10 Authentic Italian Ingredients For Every Home Cook (and How to Use Them Tonight)

Building a kitchen that truly captures the spirit of Italian cooking doesn't require complex recipes or a shelf full of exotic tools. It requires something far simpler: a curated pantry built on quality and authenticity. The Italian philosophy of cucina povera—or peasant cooking—teaches us that the finest meals come from using a few exceptional ingredients well.

Here are Carluccio's ten essential Authentic Italian Ingredients that should be in every home cook's larder, along with simple, weeknight-friendly ideas for using them.

The Flavour Foundation: Oils, Fats, and Deliciousness

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil This is the lifeblood of the Italian kitchen. Forget the generic oils; invest in a high-quality, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil with a traceable origin. Use a robust variety for cooking and a delicate one for finishing.

• Use Tonight: Drizzle generously over sliced, warm crusty bread with a pinch of sea salt, or use it to dress a simple salad of rocket and shaved fennel.

2. Sea Salt (Sale Marino) Italian sea salt, often harvested along the coasts of Sicily or Puglia, has a cleaner, brighter flavour than ordinary table salt.

• Use Tonight: Use it to season a pot of boiling water for pasta—it should taste like the sea—or sprinkle a few flakes over fresh tomatoes.

3. Garlic Essential for soffritto and forming the aromatic base of countless sauces.

• Use Tonight: Smash and sauté two cloves gently in extra virgin olive oil until fragrant (don't burn it!) to start a quick pasta sauce with tinned tomatoes.

4. Lemons and Lemon Oil The bright acidity of a lemon is used to cut through richness, balance flavour, and add a fresh perfume. The zest holds the most flavour. At Carluccio's, we love incorporating the bright essence of citrus with our high-quality Lemon Oil for an instant lift.

• Use Tonight: Zest and juice half a lemon over grilled chicken or fish, or add a teaspoon of Carluccio's Lemon Oil to your mayonnaise for a punchy aioli.

The Italian Pantry Heroes: Grains, Pulses, and Cured Meats

5. High-Quality Pasta Look for pasta made from durum wheat semolina and ideally, one that is bronze-die cut (trafilata al bronzo). This process leaves a rougher, porous surface that perfectly grips and holds sauce.

• Use Tonight: Cook a simple spaghetti aglio e olio (garlic and oil) for a dish that takes less than fifteen minutes.

6. Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes (Pomodori Pelati) The cornerstone of every Italian Sunday sauce. San Marzano tomatoes, or those from Campania, offer a balance of low acidity and sweet, intense flavour.

• Use Tonight: Crush them lightly with your hands into a saucepan, simmer gently with sautéed garlic, basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for a classic Passata.

7. Dried Porcini Mushrooms (Funghi Porcini Secchi) These dried fungi provide a deep, earthy, umami base that is impossible to replicate with fresh mushrooms.

• Use Tonight: Soak a handful in warm water for 20 minutes. Use the strained soaking liquid as stock for a risotto, and chop the softened mushrooms to add to the rice.

8. 'Nduja A relatively recent star ingredient, 'Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage hailing from Calabria. Its high fat content means it melts beautifully into countless recipes, adding depth, heat, and a rich, smoky flavour.

• Use Tonight: Melt a tablespoon of 'Nduja into a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil. Toss with cooked short pasta like rigatoni and a splash of the pasta cooking water for a fiery, decadent sauce.

The Finishing Touch: Herbs and Cheese

9. Fresh Basil (Basilico) While dried herbs have their place, basil must be used fresh for its sweet, intensely aromatic qualities.

• Use Tonight: Tear, do not cut, a handful of leaves and stir them into a finished tomato sauce, or scatter over a Margherita pizza.

10. Parmigiano Reggiano The undisputed King of Cheeses. Insist on genuine Parmigiano Reggiano, aged for at least 24 months, for its nutty, crystalline texture and rich umami flavour.

• Use Tonight: Grate it freshly over virtually any pasta dish, or enjoy thin shards on a simple plate of air-dried cured meats.