Despite its unification during the nineteenth century, Italy's cuisine remains strongly distinctive from region to region. This is in part due to the landscape, and in particular the natural produce for which each region is famed – pizza from Campania, home of the famous San Marzano tomatoes, and risotto dishes from rice-growing Piedmont and Lombardy.

While for many of us a big bowl of pasta epitomises Italian cuisine, pasta is more commonly eaten as a starter (or, rather, a separate course of its own) in restaurants across Italy meaning it is conspicuously lacking in this collection of Italian main recipes. Take a look at our separate collection of pasta recipes and try scaling them up if that's what you're craving for dinner.

Salvatore Elefante's vibrant lobster recipe is a beautiful seafood dish which manages to effortlessly combine simplicity with luxury, while Fabrizio Marino's Buckwheat with milk and cheese is an unusual vegetarian main meal to delight any meat-free dinner party guests. Gaetano Trovato combines several classic Italian ingredients in his Rabbit, olives, capers and tomato dish, while his beautiful chicken recipe with potato and truffle offers a superb alternative to a more traditional Sunday lunch.