Episode #312: Beyond Pizza and Pasta - Regional Italian Cuisine

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Italian food is so much more than just pizza and pasta – and understanding why will completely change the way you travel (and eat) in Italy. From the incredible diversity of regional dishes to knowing how to spot authentic local specialties, discovering what truly belongs on the plate where you are can transform your entire Italian adventure.

Contents

Summary

We welcome back an Untold Italy favorite – food tour operator and food enthusiast Nesim Bekalti of Full Belly Tours. Nesim grew up in the Testaccio, the kitchen of Rome, and having lived and worked all over the world as a chef, returned to live in his old neighborhood. Through his tours, he shares his knowledge and love for the best of Roman food. In this episode, Nesim unravels the incredible diversity of Italian cuisine. Forget everything you thought you knew about pizza and pasta – Italy’s food culture is so much richer, shaped by unique microclimates, geography, historical wealth, and centuries of conquest.

What you'll learn in this episode

Italian cuisine is a mosaic of regional food cultures rather than a single national style. Each region, and even town and village, has its own ingredients, techniques and signature dishes shaped by local history and identity
Geography and microclimates determine the core ingredients of every region. Mountainous northern areas favour dairy, butter, preserved meats and hearty grains, while the south and coastal regions rely on olive oil, vegetables, legumes and seafood. Local, seasonal produce forms the backbone of traditional dishes.
Wealth, poverty and political history have left lasting marks on the table. Prosperous city-states developed rich egg pastas, aged cheeses and layered meat sauces, while cucina povera traditions transformed humble ingredients like beans, greens and offal into iconic dishes. Arab, Austrian and other foreign influences introduced spices, sweets, dumplings and new agricultural techniques that remain embedded in regional cooking
Many popular assumptions about Italian food are misleading. There is no single standard of “Italian food,” quality varies widely, fresh pasta is not inherently superior to dried and even garlic is used far more sparingly than in Italian-American cooking
Northern, central, southern and island cuisines operate as distinct food ecosystems. Polenta, risotto and butter-rich dishes define parts of the north; olive oil, pork, beans and the classic Roman pastas characterise the centre; vegetable-forward, seafood-based and preservation traditions shape the south; and Sicily and Sardinia reflect layered histories, shepherd culture and coastal abundance
5 rules for smart ordering:
- Order the regional starch (rice, pasta, polenta)
- Follow the local fat (butter, olive oil, pork)
- Trust the geography (seafood by the coast, hill town specialties inland)
- Let seasonality guide your choices
- Don’t seek famous dishes everywhere; consult locals

Timeline Overview

06:16 Italian cuisine is fiercely regional, shaped by geography, climate and local pride, with each area developing its own ingredients, techniques and signature dishes rather than following a single national style.
10:26 Common myths are challenged, including the idea that all Italian food is the same, that fresh pasta is always superior, and that great pizza can be found uniformly across the country
22:09 Geography, wealth, scarcity and historical influences explain why regions favour different fats, starches and cooking styles, from butter and rice in the north to olive oil and pasta in the south
35:28 Seasonal cooking, traditional stews and sauces, proper pasta pairings and the role of bronze-die pasta show how technique and timing shape authentic flavour
52:25 Regional dishes like Sardinian fregola, spotting fresh seafood on menus and following local ordering logic help travellers eat in a way that reflects the place they’re visiting

About our guest – Nesim Bekalti from Full Belly Tours, Rome

Nesim of Fully Belly Tours, was born in Washington DC to a French-American mother and Tunisian father. At the age of 9 months, his parents went back to Rome, where they'd previously been living for 4 years as conference interpreters for the UN.

He grew up (and currently lives) in Testaccio, the neighborhood that gave birth to traditional Roman cuisine. It is known as the culinary heart of Rome, and it’s where Romans from all around the city come to eat.

After graduating high school he realized his passions in life were cooking and traveling. To him, this meant that if he became a cook it would pay him to travel the world, and he ended up spending over fifteen years working in restaurants around the globe.

He has a degree in Hotel and Tourism Management from New York University and has lived in Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Oaxaca, San Francisco, and New York City. He is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, and English. He also obtained a sommelier certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers while living in California.

His passion for cooking came from being raised in Italy, where absolutely everything revolves around eating. He moved back here 7 years ago, where he's been working ever since as a food tour guide.

Being raised in Italy by multicultural parents makes him both a foreigner and true Roman simultaneously. His background and travel experience allow him to entertainingly bridge the gap between guests and locals, easily explaining their cultural quirks and intricacies to you, and yours to them!

Ultimately, his passion lies in taking care of people (especially in relation to food), and ensuring their experiences are truly memorable and lots of fun!

Follow Nesim here

Italian places, foods and concepts mentioned

Places

Testaccio – local Roman neighborhood noted for its authentic food scene, away from tourist crowds
Naples (Napoli) – capital of the Campania region, famous for Neapolitan pizza and its volcanic tomatoes
South Tyrol (Alto Adige) – region in the north, known for cold-climate comfort foods, mountain cheeses, smoked meats, and Austrian influences (like strudel).
Benevento – home to a kind of Rome/Naples hybrid pizza
Friuli-Venezia Giulia – one of Italy's 20 regions, in the northeast of the country, with Trieste as its capital city. Birthplace of the spritz and known for strudel and dumplings
Norcia – located in the Valnerina Valley, where Umbria skirts the Le Marche region
Sicily – Italian island known for its eclectic cuisine shaped by centuries of occupation (especially Arab influence), dishes like caponata, pasta con le sarde, use of citrus, pine nuts, raisins, and sweet-sour flavors
Sardinia – large Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea
Ischia – small island next to Capri

Food / Drink

DOP (Denominazione di origine protetta) – a European mark of origin which is attributed to foods whose characteristics depend on the territory where they are produced
IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) – a mark of origin that recognizes food products which have a specific quality, reputation or other characteristic that is closely dependent on the production, processing and/or preparation, developed in a specific geographical area
Pizza al taglio – Roman pizza, served by the slice
Parmigiano Reggiano – a cheese (the king of cheeses) from a very specific part of the region and created to exacting standards to get the stamp
cicoria – dark green, bitter chicory. Offten sautéed, loved especially in Rome
Caponata – the classic Sicilian dish made with eggplant, which can also be made with artichoke
pasta con sarde – delicious Sicilian pasta dish with sardines
speck – a type of lightly smoked mountain ham
Pizzoccheri – short, flat ribbon pasta made from buckwheat flour from the Valtellina valley in Lombardy. Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese is a dish that combines this pasta with savoy cabbage, potatoes, garlic, sage, with plenty of melted butter and Alpine cheese
Polenta Taragna – a type of polenta made with corn flour and buckwheat flour. The name derives from the tarai, the wooden stick traditionally used to stir it in a copper cauldron. Finished with brown butter
Risotto alla Milanese – traditional dish from Milan with saffron, giving it a strong yellow color. Often served with ossobuco (shank containing marrow bone)
ragù – an Italian meat sauce, which will depend on the region. Famously, Bolognese ragu from Bologna and wild boar ragu in Tuscany
peposo – rich beef stew from Tuscany
Pappa al pomodoro – a cucina povera classic of tomato sauce with leftover, stale bread
ribolitta – a hearty Tuscan bread and vegetable soup, including locally grown cavolo nero (black kale)
Bistecca alla Fiorentina – chiannina cows from the Val di Chiana
Guanciale – a cured meat made from pork jowl or cheeks and used in many Roman dishes
Cacio e pepe, Gricia, Carbonara, and Amatriciana – the 4 famous pasta dishes of Rome
Abbacchio alla Cacciatora – a Roman braised lamb dish
Sofrito – a foundation to many meals, this is finely chopped vegetables sauted or braised slowly
mantecatura – the step of mixing a sauce or ingredients in – often a fat
pasta e fagioli – literally translating to ‘pasta and beans', this is a hearty Tuscan dish in a vegetable broth
pasta e patate – originating in Napoli, this carby dish also includes cheese and leftovers
pasta e ceci – pasta and chickpeas
Porceddu – a suckling pig dish from Sardinia, where the pork is slowly cooked over aromatic herbs
Fregula – a type of semolina ball from Sardinia

Words / Concepts

Pellegrino Artusi – an Italian businessman and cookbook writer, best known as the author of the 1891 cookbook La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well)

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Podcast episodes

Episode #312: Beyond Pizza and Pasta – Regional Italian Cuisine