Travel Europe Italy Italian Main Dishes By Food & Wine Editors Updated on April 25, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Get inspired by the flavors of Italy with these delicious main dishes, from light and creamy spinach and ricotta gnudi to osso buco with citrus gremolata. 01 of 25 Sun-Dried Tomato and Arugula Pizza The secret to this crispy pizza: giving the dough lots of time to rise so it's pliant enough to stretch very thin. More Pizza Recipes Go to Recipe 02 of 25 Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna © Quentin Bacon The style of this gooey lasagna is called free-form because the pasta can be arranged in different ways—for instance, folded over the filling—instead of traditionally layered. More Baked Pasta Dishes Go to Recipe 03 of 25 Grilled Fish with Artichoke Caponata © Stephanie Foley To top meaty mahimahi, Michael White makes a vinegary caponata (a Sicilian relish) with fresh artichoke hearts, not the traditional tomatoes and eggplant. Trimming artichokes can be time-consuming, so buy marinated artichoke hearts from the grocery store instead. Go to Recipe 04 of 25 Beef Brasato with Pappardelle and Mint © TINA RUPP Chris Cosentino braises beef shank and oxtail in red wine to make a brasato he serves with house-made mint pappardelle. This easier version uses just beef shank. Fresh pappardelle from a store replaces the house-made kind. Go to Recipe 05 of 25 Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with Tomato-Butter Sauce Chef Tommy Habetz describes gnudi as "ravioli filling without the pasta." Gnudi are of Tuscan origin, and a fresh Tuscan white wine—particularly a Vernaccia—makes a perfect pair for Habetz's recipe. More Pasta Recipes Go to Recipe 06 of 25 Swordfish Sicilian-Style Grilled swordfish steaks with a touch of lemon make for a healthy and quick dinner. More Seafood Recipes Go to Recipe 07 of 25 Gorgonzola, Fig and Pancetta Pizza © Anson Smart This sweet and salty pizza is topped with salty pancetta, gorgonzola, and juicy fresh figs. Go to Recipe 08 of 25 Braised Chicken all'Arrabbiata All'Arrabbiata means "in an angry style" in Italian. At the new Marzano in Oakland, California, chef Robert Holt braises his chicken with five kinds of peppers in a wood-fired oven. Spice the chicken with poblano and chile flakes, then braise it. For extra kick, toss in some hot pickled cherry peppers. Fast and Easy Chicken Recipes Go to Recipe 09 of 25 Balsamic-and-Rosemary-Marinated Florentine Steak © Marie Hennechart Chef Nancy Silverton adores Antica Macelleria Cecchini, Dario Cecchini's famous butcher shop in the Tuscan town of Panzano, where she buys thick porterhouses to make this classic recipe. Chef Matt Molina and his entourage prepared the dish on their last night in Italy, marinating the meat in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and rosemary. More Steak Recipes Go to Recipe 10 of 25 Pea-and-Bacon Risotto © Petrina Tinslay Sweet peas and salty bacon come together n this creamy risotto. More Risotto Recipes Go to Recipe 11 of 25 Sardinian Stuffed Eggplant Quentin Bacon Chef Efisio Farris, says that his mother used only eggplants from the first pick of the season (le primizie) for this dish because of their supple texture and earthy-sweet flavor without a hint of bitterness. But if you don't have the primizie option, you should seek out firm, heavy eggplants with smooth, evenly colored skin. Check for ripeness by pressing them lightly; if this leaves an imprint, the eggplant is ready to use. Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes Go to Recipe 12 of 25 Tuscan-Style Spareribs with Balsamic Glaze © Tina Rupp Bruce Aidells loves to barbecue spareribs, but his favorite way to prepare them is to generously season the ribs with a mix of aromatic herbs and spices and slow-roast them until tender and crisp. Like his favorite Tuscan cooks, he finishes the ribs with a simple balsamic glaze. Go to Recipe 13 of 25 Osso Buco with Citrus Gremolata © Kana Okada Ethan Stowell sticks to Italian tradition when making osso buco, topping braised veal shanks with a citrusy gremolata (orange and lemon zest mixed with garlic and parsley). He advises spooning out and eating all of the marrow from the bones for what he calls "a mouthful of fatty goodness. More Veal Recipes Go to Recipe 14 of 25 Smoky Pork Pappardelle © Anna Williams For the luscious meat sauce here, Gerard Craf braises pork with apples and honey, which adds some unexpected sweetness. Another surprise: He finishes the pasta with a sprinkling of smoked salt. Go to Recipe 15 of 25 Roman-Style Braised Chicken with Roasted Peppers This lush, homey Roman favorite is a simple braise of chicken with white wine, tomatoes, garlic and a colorful mix of roasted red, green and yellow bell peppers. As a shortcut, substitute roasted peppers from a jar. Go to Recipe 16 of 25 Spaghetti with Anchovy Carbonara © TINA RUPP Chris Cosentino adds briny flavor to his pasta with cured tuna heart. He shaves it on right before serving. This recipe calls for anchovies, rather than the tuna heart Cosentino uses. Egg yolks form a silky sauce. Fast Weekday Pastas Go to Recipe 17 of 25 Seafood Stew with Saffron Zabaglione © Quentin Bacon To prepare this brothy stew full of wonderfully moist snapper, tender squid and plump mussels and clams, chefs at Don Alfonso teach students to prepare the ingredients separately so nothing gets over- or undercooked. A lush saffron zabaglione, which gets stirred into the stew, presents another fun challenge: to cook egg yolks in wine slowly over the gentle heat of simmering water until they're fluffy but not scrambled. Go to Recipe 18 of 25 Cavatelli with Mussels, Lillet and Dill © Quentin Bacon The perfect match for this creamy cavatelli-and-mussels dish: Muscadet, a coastal wine that's superb with shellfish. More Seafood Recipes Go to Recipe 19 of 25 Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni © Quentin Bacon Chef Bryan Vietmeier merges two Italian-American favorites here: chicken parm and pepperoni. Go to Recipe 20 of 25 Slow Cooker Sunday Sauce on Spaghetti © Fredrika Stjärne This tomato-based pasta sauce is easy to make—just let all the ingredients simmer in a slow cooker for a few hours and serve with your favorite spaghetti. Go to Recipe 21 of 25 Chicken Scarpariello © Quentin Bacon To make her Sunday-supper scarpariello—chicken sautéed in a tangy lemon glaze with bell pepper—Fran Parisi always uses a whole chicken cut into pieces, then cooks it on the stove for hours. Grace Parisi opts for faster-cooking boneless thighs and skips the bell pepper in favor of jarred Peppadews, sweet-spicy pickled peppers from South Africa, sold in many US supermarkets. More Chicken Recipes Go to Recipe 22 of 25 Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe © John Kernick Pasta cacio e pepe ("cheese and pepper") is made with Pecorino Romano, a tangy aged sheep's-milk cheese originally from Rome, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. In Lazio, chef Antonio Ciminelli serves an elegant version with short pasta on the menu, and a rustic one with spaghetti for staff. Go to Recipe 23 of 25 Grilled Salmon with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives © Quentin Bacon Green olives add more heart-healthy fat and a hit of cell-protecting vitamin E to this crisp grilled salmon dish. More Salmon Recipes Go to Recipe 24 of 25 Sizzling Shrimp Scampi ©Con Poulos Scampi refers to shrimp that are split, brushed with garlicky butter and broiled. The recipe here calls for flavoring butter with lemon, garlic, parsley and thyme, then dotting it liberally on shrimp and roasting the shellfish until it sizzles. More Shrimp Recipes Go to Recipe 25 of 25 Rabbit Stew with Olives and Rosemary "This is one of my favorite things on the planet," says Marco Canora about his savory rabbit stew. He loves sharing the recipe with his students because it's an opportunity to teach them about making battuto (similar to soffrito), a mixture of sautéed onion, celery and carrots that's the base for many Italian dishes. More Hearty Stews Go to Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit