Regional highlights
Coniglio all'ischitana
Ischia's emblem dish — farmed rabbit (coniglio da fossa, raised in deep volcanic stone pits) browned in olive oil, then slow-cooked with white wine, garlic, cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme and chili. Cooked in a single terracotta pot until the meat falls off the bone. Originally a peasant dish from the inland villages of Serrara, Fontana and Buonopane; now the islander's Sunday lunch and a fixture of every traditional menu.
Frittura di paranza
A mixed fry of tiny Mediterranean fish — anchovies, red mullet, small calamari, prawns — lightly floured and crisped in hot oil, served with lemon wedges. "Paranza" refers to the trawler nets that catch them. Eaten as a starter or a shared main; standard at every fishing-port restaurant from Forio to Ischia Porto.
Linguine allo scoglio
"Pasta of the rocks" — linguine in a shellfish-and-tomato sauce with mussels, clams, prawns, sometimes octopus, all cooked in their own briny juice. Found in every coastal restaurant on Ischia, especially around the marina at Sant'Angelo and the small ports of Forio. Eaten with a glass of crisp Biancolella.
Pollo al mattone (alla cacciatora ischitana)
Chicken split flat and cooked under a brick or hot stone — sometimes literally on the volcanic sand at Sant'Angelo's Maronti beach, where the heat from the underlying thermal springs cooks slow-buried packets of food (the "sabbiature" tradition). Crisp-skinned, deeply herbal, served with lemon wedges. A direct survivor of pre-tourist island life.
Spaghetti alle vongole
Spaghetti tossed with small clams (vongole veraci), garlic, olive oil, parsley and a splash of white wine — sometimes with a touch of cherry tomato (in rosso). A Campanian classic on every restaurant menu around the island. Eaten by twirling pasta and slurping the clams from their shells; cheese is never added.
Totani ripieni
Squid stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, capers and sometimes anchovies, then braised in tomato sauce until tender. The stuffing soaks up the sauce while the squid stays delicate. A dish shared with Capri and Procida; common at weddings and feast-day lunches in the inland villages.
Parmigiana di melanzane
Fried aubergine layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and basil, then baked. A Campanian classic. Eaten as a main course or as a generous side; even better the day after.
Minestra maritata
"Married soup" — a slow-cooked broth of mixed pork (salame, pancetta, ribs) and bitter winter greens (escarole, chicory, scarola), the meat "marrying" the vegetables. A Campanian tradition rooted in inland Ischia just as much as Naples; a Sunday or Christmas-week soup, rarely served in summer.
Casatiello
A round savoury Easter bread, plaited around hard-boiled eggs in their shell, packed with cured pork (salame, pancetta), pecorino, parmesan and lots of black pepper. Heavy, hearty, sliced thin and eaten cold for days after Easter. Common across Campania including Ischia, where it's a fixture of the spring picnic on the beach.
Pizza di scarola
A double-crusted savoury pie filled with sautéed escarole, olives, capers, raisins and pine nuts — the Campanian Christmas Eve dish, also eaten on Ischia. The combination of bitter greens and sweet raisins is unmistakably southern Italian. Eaten warm or at room temperature, often as a starter or light meal.
Torta di ricotta e pere
A delicate sponge cake layered with sweet ricotta cream and poached pears, surrounded by a hazelnut-pecan crust. A relatively modern Campanian dessert popularised across the Amalfi Coast and Ischia. Lighter than the heavyweight cassatas of further south; pair with a chilled glass of passito.
Delizia al limone
A small dome of sponge cake brushed with limoncello, filled with limoncello-infused pastry cream and coated in a lemon glaze. Invented in nearby Sorrento in 1978 and now found on Ischia and across the Bay of Naples. The lemon cuts the cream and the limoncello finishes the meal.