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Italian starter

Italian starter recipes

Get your Italian dinner party off to a great start with our selection of starters. Crostini, breadsticks, bruschetta and arancini are just a few of our favourite recipes from Italy, but there’s plenty more to explore in this stunning collection.

We’re got classics including fritto misto and caprese salad, along with a lemon ricotta twist on the traditional bruschetta recipe. Hosting a party? Go beyond a charcuterie board with platters of white bean crostini with anchovy salsa.

Italian cuisine aficionados can recreate traditional Pietmontese delicacies including the creamy dip bagna cauda and vitello tonatto (veal on a bed of tuna sauce).

And for burrata fans, we have great ideas for enjoying this sumptuously creamy cheese, including inspired pairings with grilled peaches, balsamic-dressed strawberries and a fiery ‘nduja dip.

Complete your dolce vita feast with the rest of our Italian recipes, including Italian pastas and Italian desserts. Buon appetito!

Showing 1-16 of 80 recipes

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Pears

Beef carpaccio with pickled pear and parmesan mayonnaise

This carpaccio is a masterpiece on the plate, with butter-soft beef, pear, umami-rich mayo and crunchy nuts, A perfect make-ahead starter.

Freezable Gluten-free

Medium

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Prawns

Gamberi alla busara (prawns with cherry tomato sauce)

This recipe for prawns with a spicy tomato sauce hails from Italy's Veneto region. Enjoy with crusty bread or as a sauce for pasta.

Dairy-free Gluten-free

Easy

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Tomato salads

Insalata pantesca (Pantelleria-style cherry tomato salad)

This cherry tomato salad recipe comes from Pantelleria, an island between Sicily and Tunisia. It's perfect for a lunch in the sun.

Dairy-free Gluten-free Vegan

Easy

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Meatballs

Mondeghili (fried breaded beef and pork meatballs)

These crunchy meatballs – a Milanese mainstay – may have begun as a way to use up leftover meat, but they’re now a popular aperitivo snack.

Easy

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Celebrity chef recipes

Angela Hartnett’s gnocco fritto (deep-fried pasta)

Gnocco fritto is a popular snack in Emilia-Romagna. Pasta dough is fried until hollow and crisp and eaten with cured meat and soft cheese.

Easy

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Italian vegetarian

Risi e bisi (classic Venetian rice and peas)

Ursula Ferrigno shares her recipe for risi e bisi. This classic Venetian dish of rice and the sweetest fresh peas is served in a rich stock.

Gluten-free Vegetarian

Easy

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Courgettes

Courgette ribbons with pesto alla trapanese

This fresh and crunchy salad is ideal for a speedy lunch or barbecue side. Coat courgette ribbons in pesto for an incredible flavour pairing.

Gluten-free

Easy

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Summer

Tomato tonnato

Make the most of tomatoes when they're at their peak summer best in this tomato tonnato recipe. It's ready in 10 minutes and tastes like the best tuna sandwich you've ever eaten, in salad form.

Easy

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Homemade pasta

Silk handkerchief pasta with dill, brown butter and lemon

Silk handkerchief pasta (fazzoletti) is easy to make and cut out. Nutty browned butter adds toastiness alongside dill and zesty lemon.

Vegetarian

Medium

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Dips

Piedmontese bagna cauda

Bagna cauda is a classic dip from Piedmont. This simple dish contains heaps of garlic, anchovy and olive oil – three of our favourite things.

Gluten-free

Easy

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Italian pastas

Tortellini in brodo

Tortellini in brodo is a labour of love. Tiny handmade tortellini are served in the rich stock from a bollito misto. A Piedmontese classic.

Medium

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Peaches

Grilled peaches with burrata, basil and courgette shavings

Grilled peaches with burrata, courgette and lemon makes an easy salad for high summer. Grilling intensifies the peaches' natural sweetness.

Gluten-free Vegetarian

Easy

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Italian starters

Runner beans with pesto, roast cherry tomatoes and lemon ricotta

The unbeatable Italian combo of tomatoes, pesto and cheese is joined by a beautiful tangle of runner beans in this easy summer salad. Enjoy on its own or as part of a bigger meal – it makes a lovely side to a summery roast chicken.

Gluten-free Vegetarian

Easy

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Raw fish

Sea bream crudo

Crudo is a popular way of serving fresh fish in Italy. Here we've paired thin slices of raw bream with orange, pistachio and chilli.

Dairy-free Gluten-free

Easy

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Summer salads and sides

Caprese salad

Caprese is a colourful Italian classic, all about showcasing the best of simple ingredients. We’ve used the best in-season tomatoes, creamy burrata and fragrant basil.

Gluten-free

Easy

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Italian starters

Fritto misto

One of the nicest things you can eat by the coast in Italy, fritto misto is incredibly simple – but of course, the quality of the ingredients is paramount (so buy fresh rather than frozen if possible).

Dairy-free