Italian Dishes Other Than Pizza

Mozzarella pizza, fettuccine alfredo, and spaghetti, are all delicious staples of Italian cuisine,  but there are so many more dishes to try at an Italian Restaurant.  Despite using simple ingredients, Italian food seems to have limitless combinations.  If you’re craving Italian but are looking for something more than pizza, try one of these authentic Italian dishes.

Three Authentic Italian Dishes:

Cipollate con Pancetta

For a lighter meal try Cipollate con Pancetta. This simple dish consists of scallions wrapped in bacon and heated on a skillet.

1. Wrap 3 scallions together in one strip of bacon
2. Season with salt and pepper
3. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat
4. Place bacon wrapped scallion on skillet
5. Turn bacon wrapped scallions as needed until they reach a golden brown color (6-8 minutes).
6. Serve

Canederli

From the northern region of Italy, these breaded dumplings are sure to satisfy your cravings. Served in a bowl of warm beef broth, this dish is perfect for a cold winter day. 

1. Dice stale bread into small pieces and soak in milk with salt and pepper
2. In a skillet with butter, heat onions and speck until they begin to caramelize.
3. Add the onion and speck mixture to the bread, along with the beaten eggs, grated Emmental, flour and parsley. Mix together then leave to rest in the pizza fridge for 30 minutes
4. Divide the mixture into 24 round balls around 2–3cm in size
5. Cook in batches in salted boiling water for around 5 minutes
6. Serve in bowls of warm beef broth with grated Grana Padano over the top Albino A+
   

Mushroom Carbonara

This easy dish relies on only a few simple ingredients and is ready in no time.  Originally prepared in Rome, its simple approach gives it a classic Italian flavor.

1. Fill a large pot with water and season well with a few big pinches of salt. Bring to a boil
2. tear off and discard stems of 1½ lb. button mushrooms, then tear them into quarters. In a medium bowl, smash / peel 6 garlic cloves, and thinly slice. Peel and finely chop 2 medium shallots. Chop 1 cup parsley leaves.
3. Whisk 5  egg yolks, 1 whole egg, 4 oz. grated Parmesan, and 1½ tsp. ground black pepper in another medium bowl.
4. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high for 3 minutes. Toss mushrooms and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil  in pan to coat in oil. Cook, tossing once every 4–5 minutes, until mushrooms are golden brown. 
5. Once mushrooms have been cooking for about 10 minutes, add 1 lb. orecchiette into boiling salted water and leave for 2 minutes 
6. Once you’ve finished browning the mushrooms, reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, shallots, and 1½ tsp. salt. Cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring often.
7. When pasta is 2 minutes from being  al dente, scoop out 2 cups of pasta water and drain pasta.
8. Add pasta along with 1 cup pasta water to the mushroom mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute. 
9. Add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to reserved egg mixture and whisk to combine and loosen eggs. Gradually add egg mixture to pot, stirring vigorously with a spoon and adding more pasta water as needed until a very creamy sauce coats all noodles.
10. Add parsley and serve.