broth.
Easy Italian Recipes
Risotto Recipes
- a creamy rice dish which has been cooked with a broth or stock and butter along with Italian Cheese, Vegetables, Meat, or Seafood.
Polenta Recipes
- a porridge like dish made from ground cornmeal and boiled in liquid until a creamy pudding like texture is reached.
Frittata Recipe
- is an egg dish similar to an omelet and can contain meats, cheese, vegetables, and pasta.
Carpaccio Recipe
- is a dish of thinly sliced or pounded raw meat or fish.
Italian food recipes vary so much from region to region. Almost every city and town has it very own specialties and cooking styles.
Italian cuisine has been influenced by cultures such as the Greek, Roman, Arabic, and Jewish cultures. This could explain the vast array of recipes and cooking styles.
I have an Italian friend who´s really passionate about spreading local, traditional Italian recipes that are not easily found on non-Italian websites or recipe books. Take a look at his recipes here
Italian Food Recipes
Lunch is typically the largest meal of the day and various courses can be eaten during what can sometimes be a 3 hour lunch period.
