The abundance of local food festivals during the year sheds light on how much joy Calabrians find in enjoying the fruits of their hard work.
While tomatoes and aubergines occupy critical points in many Calabrian dishes, local festivals give pride of place to other seemingly humble ingredients.
Tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, artichokes, beans, onions, peppers, asparagus, melons, citrus fruits (especially the Calabrian orange, also known as bergamot, an orange grown only in Calabria), grapes, olives, almonds, figs and lovers grasses grow well in the area. Calabrians tend to focus on the high quality of their ingredients so that virtually everything harvested from a garden is usable and worthy of praise.
Due to the hot and humid climate of Calabria, the Calabrians have made an art of preserving food. Oiling, salting, seasoning, seasoning and smoking have come to define much of southern Italian cuisine. In particular, cured meats and sausages are a staple of the Calabrian fair, in fact, they are sold together with fresh products.
The local pancetta and many varieties of cured meats, such as Capocollo Calabrese, Schiacciata, Soppressata, ‘Nduja and Salsiccia curva are worth a taste together with local bread and cheeses and accompany the Calabrian wines. Bread, cheese, and pasta are all important to Calabrian cuisine, although these staples of Italian cuisine share their spotlight with more substantial, lean dishes. The bread of the fisherman (“bread of the fisherman”) is a local speciality rich in eggs and dried fruit.
Focaccia and pitta are popular in the region, a strong cap to the influences of Greek and Arabic focaccia. Likewise, speciality pastries and dessert bread take on a Greek flavour with many fried and dipped in honey. Cheeses are leaning towards goat and/or sheep’s milk varieties, although cow’s milk cheeses are becoming more common.
Here you are three traditional recipes from this fantastic Italian region.
PEPERONCINI RIPIENI
| INGREDIENTS FOR 8 PEOPLE
-400 g of hot round peppers -200 ml of white wine vinegar -200 ml of dry white wine -2 bay leaves -3 cloves -5 black peppercorns -1 sprig of rosemary -160 g of tuna in oil -2 slices of bread -20 g of salted capers –Salt |
 |
HOW TO PREPARE IT
Put on kitchen gloves and rinse the peppers. Dry them and remove the top part, then remove the internal seeds with a teaspoon.
Pour the wine and vinegar into a saucepan. Combine the bay leaves, black pepper, rosemary and cloves.
Bring the liquid to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the peppers, season with salt and cook for 4 minutes, so that they blanch slightly.
After the indicated time has elapsed, lift the peppers with a slotted spoon and put them to dry on a kitchen towel with the opening facing down.
In the meantime, prepare the filling. Desalt the capers, rinsing them repeatedly, then put them to dry on kitchen paper.
Drain the tuna, in order to remove the conservation oil, then chop it.
Cut the anchovies into small pieces.
Quickly dip the slices of bread in cold water, then squeeze and chop them.
Place the tuna in a blender and blend it for a few seconds together with the anchovies, capers and softened bread.
Once you have obtained a smooth and homogeneous cream, transfer it to a pastry bag.
Fill all the peppers with the tuna cream, then transfer them to a serving dish.
Serve the stuffed peppers, accompanying them with slices of homemade bread.
| INGREDIENTS FOR 6 PEOPLE
For the Fileja: -400 g of durum wheat semolina flour -About 200-225 ml of water (depending on how much the flour will absorb) -½ teaspoon of salt For the ‘Nduja sauce -120 g ‘nduja -1 red onion -300 g of ripe tomatoes (or peeled tomatoes) -6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil –Salt |
 |
HOW TO PREPARE IT
Sift the flour, place it on the wooden board and form a hole in the middle.
Dissolve the salt in half a glass of warm water and gradually pour the salted water into the hole, starting to work the flour with your hands.
Continue to knead, pouring the water needed to obtain a compact and elastic dough.
Leave it to rest wrapped in cling film, out of the fridge, for half an hour, so that the gluten, which has developed while kneading, relaxes and makes the preparation of the fileja easier.
After the rest time of the dough, form rolls of about 10 cm in length and about 0.5 cm in diameter. Flour and roll them, one at a time, around a stick, called “dinacu” or “dinaculu”.
Pass the stick with the dough on the pastry board, rolling it with slight pressure, so that, by stretching it, the dough takes the elongated screw shape, which is typical of fileja.
Remove the stick and place the dough obtained on a floured tray or cloth, arranging the fileja next to each other, without overlapping them.
At the end of preparation, let the pasta dry.
In the meantime, prepare the ‘nduja sauce. Peel the onion, wash it and slice it finely. Wash the tomatoes and chop them (alternatively, chop the peeled tomatoes). Heat the oil in a pan and brown the onion over low heat without letting it take on colour.
Add the chopped ‘nduja and melt it in the oil, crushing it with a wooden spoon. When the salami has completely dissolved, add the chopped tomatoes and salt (moderate).
Cook the sauce over low heat and covered pan for about 15 minutes. If, when cooked, the ‘nduja sauce is still liquid, remove the lid, raise the heat and let it reduce for a couple of minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the fileja in abundant salted water and drain when al dente. Sauté them together with the ‘nduja sauce, making sure that the sauce is evenly distributed. If desired, flavour the Fileja with the nduja with a sprinkling of pecorino, then bring them straight to the table.
BOCCONOTTI CALABRESI
| INGREDIENTS FOR 10 PEOPLE
-1 kg of flour -400 grams of sugar -6 eggs -300 g of lard -1/2 sachet of baking powder -Marmalade to taste -Spreadable chocolate to taste |
 |
|
HOW TO PREPARE IT
On a wooden pastry board, arrange the flour in a heap and place the sugar, eggs, yeast and lard in the centre, mix everything well.
Work well until the dough is smooth and soft, then I put it in a bowl, cover and put it to rest in the fridge.
In the meantime, butter the special moulds and set aside the jam and chocolate spread.
Take a ball from the dough and put it inside the mould to line it and have a concave part in the centre where you can put a teaspoon of jam or chocolate
Now take a second ball from the dough to obtain a disc of less than 5 mm to cover the top of your pastry, and continue like this until all the dough is finished.
Heat the oven to 200 °C, place the ready moulds on a baking tray and bake for about 15 min or until the bocconotti are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and after a few minutes, remove them from the moulds, serve with a sprinkling of icing sugar on top.
BUON APPETITO!
Here are some of the ingredients to make these recipes:
Work well until the dough is smooth and soft, then I put it in a bowl, cover and put it to rest in the fridge.
In the meantime, butter the special moulds and set aside the jam and chocolate spread.
Take a ball from the dough and put it inside the mould to line it and have a concave part in the centre where you can put a teaspoon of jam or chocolate
Now take a second ball from the dough to obtain a disc of less than 5 mm to cover the top of your pastry, and continue like this until all the dough is finished.
Heat the oven to 200 °C, place the ready moulds on a baking tray and bake for about 15 min or until the bocconotti are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and after a few minutes, remove them from the moulds, serve with a sprinkling of icing sugar on top.
BUON APPETITO!
