I secondi
In an Italian meal the pasta (primo) is followed by a main course (secondo). Pick by the flow of weight and by the region, and it becomes a menu at home too.
1
Saltimbocca alla romana
Thin-pounded veal is layered with sage and prosciutto, pinned with a toothpick, and sauteed in butter. The name means "jumps in the mouth" (salta in bocca). The salt of the prosciutto and the aroma of the sage make up for the veal's blandness, and the key is not to overcook the prosciutto side.
Pairs with: Pasta alla gricia / Cacio e pepe / Spaghetti alle vongole
3
Pesce all'acqua pazza
A whole white fish briefly simmered with garlic, cherry tomatoes, and water — a fisherman's dish from the coast of southern Italy. It's said to have started aboard boats with no refrigeration, where fishermen poached the day's catch in seawater instead of salt. Recreated on land by mixing seawater and fresh water, the result tends to come out too salty, which is why the name is explained through the Neapolitan phrase for too much salt, "te fa ascì pazz" ("it drives you crazy") — giving the dish its name, "crazy water". It spread to restaurants across the country in the 1950s-60s after the actor Totò became known for ordering it.
Pairs with: Spaghetti alla puttanesca / Pasta al Limone / Spaghetti allo scoglio
Parmigiana di melanzane
A southern Italian vegetable dish of fried eggplant layered with tomato sauce and cheeses such as mozzarella, then baked. It is registered on Italy's Ministry of Agriculture list of traditional foods as a specialty of Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily. The name's origin is debated: some dictionaries explain it as "Parma-style," meaning vegetables cooked layered, while others trace it to Parmigiano.
Pairs with: Pasta al Limone / Pesto alla trapanese / Orecchiette con le cime di rapa
Polpette al sugo
A Neapolitan home-style dish of meatballs made from mixed ground beef and pork, hiding pine nuts and raisins inside, dusted with flour, fried, and then simmered in tomato sauce. Tucking pine nuts and raisins into the center is the distinctive Neapolitan touch, and the sauce the meat is simmered in is also used to dress pasta.
Pairs with: Ragù napoletano / La Genovese napoletana / Spaghetti alla puttanesca
1
Caponata siciliana
A Sicilian dish of fried eggplant simmered in a sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce with celery, onion, olives and capers. Today it is served as a contorno or antipasto, and it is registered as a traditional agri-food product (P.A.T.) of the Sicily region.
Pairs with: Pasta alla Norma / Pasta con le Sarde / Pesto alla trapanese
1
Branzino al forno alla ligure
A whole European sea bass (branzino/spigola) roasted in the oven, a Mediterranean coastal staple. The Ligurian version is distinctive for a bed of potatoes, cherry tomatoes, Taggiasca olives, and pine nuts roasted underneath the fish, so the vegetables soak up the fish's fat and the whole thing becomes a single self-contained dish.
Pairs with: Pesto alla Genovese / Spaghetti alle vongole / Pasta al Limone
2
Cotoletta alla milanese
A dish of veal loin on the bone, coated in breadcrumbs and fried in butter. In Milan the traditional form is thick and bone-in, with a golden, fragrant crust while the meat near the bone stays rosy. The modern, boneless version pounded very thin is distinguished by its own name, "oregia d'elefant" (elephant's ear).
Pairs with: Pasta al Limone / Bigoli in salsa / Pomodoro
Ossobuco alla milanese
A dish of milk-fed veal shank sliced crosswise on the bone, braised in white wine and broth with the marrow-filled hole (osso = bone, buco = hole) left visible. Finishing with gremolata, a mince of lemon zest, garlic and parsley chopped very fine, is the defining requirement of the Milanese version, cutting through the richness of the braise with aroma and acidity.
Pairs with: Pasta al Limone / Tajarin al tartufo bianco / Bigoli in salsa
1
Baccalà alla vicentina
Dried Norwegian cod (stoccafisso) is soaked for days to rehydrate, then simmered for hours over low heat with onion, salted sardines, olive oil, milk, and Parmigiano until it turns creamy. Despite the name "baccalà", the fish used is actually stoccafisso (air-dried, not salt-cured), and the key technique is "pipare" — cooking it without stirring, only shaking the pot.
Pairs with: Bigoli in salsa / Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia / Pasta al Limone
1
Vitello tonnato
Thin slices of chilled veal are topped with a sauce built on tuna, anchovy and capers. It's served both as an antipasto and as a secondo. The name originally meant "veal prepared as if it were tuna," and tuna itself is not believed to have been part of the dish until the late 19th century; the mayonnaise-based version now common spread in the 20th century.
Pairs with: Tajarin al tartufo bianco / Pasta al Limone / Pesto alla Genovese
2
Bistecca alla fiorentina
A thick-cut beef T-bone, with fillet and sirloin on either side of the bone, grilled rare over glowing charcoal embers — a Florentine regional dish. Traditionally made with young Chianina beef, seasoned with nothing more than salt, pepper, and good olive oil so the meat itself is the point.
Pairs with: Pomodoro / Spaghetti alle vongole / Aglio, olio e peperoncino
Pollo alla cacciatora
Chicken pieces are browned in olive oil, then slowly braised with aromatic vegetables, wine and tomato. The name, meaning "hunter's style," is said to come from a stew hearty enough to fill a hunter waiting for game; tomato was not originally part of it and was added later. Northern versions tend to use white wine, southern versions red.
Pairs with: Pasta al Limone / Pasta alla gricia / Pesto alla trapanese
