A week is not enough to savor all the delicacies of Neapolitan cuisine because there is really much more than just pizza. Delicious first courses, tasty main courses, but above all fried. A holiday in Naples cannot be separated from savoring at least some of its delicacies, one better than the other. Just think that Goethe himself, who fell madly in love with the city, sentenced the now famous saying “See Naples and then die”, a sign that once you have experienced the climate of the city, leaving it causes great suffering. So, if you really have to suffer, we might as well try as many typical dishes as possible!
Pizza
Pizza is an institution and you cannot leave Naples without having tried the real Neapolitan pizza. Needless to say: the original can only be found here, prepared with the same recipe from the 1600s. Be prepared, however, to find a fairly limited choice: the flavors available are usually few, four or five, and among these you can’t miss the margherita, with lots of fresh basil.
Staying on the subject of pizza, also try the fried pizza closed in a panzarotto and stuffed with every good thing.
Neapolitan Ragù
Different from the Bolognese one, it is prepared with particular types of meat cut into small pieces and not minced. Its scent hangs through the streets of the historic center especially on Sunday mornings when the good housewives begin the long, very long cooking.
Macaroni omelette
Recycling recipe but also the undisputed star of trips out of town, the macaroni omelette, which is nothing more than spaghetti, is a real institution. Rich beyond all kinds of caciocavallo, eggs, parmesan and cured meats, this omelette is not for the faint of heart!
Pasta and potatoes (with Provola)
Staying on the subject of first courses, how can we not talk about pasta and potatoes, a cross between a pasta and a soup with a thick and mellow consistency, made even tastier thanks to the addition of provolone. Don’t be offended if they serve it with pasta of various shapes: this is how tradition dictates!
Cuoppo di Mare
Let’s enter the fried category with the classic cuoppo di mare, a paper straw cone (hence the name) filled with fried fish of the day. It is among the street food par excellence and the best way to enjoy it is with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of pepper.
Cat of Potatoes
There is nothing more genuine and true than potato gattò prepared with potatoes, eggs, mozzarella and a blaze of meats, salami and cooked ham above all. Its crunchy crust contains all the flavor of the city and, like many typical dishes of the area, the next day is even better!
Casatiello
The undisputed symbol of Neapolitan Easter, the casatiello recreates the shape of the crown of thorns carried by Jesus. It is so substantial that the Neapolitan saying “si proprio ‘nu casatiello” is used to indicate people who are particularly heavy in character. In fact, the dough includes a significant amount of lard, provolone and Neapolitan salami, but don’t be intimidated and try it!
Peppered Mussels
Fish is the protagonist of many Neapolitan recipes and is usually cooked with few ingredients to enhance its natural flavor. The mussel impepata is certainly no exception and we invite you to enjoy it facing the sea, directly with your hands and just a slice of bread as an accompaniment.
Neapolitan Pastiera
Shortcrust pastry filled with ricotta cream and cooked wheat scented with orange peel, orange blossom essence and spices: this brief description does not do justice to the Neapolitan pastiera, the undisputed symbol of Neapolitan Easter.
Sfogliatelle
Layers of crunchy puff pastry filled with ricotta cream, semolina, eggs and sugar with an intense scent of orange blossom. The Neapolitan sfogliatella was born in 1800 by the hand of a famous pastry chef and since then it has never stopped making a massacre of hearts.
Babà
It is certainly no coincidence that the famous saying “si ‘nu babbà” means that you are a treasure. Baba is a leavened dough soaked in liqueur and, although it was born in Poland, it is here that it reached the pinnacle of its goodness and refinement.
Coffee
To swallow all this goodness you really need a coffee and that of Naples has no equal in the world. Don’t try to take the ingredients home, it will never be the same. The secret? Nobody knows, so take advantage of it.
