The typical dishes of Campania are undoubtedly among the most numerous in Italy. Thanks to its climatic characteristics and the fertilizing effects of the volcanoes, Campania is a land rich in excellent food products.

Having been at the center of exchanges between people and cultures since ancient times, making it possible to further enrich the present gastronomic tradition.

Impossible not to mention the pasta, which originated here. The buffalo mozzarella, or the many varieties of tomatoes, including San Marzano tomatoes , without which pizza would not have been born.

Campania also offers fine drinks like limoncello or wines such as Falanghina and Aglianico.

That being said, let’s look at some of the best recipes from Campanian cuisine!

Bruschetta and caprese salad

Having mentioned tomato and mozzarella, we cannot forget the two symbolic appetizers of Italian cuisine: Caprese and bruschetta.

Caprese salad, is a fresh dish that cannot be missed during summer. The slices of mozzarella are alternated with tomatoes, all seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. Simply delicious!

The bruschetta is no different: only a few ingredients but amazing results. In this typical dish from Campania, it is necessary to toast a slice of bread, rub garlic on it and sprinkle a generous amount of chopped cherry tomatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, and basil on top.

Boat aubergines (Melanzane a barchetta)

Another main vegetable of the typical Campanian cuisine is certainly the aubergine, which we find cooked in a thousand different ways.

A typical Neapolitan appetizer, which can also serve as a delicious second course, are boat eggplants (melanzane a barchetta), in their classic vegetarian version or with the addition of minced meat.

Meatballs with Neapolitan sauce

Meatballs with Neapolitan sauce are a traditional second course of Campanian cuisine that every grandmother knows.

It is a variant of meatballs with tomato sauce. In this Neapolitan version, the mixture of bread, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley is enriched with pine nuts and raisins

Roasted artichokes

Roasted artichokes are a typical side dish from Campania, also called carcioffola arrustut’. In the typical Campanian version, the artichokes are opened and seasoned with oil, garlic, parsley, and anchovies before being cooked on the grill, giving them a unique aroma and flavor.

The babas

If we think of typical sweets from Campania, the first that comes to mind is the babà or babbà. It is a leavened baked dessert that has the particularity of being immersed in a hot liquid after cooking. The most common recipe calls for babà to be soaked in rum, but it is often found with limoncello too.

Struffoli

Struffoli is one of the main Campania sweets typical of the Christmas holidays. Delicious balls of sweet dough, flavored with anise liqueur, fried in oil and lard, and then wrapped in hot honey.

A lighter variant is prepared by baking the balls of dough instead of frying.

These are just some of the most popular recipes from the region of Campania. How many of them did you try? Do you know of other popular recipes from Campania? Let us know in the comments!