Calabria Regional Meal
Monthly column by Rosa D'Ancona - May 1, 2007
This region offers a triumph of colors and, of course, flavors, enhanced by welth of ingredients provided by its seaside and mountains.
The region in question is Calabria, or the tip of the Italian boot, where the Mediterranean cuisine exhibits strong typical characteristics, despite the influence at different times of various cultures, including Greek, Roman, Norman, Spanish and French.
Despite the fact that the local culinary tradition is based upon simple ingredients, the relation that the Calabresi have with food is almost ritualistic, informed as it is by the regional peasant culture. That's why the pasta is mostly home made, the meat consists mostly of sheep and pork, and the other main ingredients are seafood, vegetable, cheese, olive oil, chile pepper (Calabria is the homeland of the hottest red pepper produced in Southern Italy) and fruits, especially citrus and figs.
The following menu is proposed by Chef Gaetano Alia, of Locanda di Alia, located at 55 Via Jetticelle, in Castrovillari, in the province of Cosenza (Tel +39 0981 46370, e-mail: alia@alia.it). The menu features the wonderful ingredients that this land offers, mixing in perfect unity elements from the land and the ocean, providing a unique sensorial experience.
Stuzzichino ('Nibbles', or pre-hors d'oeuvres |
Guanciale di maiale nero di Calabria con bottarga di tonno di Pizzo Calabro, noci e olio alla liquirizia
Calabria Black Pork Cheek with Tuna Bottarga from Pizzo Calabro, Walnuts and Licorice-flavored Olive Oil |
| This recipe combines the land pork with the ocean pork, that is, tuna. Bottarga is nothing else than salted roe tuna dried under heavy weight. |
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| Ingredients: |
- 8 slices of Calabrese black pork cheek
- 400 gr. (0.88 pound) bottarga of tuna from Pizzo Calabro
- 100 gr (3.53 oz.) soncino (type of salad)
- 4 chopped shelled walnuts
- 20 gr. (0.7 oz.) licorice-flavored extra virgin olive oil
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Preparation: |
- On a bed of soncino lay pork cheek and the tuna bottarga.
- Season with licorice-flavored extra virgin olive oil and chopped walnuts.
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Wine: |
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- Kà Sciurea Vignaioli del Pollino (young)
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Hors d'oeuvres |
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Baccalà con cipollotti freschi, marinato al peperoncino dolce al profumo di menta e finocchietto di campo
Codfish with Fresh Green Onions, Marinated with Red Pepper and Seasoned with Mint and Wild Fennel |
| Ingredients: |
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- 1 filet of Norwegian codfish, desalted and cleaned
- 4 large, fresh green onions
- 20 gr. (0.7 oz.) green top of young wild fennel
Marinade:
- 50 gr. (1.76 oz.) extra virgin olive oil
- 20 small leaves of mint and thinly sliced twigs of young wild fennel
- 30 gr. (1.06 oz.) crushed red pepper (not the hot kind)
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Preparation: |
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- Steam codfish, thinly sliced green onion and fennel for 7 minutes.
- Break codfish into small chunks.
- Combine marinade ingredients in a serving bowl.
- Add codfish and let sit for at least two hours before serving.
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Wine: |
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- Ronco dei Quattroventi Rosato (young)
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First Course |
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Candele con il ragù piccante di 'nduja di Spilinga e pecorino del Pollino
Candle Pasta with Hot Spilinga 'Nduja and Pollino Pecorino Sauce |
| At first sight the ‘nduja looks like a spicy hot type of salame, however, it is actually a mixture of pork fat and hot chile pepper. In addition to being eaten spread on sliced bread, the ‘nduja is used in the preparation of zesty pasta sauces. The combination of ‘nduja and tomato is heavenly. |
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| Ingredients: |
- 400 gr. (0.88 pound) candele (type of pasta)
- 600 gr. (1.32 pounds) fresh sanmarzano tomatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- Basil to taste
- Parsley to taste
- 2 small green peppers with seeds removed
- 40 gr. (1.4 oz.) shaved Pollino pecorino cheese
- 80 gr. (1.4 oz.) 'nduja
- Pinch of salt
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Preparation: |
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- Prepare sauce in frying pan, combining oil, cubed tomatoes, green peppers, basil and salt.
- Cook for about 15 minutes.
- Add the 'nduja, mix thoroughly and cook for 3 more minutes.
- In the meantime cook pasta al dente and drain.
- Add pasta to the sauce and saute well.
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The wine: |
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- Scavigna Rosato Cantine Odoardi Nocera Terinese (young)
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Second Course |
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| Fragoline di mare ai sapori dell'orto (Ocean Strawberries with Garden Flavor) |
| A peasant seafood dish, which combines ocean and vegetable garden perfumes and flavors. |
Ingredients: |
- 700 gr. (1.54 pounds) moscardini (small, tender squid – in Calabria there's a variety called locally 'fragoline di mare', or 'small ocean strawberries')
- 2 red peppers
- 2 green peppers
- 4 fresh sanmarzano tomatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 200 gr. (7.05 oz.) fresh fava beans, boiled and cleaned
- 1 small onion
- 1 tsp wine vinegar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
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Preparation: |
- Thoroughly clean, wash and dry moscardini.
- In a nonstick pan heat 5 Tbs olive oil then add the 'fragoline di mare'.
- Cook on medium heat until liquid has evaporated.
- Season with vinegar and set aside.
- Brown onion, peppers and fava beans with little oil in a different pan.
- Add cubed tomatoes and moscardini.
- Add salt and pepper to taste .
- Mix and cook for less than a minute.
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The Wine : |
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- Efeso Cantine Librandi Calabria (aged four years)
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Dessert |
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| Fichi al cioccolato (Figs with Chocolate) |
Ingredients: |
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- 12 dry figs filled with almonds
- 150 gr. (5.3 oz.) white chocolate
- 50 gr. (1.76 oz.) milk
- 1 sprig fresh mint
- 1 Tbs anise liqueur
- 8 shelled walnuts
- 10 toasted almonds
- 1 handful diavoletti ('little devils', also called coriandoli di zucchero, or 'sugar confetti'. This is a kinf of small round confetti made with colored sugar)
- Pinch of ground cinnamon and cloves
- Grated orange peel (1 orange)
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Preparation: |
- Warm the milk with chocolate and mint for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add chocolate broken in small pieces and mix until completely liquefied.
- Slice figs.
- Lay chocolate on serving plates, top with sliced figs, dust with ground cinnamon and cloves then add sugar confetti.
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The wine: |
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- Pair with Rosolio, a typical Calabria liqueur
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Buon Appetito!
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