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 Simple
and tasty, Calabrian cuisine is a splendid combination of the
various cultures that have touched our soil over the course of
centuries. Contrary to what you might assume, meat, rather than fish,
has a deep-rooted place in our culinary traditions. We produce many
different special types of insaccati: i capicolli, le
salsicce, le sopressate and la njudà, a special type of dried
sausage made with black pepper, hot pepper, salt and fennel seeds.
In addition, pork, goat meat and lamb are usually cooked in a sauce
or on the grill.
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 Another specialty of the region is pasta, home-made and
served with meat and tomato sauce. Naturally, fish is also a
typical dish of the coastal towns: shrimp, mackerel, calamari and
octopus are the main ingredients of an exquisite fish fries.
Swordfish, caught in the straight of Messina, is served in many
different ways: thin slices of smoked carpaccio, grilled or steamed
with various spices. Sardines, which are sometimes called
mustica, a name of Arab origin that derives from the “terra cotta
containers” in which they’re preserved, are also worth a try. In
particular, the sauces made from the sardines are delicious. We
recommend tasting them with a home-made slice of buttered bread.
Vegetables
and home-preserved vegetables are also typical of Calabrian cuisine:
black peppers, hot peppers and sweet peppers
are often used to flavour sun-dried tomatoes, courgettes and wild
mushrooms from the local mountains, all of which are conserved in
olive oil.
You
absolutely must taste our stuffed eggplants and stuffed peppers.
The cheese most worthy of mention is
caciocavallo, now only produced by hand in small farms in the region
of La Sila. Though they look like small provolone cheeses, buturri
are different because they have a butter in the center. More common
but no less special is ricotta smoked in a wood burning stove and
generally served grated over pasta. We also suggest the cheese of
the Poro, very strong Pecorino which comes from the Altopiano del
Poro in the region of Tropea
 In
order to truly experience the flavors of the typical cuisine of our
region, you must accompany it with a full-bodied locally produced
wine which represents a millennium of
tradition. Besides the excellent vintages from the regions of
Vibo and Rossano, other areas appropriately denominated DOC are
Bivongi, Greco di Bianco, Lamezia, Melissa, Pollino, Savuto and
Ciro. Legend has it that the wine of Cirò was offered as a gift to
the illustrious guests of Magna Grecia and the victorious athletes
of the Olympics.
If you’d like to take home a taste of your holiday
or if you want to have a taste before departing, click here for a
savoury recipe. Buon Appetito!
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