Tuscan, Roman, and Pugliese kitchens all make a version. Slowly stewed chickpeas with rosemary, garlic, and tomato — eaten as a main with bread, or thinned into pasta e ceci.
Naples-style greens — broccoli rabe-ish leaves cooked with garlic, chili, olive oil. Bitter, garlicky, addictive. The traditional pairing is with sausage in a torpedo roll.
A Pugliese masterpiece. Creamy fava bean purée served alongside bitter wild chicory, drizzled with great olive oil. The contrast — sweet, earthy, bitter, rich — is sublime.
Italians eat lentils on New Year's Eve — they're said to bring wealth in the new year (each one a little coin). Cozy, peppery, perfect for any cold night.
The southern Italian answer to ratatouille — potatoes, peppers, eggplant, onion, tomato, slow-cooked into a sweet, jammy mess. Comes from Basilicata and Calabria. Goes with crusty bread, eggs, or as a side.
Halved eggplants stuffed with breadcrumbs, capers, olives, anchovies, and tomato. A southern Italian summer staple. Eat them warm, room temp, or even cold the next day.
Eggplant parmigiana the way it's meant to be — fried (not baked), layered with tomato, mozzarella, parmesan, basil. Eaten as a main or side, never with pasta. Naples, Sicily, and Calabria all claim it.
Italy's answer to the omelet — looser, flatter, baked instead of folded. This zucchini and goat-cheese version is summery, but the recipe takes any vegetable in your fridge.