Christina's Cucina

An impassioned Italian Scot sharing how to cook authentically, and travel with enthusiasm.

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Home » Course or Meal » 10 Traditional and Authentic Italian Recipes — Passed Down Within my Family — (Cucina Povera)

10 Traditional and Authentic Italian Recipes — Passed Down Within my Family — (Cucina Povera)

June 25th, 2017 | 54 Comments

I’d like to introduce you to 10 traditional and authentic Italian cucina povera recipes which have been passed down within my family.

Escarole and Beans at Il Contadino cucina povera recipes
Escarole and Beans at Il Contadino – this is what “eating out” in Italy looks like.

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What is Cucina Povera?

These are “cucina povera” style recipes, which essentially means “peasant food” (literally “poor cooking” or “poor kitchen”).

Since I shared a load of English and Scottish recipes when I was in those respective countries, I thought it would be nice to do the same with Italian recipes, given that I’m currently in Italy right now. I came to speak on a round table at the Turin Epicurean annual event featuring everything from food to fashion. More to come on that soon!

panorama of Nalli
The house where my mother was born in her small Italian village.

Cucina Povera dishes are mostly always made using super simple recipes, containing a minimal of ingredients. Usually, the products and seasonal and locally grown. As you would probably guess, those ingredients must be the best quality. There’s nothing to hide the lack of flavor otherwise.

Cucina povera recipes are the antitheses of American “Italian” chain restaurant’s dishes. If you enjoy this type of  menu, that’s totally fine, just know that there is essentially nothing on it that is truly Italian.

dishes of food at Il Contadino cucina povera recipes
plates of food at Il Contadino agriturismo

Traditional Italian food is not smothered in sauces, tons of cheese and/or “lots of herbs and spices”. Those are American concoctions. Authentic Italian dishes are mostly light, include lots of vegetables, very little cheese (even on pizza) and are very healthy/nutritious.

Most “Italian” recipes I see aren’t even remotely Italian

I get very upset seeing many bloggers sharing “Italian” recipes when they have made up a recipe including tomatoes and oregano on their own and call it “Italian”. People in the US also tend to think that Italian food is heavy and fattening.

It’s very frustrating as I’m trying to share and inform readers what REAL Italian-style food looks and tastes like. Cucina povera recipes fall under the classification of the Mediterranean diet  which is extremely healthy and nutritious!

Escarole and beans at Il Contadino cucina povera recipes

Since you may have never heard of or seen these dishes before, I’m adding a comment left by a reader below each photo. It may entice you to try something really new!

I hope you enjoy my family’s recipes: a true taste of Italy. (Click on the dish title for the full recipe.)

10 Italian Cucina Povera Recipes Passed Down
Within my Family

1. Pasta and Beans (aka Pasta e Fagioli)

Authentic Italian Pasta and Beans cucina povera recipes
“Love this pasta dish. Make this often but I use cannellini beans.” -Louise G.

2. Roasted Red Peppers

Roasted Red Pepper Antipasto cucina povera recipes
“Messy, yes, but oh-so-worth it! Jarred peppers will do in a pinch, but your own are so much better.” -Rosemary W.

3. Polenta

Polenta in a bowl with caramelized onions
“Your polenta is awesome. All straight forward; done right w./ good ingredients.” -Tony

4. Dried Zucchini

Making Dried Zucchini cucina povera recipes
“This is absolutely amazing! I love zucchini and always end up with so much through my CSA! What a great idea to preserve it for the winter months!!!” – Sarah

5. Dried Zucchini with Pancetta and Potatoes

Dried Zucchini Pancetta and Potatoes cucina povera recipes
“The stew sounds delicious, love the pancetta and other veggies and the fact that the zucchini doesn’t get mushy.” -Suzanne

6. Cabbage and Rice

southern italian cabbage and rice
“DELICIOUS!!! We all polished off our bowls.” – Wendy

7. Minestra

Minestra, healthy greens and beans cucina povera recipes
No comment here except to say that my neighbor now makes this as a side dish for Thanksgiving each year!

8. Pickled Eggplant/Aubergines

pickled eggplant aubergines cucina povera recipes
“Hi I made the pickle last night with baby brinjals and very good quality oiive oil. Was a breeze. Could not wait 4 days, so delicious Thanks Carol T.”

9. Zucchini and Mushrooms

Italian style zucchini and mushrooms
“I made this last year, really tasty and will be doing the same again this year.” Rona B.

10. Cioffe (Bows)

Cioffe cucina povera recipes
“In my Italian family they were called scatalad (scah-tah-lahd)! Love these so much! Yours were scrumptious!” -Dorothy R.

I hope you enjoyed these recipes, and if you’d like to see more of my Italian recipes, just click HERE.


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Appetizers, Course or Meal, Cuisine, Desserts, Italian, Main Courses, Side Dishes · cucina povera

Reader Interactions

54 Responses

  1. Is Pizza Really Italian? – Sarahjocrawford says:
    December 22, 2021 at 6:09 am

    […] Traditional Italian food is not smothered in sauces, tons of cheese and/or “lots of herbs and spices”. Authentic Italian dishes are mostly light, include lots of vegetables, very little cheese (even on pizza) and are very healthy/nutritious. via […]

    Reply
  2. Fava Beans with Tomatoes (Easy Italian Recipe) - Christina's Cucina says:
    April 21, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    […] you remember me writing about cucina povera recipes? Or more recently, Stanley Tucci discussed it on his Searching for Italy Series on CNN. Well, this […]

    Reply
  3. Post 2 – Foodscape: Lygon Street – The Poor Man's Food says:
    February 25, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    […] https://www.christinascucina.com/10-traditional-authentic-italian-recipes-passed-within-family-cucin… […]

    Reply
  4. Lentils and Rice (Italian-Style) - Christina's Cucina says:
    February 3, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    […] you remember my cucina povera post, where I described the type of old-style Italian cooking that uses very simple and basic […]

    Reply
  5. Guillame says:
    August 16, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    Yes, the problem is most Americans do not understand that Italian-American food is not Italian food. Its just that simple. Italian-American and Italian are totally different ideas. Yes, they have common denominators, but no, they are not the same.

    Americans in general tend to have the same confusion with other cuisines that have Americanized offspring, Chinese, Mexican, etc.

    I often tell people that it is not easy to find an Italian restaurant in America, and they look at me like I am crazy. But it is in fact not easy to find an Italian restaurant in America, and peoples’ befuddlement when I say that is just one more symptom of the same misunderstanding about cuisines.

    To understand the difference between a mother cuisine and the Americanized version you first have to understand there is a difference to begin with. And most Americans are not that aware.

    Reply
    • Christina says:
      August 16, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      I completely agree on all of your points, except that in larger cities, like here in LA, there are some wonderful authentic Italian restaurants. However, most of them are owned by immigrant Italians straight from Italy.

      We once went to an Italian restaurant in Phoenix, owned by a Sicilian chef. The food was NOT Italian and we were very disappointed. To cut a long story short, the owner heard us as we were paying the bill and ended up talking to us. He said when he opened the restaurant, he served authentic Italian cuisine. People didn’t appreciate it, or like it. They wanted the green stuff in the can as opposed to Parmigiano Reggiano. He did what he needed to do to survive, and adapted his menu and ingredients. He told us would have cooked using his own personal ingredients had he known my mother was born in Italy.

      That is one of the biggest problems in a nutshell. :(

      Reply
    • Baron Topor says:
      January 1, 2021 at 11:51 am

      Everything here is wrong. American ideas about Italian food come from Italian-American cooking, which is heavier, richer and more satisfying than what was made in Italy where they were too poor to be able to cook that way. Italian food is heavy because so much olive oil is used, in Italy.
      I am disappointed that eggplant all’ povere was not on the page, that’s what I was looking for. And the ads, the moving ads and how they cover up the text are very disturbing.

      Reply
      • Christina says:
        January 1, 2021 at 12:51 pm

        I disagree wholeheartedly, Baron. Some Northern Italian winter dishes are heavier, but not because of olive oil. I also don’t agree that olive oil makes dishes “heavy”. Sorry for your disappointment in not finding the melanzane recipe you’re looking for, but in no way is this an exhaustive list of cucina povera dishes, it is only an extremely small sample. I think you are probably on mobile, so I’d suggest trying to navigate on a desktop as the ads are less noticeable, otherwise, you’ll have to pay for a site which has no ads or buy a cookbook. I cannot afford to run a site offering free recipes without ads to help compensate for the cost of running the site, the ingredients and most importantly, my time.

        Reply
  6. The Best True Italian Recipes You Must Try at Home - Champion Supplies, Inc says:
    July 29, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    […] with the arugula, grated parmesan, and prosciutto. That’s it, meal complete! Enjoy one of the tastiest true Italian […]

    Reply
  7. Pickled Eggplant (Pickled Aubergines) - Christina's Cucina says:
    July 19, 2020 at 9:08 am

    […] one of the things my Nonna always made, and, to me, it is insanely delicious, not unlike the other “cucina povera” dishes she made so incredibly […]

    Reply
  8. Italian Green Beans (Authentic and Traditional) - Christina's Cucina says:
    July 11, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    […] may have seen other recipes I have shared which fall under the typical “cucina povera” cuisine, and this is definitely another. Anything where you sop up the juice with some crusty bread […]

    Reply
« Older Comments

Trackbacks

  1. Is Pizza Really Italian? – Sarahjocrawford says:
    December 22, 2021 at 6:09 am

    […] Traditional Italian food is not smothered in sauces, tons of cheese and/or “lots of herbs and spices”. Authentic Italian dishes are mostly light, include lots of vegetables, very little cheese (even on pizza) and are very healthy/nutritious. via […]

    Reply
  2. Fava Beans with Tomatoes (Easy Italian Recipe) - Christina's Cucina says:
    April 21, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    […] you remember me writing about cucina povera recipes? Or more recently, Stanley Tucci discussed it on his Searching for Italy Series on CNN. Well, this […]

    Reply
  3. Post 2 – Foodscape: Lygon Street – The Poor Man's Food says:
    February 25, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    […] https://www.christinascucina.com/10-traditional-authentic-italian-recipes-passed-within-family-cucin… […]

    Reply
  4. Lentils and Rice (Italian-Style) - Christina's Cucina says:
    February 3, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    […] you remember my cucina povera post, where I described the type of old-style Italian cooking that uses very simple and basic […]

    Reply
  5. The Best True Italian Recipes You Must Try at Home - Champion Supplies, Inc says:
    July 29, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    […] with the arugula, grated parmesan, and prosciutto. That’s it, meal complete! Enjoy one of the tastiest true Italian […]

    Reply
  6. Pickled Eggplant (Pickled Aubergines) - Christina's Cucina says:
    July 19, 2020 at 9:08 am

    […] one of the things my Nonna always made, and, to me, it is insanely delicious, not unlike the other “cucina povera” dishes she made so incredibly […]

    Reply
  7. Italian Green Beans (Authentic and Traditional) - Christina's Cucina says:
    July 11, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    […] may have seen other recipes I have shared which fall under the typical “cucina povera” cuisine, and this is definitely another. Anything where you sop up the juice with some crusty bread […]

    Reply

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Meet Christina

A Scottish Italian cook living in Los Angeles, Christina is usually cooking, baking or (cr)eating something scrumptious. When she isn't in the kitchen, she loves to travel, near and far, as long as good food is involved. Christina is on a mission to save authentic Italian dishes from extinction, and is constantly promoting Scottish (and British) food as some of the best cuisine the world has to offer—one steak pie and sticky toffee pudding at a time.



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