“Growing up in New Jersey in the 60’s this was Italian: garlic, canned tomatoes, fried basil and oregano on overcooked spaghetti and meatballs. When we would go out it was that or pizza or a deep-fried veal cutlet buried in the same universal red sauce and processed cheese”._ Anthony Bourdain.

Everyone loves a good pasta dish. If there is one thing that made me want to pursue a career in the culinary arts at one point in my life, it was Italian dishes. The beauty of Italian dishes is that one can choose to go the traditional route by following the recipes or you can add your own twist to it.

What makes Italian cuisine unique is the artistic and ancient way they present the food. The quality and richness of the ingredients is just impeccable which makes the dishes special. Just like George Miller had said “The trouble with eating Italian food is that two to three days later you’re hungry again”.

Italian food is a Mediterranean cuisine that consists of ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques that are from Italy. Flavours that epitomise Italian cuisine range from olive oil, basil mozzarella and so forth. It is these flavours that caught the taste buds’ chefs like Siphokazi from Let’s Eat with Siphokazi who said:

“I wanted to show the world that you can turn traditional food into modern food or as they say, ‘traditional meets modern’. Food I grew up eating makes me passionate and experimenting with different cuisine also adds to my passion for food. My favourite pasta dish is homemade gnocchi with a simple marinara sauce, and grated parmesan cheese or if not then leftover lamb ravioli. This is easy to make because the ingredients are easily available in the pantry.” _ Chef Siphokazi Madlankomo

Here are eight Italian recipes to enjoy ranging from chicken ravioli to gnocchi

1. Ravioli Lasagne

One and a half Ravioli Lasagne dinner that is easy and quick to make, make it as healthy or creamy as you like

Photo from Unsplash by Angele Kamp

What is better than Ravioli and Lasagne? Ravioli Lasagne, nothing beats your two favourite pasta dishes combined together to create a bomb dish. This dish will only take you an hour and a half to prepare.

• Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Alfredo with mushrooms and parsley Photo from Unsplash by: Demorris Bryd

Chicken Alfredo has always been a classic dish and one of the most loved Italian cuisine. When preparing this dish, you can either go the traditional route or make it your own by reinventing the recipe to suit you. The traditional route being your usual spaghetti and a simple creamy cheese sauce

• Caprese salad

Photo by Parker Bach from delish

Spring is near and nothing beats a fresh bowl of out of the garden salad that combine fresh tomatoes and cheese along with a homemade pesto sauce

• Caprese Chicken

Photo from delish by Ethan Calabrese

Just like the caprese salad the caprese chicken is a fan favourite that one can enjoy lunch or dinner. It is a dish cooked in balsamic vinegar, the fresh produce from your garden is sure to compliment the creamy and cheesy dish.

• Tiramisu

Photo from delish by Brandon Bales

The tiramisu is a delightful sponge cake that is easy to make for a tea party or to simply enjoy as dessert after dinner. This creamy round tiramisu is exactly what the name suggests, a pick me up on those rainy days.

• Lasagne

Photo from delish by Parker Bach

Talk about the classic and all-time favourite Italian dish. The best way to enjoy this dish is to use the original recipe, which includes homemade Bolognese sauce.

With dishes like pan fried hare with pumpkin by Francesco Bracali and vension goulash with bread souffle by Ana Ros that compliments the lasagne dish as starters or entrée.

• Gnocchi

Photo by Parker Feierbach from delish

This is a variety of pasta in which you can choose eighter to make the gnocchi with potatoes or flour. It consists of thick and thin, soft dough eighter or dumplings. You can enjoy this dish with a simple butter or marinara sauce and sage leaves together with a bowl of chicken salad.

• Calzones

Photo by Parker Bach from delish

“Pizza does not deserve all the hype, justice for the calzone especially this one”. The calzone is an Italian oven baked pie that is more or less similar to pizza, but the difference is that the calzone is a folded turnover pastry that can be enjoyed as a snack or starter.

Though some of us are creatures of habit it is not a bad idea to branch out and try something new. So go on and these amazing recipes you are surely going to love them.

References

Abraham, L., 2019. delish. [Online]
Available at: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a29359451/tiramisu-cake-recipe/
[Accessed 27 July 2020].

Funston, L., 2020. delish. [Online]
Available at: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a51707/caprese-chicken-lasagna-recipe/
[Accessed 27 July 2020].

Gentile, M., 2008. The Italian Cookbook The Art of Eating Well. 1 ed. America: Adrian Mastranadi.

Gore, M., 2019. delish. [Online]
Available at: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a26091626/easy-calzone-recipe/
[Accessed 23 July 2020].

Handler, R., 2020. delish. [Online]
Available at: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a47891/four-cheese-gnocchi-bake-recipe/
[Accessed 28 July 2020].

Madlankomo, S., 2020. Food [Interview] (22 July 2020).

No reservations. 2018. [Film] Directed by Adam Lupsha. United States Of America: Development for zero point zero production.