Your Italian Food Bucket List: Naples and Amalfi Coast Edition

Italy is world renowned as a food lover’s paradise. Home to sumptuous pastas, authentic pizza and the most mouth-watering gelato known to man, Italy wins in all food departments, and there are some true specialities to be found in Naples and on the Amalfi Coast. We’ve put together a list of all the most decadent and delicious dishes for you to seek out when you’re in Campania to have you dining like a native Italian in no time! So, try this food of Naples and Amalfi coast while you are there.

Italian Pastries

An espresso coupled with an Italian pastry is the perfect order of the day to get you going every day. To really understand the delicate love affair that goes into making an Italian pastry, try an Italian croissant, known as cornetti. This is not the same as the traditional French croissants you may be used to as it has its own distinctive Italian flair. Enjoyed with an espresso it’s the only way to start a perfect day of travelling along the Amalfi Coast.

Cornetti ingredients:

•    Butter
•    Flour
•    Sugar
•    Eggs
•    Salt
•    Vanilla essence
•    Zest of an orange
•    Yeast

Pizza

Naples is famous for its pizza – even Liz Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) said so! Make sure you don’t leave Italy without trying some for yourself, and also do yourself a favour and savour the traditional Neapolitan pizza, cooked lovingly in a wood-fired oven while following a very specific recipe. Expect a crispy crust, saucy centre, and toppings consisting of locally sourced chunks of water buffalo milk mozzarella, locally sourced tomatoes cooked fresh, pristine basil leaves and a healthy dash of olive oil.

It’s probably super stereotypical for me to say here but the best dish in Naples has to be the delicious sourdough pizza. The dough isn’t like the conventional hard base or thick deep-pan American style but a super soft and floury texture with a subtle taste that complements a light topping. Naples is simply the best place in the world for this kind of pizza and it’s easy to find an incredible standard at a really cheap price. Sorbillo was my favourite place to eat it. The daily queues outside told me it would be a top place to try it. – Allan, Allan Edward Hinton

Neapolitan pizza ingredients:

•    Compressed yeast
•    Flour
•    Water
•    Salt
•    Water buffalo mozzarella
•    Fresh tomatoes grown on the Amalfi Coast
•    Fresh basil leaves
•    Olive oil

If you’re going to Naples, you have to eat the pizza. I visited a number of the more popular pizzerias during my stay and I can highly recommend 50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo, La Notizia, Gino Sorbillo’s, and da Michele. Each restaurant has its own vibe and style so it’s definitely worth exploring them all. (The neighborhoody La Notizia was my personal favorite, with the more modern 50 Kalo not far behind.) If you need a break from all that cheese and sauce, stop by Antichi Sapori Partenopei for a generous bowl of spaghetti alle vongole – delicious, garlicky clams. – Krista, Passportdelicious

Caprese Salad

For something a little lighter, a colourful and delicious caprese salad will make the most of local ingredients and flavour. This simple salad is made from the ripe, locally grown tomatoes, chunks of creamy mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. The dressing is made from a delicious olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper making a fresh, uplifting salad to accompany all the other delicious food you’re going to enjoy during your Italian adventure.

Caprese ingredients:

•    Tomatoes
•    Mozzarella
•    Fresh basil leaves
•    Olive oil and balsamic vinegar
•    Salt and pepper

Panzerotti

Also known as panzerotto, panzerotti is another savoury Italian favourite made with premium, juicy, fresh tomatoes, as well as the local mozzarella. Panzerotti is basically a turnover pie that is stuffed with mozzarella, tomatoes, basil or other ingredients such as spinach, ham or mushrooms. It is not unlike the calzone, except it’s fried and not baked.

Panzerotti ingredients:

•    Pizza dough
•    Mozzarella
•    Tomatoes
•    Basil

Sanguinaccio

Not your typical idea of what Italian dolce (dessert) is about, but a properly made sanguinaccio will certainly leave you wanting more! Made from pig’s blood sweetened with chocolate, this dessert is undoubtedly one of a kind and is traditionally prepared for the Carnevale feast day leading up to Lent. It can be served runny as a dipping dessert or left to solidify slightly into a pudding.

Sanguinaccio ingredients:  

•    Pig’s blood
•    Chocolate
•    Sugar
•    Milk
•    Pine nuts
•    Cinnamon
•    Raisins or orange zest

Limoncello

If you’re on the Amalfi Coast, in Naples or anywhere around the southern region of Italy, you can’t leave without sampling some limoncello. This homemade liqueur has been made in homes and restaurants all over the south of Italy for well over a century, although the date of origin is uncertain. Using fresh lemons grown in the region, the liqueur is made with the utmost care and served chilled in cold ceramic glasses after dinner as a digestive.

Ingredients:

•    Fresh lemons
•    Lemon zest
•    Rectified spirit
•    Sweet, simple syrup

The best dish I’ve had in Amalfi Coast is the fried sardines with a squeeze of lemon. When visiting Amalfi Coast, you have to eat fresh seafood because you’re right next to the ocean. I personally enjoyed eating at the local restaurants along the cliffs of Positano overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. – Jane, A Taste of Koko

Buon appetito!