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

10 Authentic Italian Cucina Povera Recipes — Passed Down Within my Family

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.

Cucina povera is the type of food my Nonna used to make. Continue the authentic Italian tradition by making these healthy, delicious and nutritious meals for your family, too.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

EDIT: 2022 You may be on this page because you heard Stanley Tucci discuss cucina povera on his Searching for Italy series on CNN. Recently, I’ve seen many others jump on the “authentic Italian cuisine bandwagon” to profit off Stanley’s show, but I have been posting my family’s cucina povera recipes since 2011.

Panzanella: Italian Bread and Tomato Salad
Panzanella: Italian bread and tomato salad

 

You’ll see that I shared this particular list of cucina povera recipes in 2017. Just be sure the recipes you discover and try are the real-deal; many are not.

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 at a round table at the Turin Epicurean annual event featuring everything from food to fashion. More to come on that soon! (Edited to add that you can find my Turin Epicurean post here.)

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 dishes are vegetarian or vegan, and products are seasonal and locally sourced. For example, coastal areas would use more fish as it was accessible, whereas mountainous regions would not. As you would surmise, those ingredients must be the best quality. There’s nothing to hide the poor flavor of bad products, otherwise. 

Italian Cannellini bean salad

 

Cucina povera recipes are the antitheses of American “Italian” chain restaurant dishes. If you enjoy this type of  menu, that’s totally fine, just know that there is essentially nothing on them that is truly Italian. There is no such thing as chicken Alfredo in Italy, in fact, meat is NEVER served on top of or alongside any sort of pasta. I mean EVER. Pasta as a side on a plate is also non-existent in authentic Italian cuisine.

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 to me because my mission is 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. 

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

Peasant-style Italian recipes made by my family.

 


Don’t miss another recipe or travel post; sign up for my free subscription below!

Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

71 Comments

  1. Love your recipes,made just like Mom and Pop would make growing up,and not all Italian dishes are slathered with sauce,condiments and huge amounts of garlic !.Don’t get me wrong,garlic is a beautiful thing used in moderation and is not a “food group”..Also Quality ingredients with simplicity are a fabulous Italian thing.Thankyou for your authentic delectable recipes !

    1. Well spoken, Cynthia! I can tell you are aware of what authentic Italian food is, and yes, we can do what we like, but just respect the original recipes! :) Grazie!

  2. Having been to Italy numerous times, I get your point about what authentic really means especially with respect to pastas and sauces. But do you really mean to say that no pasta dishes are ever served with meat in the same dish? What about pasta sauces made with dried meats such as pancetta, guanicale and speck?

    1. Hi William, no that’s not what I meant. I meant as a side dish, next to pasta. Pasta is its own course, secondi would be the meat dishes. Sorry for the confusion.

  3. Thank you for posting such delicious recipes. I’ve been searching for Italian recipes for the past month to make for my family. In regards to the “American” version of Italian food, you must remember they were created by immigrants that had to make due with what they had. Many of them were poor and added the pasta for substance. Also American food is a fusion of other cultures. We have so many different backgrounds that it’s only natural that the original recipes would change. Thanks again!

    1. I’m so glad you like the recipes, Michelle! Actually, cucina povera is “poor cooking” which is what the peasants in Italy made when they had very little to work with. Immigrants wouldn’t have had access to the same ingredients, which is why the changes would have come around. You are correct, recipes always change and there’s nothing wrong with that (as long as we keep “quality” as the main theme). I just take issue with people sharing recipes that are not remotely Italian and calling them, “Italian” or worse yet, “authentic Italian”. It’s a disservice and misinformation to those who simply don’t know any better.

  4. Oh my GOODNESS! Just made your Cabbage and Rice recipe and it really is something delicious and inexpensive to make. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to explore your other recipes. Cheers.

      1. this is correct the recipe’s here are proper homemade italian family recipe’s period! non of the other crap from most restaurants abd say “italian foods” ! as long as it looks like a pasta meal that say it’s italian but when you taste it it’s nothing like what I know !! from Australia from a Calabrese women !!