Top 10 culinary specialities in Naples

Who doesn’t succumb to the delights of Italian cuisine? Considered to be the best cuisine in the world, Italy knows how to get everyone on the same wavelength by using simple products such as wheat. No two Italian regions have the same specialities, offering a wide variety of products to sample. Located in the Campania region, Naples is one of Italy’s most famous cities. In fact, it is the Italian city that prepares the best pizzas in the boot, a nickname given to the country by its shape. Naples exudes sunshine and conviviality. The French tend to compare Naples to the “Italian Marseille”.

What to eat in Naples Our selection of 10 specialities

1- Cuoppo

Naples has a strong street-food scene, and it’s a good one. The cuoppo is a dish traditionally served in the street. The cuoppo is a paper cone filled with various fried products. Naples is a coastal city, so of course there are fish cuoppos. There’s a mixture of squid, cod, crayfish tails, cuttlefish and white fish, all fried in extra-virgin olive oil, making for a light fry. There is another equally well-known variant, with vegetables such as aubergine, courgettes and potato croquettes.

2- Pizza Margherita

It’s impossible to visit Italy without eating pizza at least once. And this is even more true in Naples, the temple of Italian pizza, where the best pizzas in the world are eaten. This pizza, in the colours of the Italian flag, is made with traditional ingredients such as tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil and salt. Nothing could be simpler than preparing a margherita pizza, but sometimes the simplest things are the best. Its simplicity has won over every tourist to Naples.

3- Neapolitan stew

Neapolitan stew is a meat-based sauce cooked for 6 hours, making this dish very tasty when accompanied by rigatoni pasta. Two types of meat are used to make this dish: beef and pork chops. It is traditionally eaten during the winter months, as it is a hearty dish that warms the belly. This stew can also be used as a sauce for Neapolitan lasagne.

4- Neapolitan-style lasagne

Neapolitan lasagne differs from traditional Bolognese-style lasagne in its ingredients. The special thing about Neapolitan lasagne is that it’s made with typical southern Italian ingredients such as mozzarella, ricotta and, as mentioned above, Neapolitan ragout. These two cheeses replace béchamel sauce, which is widely used in northern Italy. Another small difference that is a big one for the locals is the pasta. Bolognese-style lasagne is made with egg pasta, whereas in Naples durum wheat semolina is used.

5- Taralli

A popular speciality for aperitifs, taralli are ring-shaped biscuits flavoured with onions, garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, fennel, chilli and pepper. There is also a sweet version, where the biscuit is coated in icing sugar. When eaten as an aperitif, it’s not surprising that Italians eat it with a nice cold beer.

6- Casatiello

Casatiello is a traditional Easter dish. It is a pie decorated with cheese, lard, salami and grattons. Eggs in their shells are placed on the pie, which is covered with two strips of pastry in the shape of a cross, representing the cross on which Jesus died.

7- Limoncello

A famous yellowish alcohol, limoncello is a lemon liqueur produced in several regions of Italy, notably Naples. To make limoncello, you need very simple ingredients such as water, sugar, lemon zest and alcohol. Once it has matured, limoncello is used as a digestive, but can also be made into a cocktail called a “limonette”.

8- Neapolitan coffee

Coffee is part of the Italian art of living. It’s much more than just a drink you have for breakfast or after a meal. Coffee is a ritual, a passion. It’s traditional to drink your coffee at the bar. To bring out all the coffee’s aromas, the barista will serve you a glass of water to drink before the coffee. You will now be able to taste all the flavours of the generous coffee. A Neapolitan doesn’t dawdle when it comes to drinking coffee. One sip and the cup is finished. Another tradition in Naples, and now in other cities and countries, is hanging coffee. It’s an altruistic act that involves buying two coffees and leaving one on the counter for someone who can’t afford to pay.

9-Le babà

If there’s one dessert you’ll find in any Neapolitan restaurant, it’s babà. Made from a yeast-based dough soaked in rum, this dessert is not originally from Naples, but the Campania region has made it its own and made it a staple of Neapolitan gastronomy. Several derivatives of babà have been created. The rum can be replaced by limoncello for a more traditional touch.

10- Sfogliatella

Sfigliatella is a delicious pastry made with local ingredients. Made with puff pastry in the shape of a cone, the pastry is filled with ricotta flavoured with either vanilla or cinnamon. The best way to enjoy this pastry is to eat it while still warm, fresh from the oven.