Nduja of Spilinga
Simple and tasty, Calabrian cuisine is the result of a splendid mixture of the various cultures that have touched the soil of the region over the centuries. Contrary to what one might think, it is more meat than fish that finds a well-rooted place in the culinary tradition, which leads to the production of various sausage specialties: capicolli, sausages, soppressata and ́nduja, a particular type of sausage seasoned with black pepper, hot pepper, salt and fennel seeds. In addition to ending up in sausages, pork, together with kid and lamb, is generally cooked in sauce or grilled.
Simple and tasty, Calabrian cuisine is the result of a splendid mixture of the various cultures that have touched the soil of the region over the centuries. Contrary to what one might think, it is more meat than fish that finds a well-rooted place in the culinary tradition, which leads to the production of various sausage specialties: capicolli, sausages, soppressata and ́nduja, a particular type of sausage seasoned with black pepper, hot pepper, salt and fennel seeds. In addition to ending up in sausages, pork, together with kid and lamb, is generally cooked in sauce or grilled.
The catch
Another specialty of the region is pasta, strictly homemade and seasoned with meat sauce and tomatoes. Of course, fish is also a typical dish of coastal areas: shrimp, mackerel, squid, octopus are the basic ingredients of delicious fried foods.
Swordfish, caught in the Strait of Messina, is served in the most diverse ways: in thin slices of smoked carpaccio, grilled and stewed with various sauces. Also worth mentioning is the pilchard, which is sometimes called mustica, a name of Arabic origin that means “terracotta pot” and which causes the product to take the name of the container in which it is stored. Delicious are the sauces that are made from pilchards, which we recommend you enjoy on slices of homemade bread spread with butter.
Vegetables and preserves also play a role in Calabrian cuisine: ample space is given to pepper, chilli pepper and peppers to flavor dried tomatoes preserved in oil, zucchini, mushrooms typical of the local mountains.
Lace truffle
A must-try are the stuffed eggplants and peperonate. Among the cheeses, the most worthy of mention is certainly the caciocavallo podolico, now produced only in small farms and in a totally artisanal way in the Sila area. Outwardly very similar to small provolas are the butirri, composed of a stretched curd shell and stuffed with butter. Much more classic but no less tasty is smoked ricotta, smoked in the fuscella with wood fire smoke and generally served grated on pasta. Also worth mentioning is the Poro cheese, an extremely aromatic pecorino cheese from the Poro plateau, in the Tropea area.
To fully enhance the flavors of the characteristic products of the region, you cannot fail to accompany them with the full-bodied local wines, products of a millenary tradition. Starting from the excellent productions of the Vibo and Rossano area, to the Calabrian DOC wines proper: Bivongi, Greco di Bianco, Lamezia, Melissa, Pollino, Savuto and Cirò, which is said to have been offered as a gift to the illustrious guests of Magna Graecia and to the winning athletes of the Olympics.
Tropea onion
To fully enhance the flavors of the characteristic products of the region, you cannot fail to accompany them with the full-bodied local wines, products of a millenary tradition. Starting from the excellent productions of the Vibo and Rossano area, to the Calabrian DOC wines proper: Bivongi, Greco di Bianco, Lamezia, Melissa, Pollino, Savuto and Cirò, which is said to have been offered as a gift to the illustrious guests of Magna Graecia and to the winning athletes of the Olympics.
