Tag: recipe

Spirulina, the superfood of Sant’Ilario (Calabria)

24.10.2019

Spirulina is a food with multiple beneficial properties.

Spirulina is similar to an alga, but it is not scientifically this kind of living creature. In fact, it is neither an aquatic plant nor an alga, but a unicellular creature, which behaves like a plant, performs chlorophyll photosynthesis and feeds on substances contained in water. However, being much smaller than a a plant or a seaweed and being single-celled, has a absolutely singular body, characterized by a typical spiral shape, from which it takes its name (a body effectively not comparable to an alga or a plant).

A microscopic image

SUPERFOOD

Known since ancient times, Spirulina is today indicated by FAO as the food of the future. Now, in Sant’Ilario dello Jonio, in the province of Reggio Calabria, the first Calabrian plantation that produces it is already active.

This food of the future, a Superfood, according to the experts of FAO, has all the characteristics of a vegetable origin food with a high content of antioxidants, proteins, omega-3, minerals, fibers or other essential nutrients with proven beneficial health effects.

Sant’Ilario dello Ionio

Thus, having these multiple nutritional and therapeutic properties thanks to the substances it contains, it was known since ancient times by the tropical populations that fed on it because it is considered an excellent supplement.

Further, Spirulina contains:

– high quality biological proteins of high quality;

– essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 and omega 6, which counteract cholesterol and triglyceride levels;

– carbohydrates including rhamnose and glycogen;

– vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin K and B vitamins;

– mineral salts such as iron, sodium, magnesium, manganese, calcium, iodine and potassium.

The final product

NUTRACEUTICAL FEATURES

Many are the nutraceutical benefits:

– it reduces the sense of hunger thanks to the phenylalanine content which by acting at the level of the nervous system induces the sense of satiety,

– prevents the damage of aging, favoring memory and concentration;

–  the presence of essential fatty acids of the omega 3 and omega 6 series has a decisive role in reducing cardiovascular risk.

– can be used in the kitchen, but also in cosmetics.

Cultivation tanks

“Stocco di Mammola”, the Calabrian taste of Flanders stockfish

12.9.2019

Mammola is a beautiful town near Reggio Calabria, famous as the land which, thanks to its nature between the mountains and the seas, is able to offer a vast gastronomic panorama to those who live and visit it.

The five Calabrian provinces (Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria, Vibo Valentia and Catanzaro) are linked to each other by a culinary tradition that has humble and ancient origins.

A sight of Mammola (Church of Madonna del Carmine)

The dishes, which connect all five Calabrian provinces, are few and differ, above all, in their preparation. Among the most common dishes, there is stockfish, especially the local recipe of “Stocco di Mammola” (literally the “stockfish of Mammola”), which is a little bit modified in every province.

HISTORY

Stockfish has a very ancient history. In 1431 the noble Venetian merchant Pietro Querino and his crew, from the return of Flanders, were caught by surprise by a storm. After days at sea, the ship ran aground in an archipelago of the Arctic Circle: the Lofoten Islands.

Lofoten Islands

Suffering the cold and after finishing the food, they decided to go in search of food. They found a huge fish stranded on the rocks and decided to cook it on the beach. The smoke caused by the cooking of the fish, intrigued the inhabitants of the island in front that they ran to see who was on that abandoned island. Found the castaways, they took them to their lodgings offering hospitality.

The crew and the Venetian nobleman remained with the population until the arrival of spring: they arranged the boat and returned to Venice with a great and exquisite novelty: the stockfish.

Five hundred years later, in 1932, a monument was held in the Lofoten Islands in memory of the cultural, gastronomic and ethnic link between Italy and those distant islands.

Today the Norwegian archipelago is the most important producer of stockfish in the world and Italy is the largest importer, through the ports of: Naples, Ancona, Vicenza and Liguria.

Norway, a link with Calabria

STOCKFISH OF MAMMOLA

Stocco di Mammola is a dish of Calabrese origin. Of humble origins, it was consumed above all by the poor. In particular, the peasants consumed it and offered it to the laborers during the most strenuous jobs that were carried out in the countryside.

Traditionally, the stockfish is consumed during Christmas and is also given for personal use and consumption. This is a legacy deriving from the custom that many migrants had, at their return they brought to relatives the stockfish as a gift.

To date, the Stocco di Mammola is a true symbol of pride in the village of Mammola (on the Aspromonte mountains), in the province of Reggio Calabria. For this reason the municipal administration of Mammola has recognized the product as “De.Co.“, Denominazione Comunale di Origine (Municipal Protected Origin). Furthermore, the Ministry for Agricultural Policies has included it among the Agro-Food Traditional products.

Since 1500, stockfish is imported from Norway in Calabria and from Flanders and is processed by the various companies present in the Calabria area. The processing takes days, is divided into phases and requires a high level of craftsmanship.

Flanders, a link with Mammola

The town of Mammola celebrates its product with the traditional “stockfish festival“, which takes place every year in August in the ancient village of Mammola. This festival attracts hundreds of tourists and curious people who are ready to buy the product or savor it respecting tradition, in the various local restaurants.

RECIPE FOR 4 PEOPLE:

Ingredients

  • 1 kg of “Stocco di Mammola” sponged in pieces
  • 1 kg of potatoes
  • 1 red onion
  • 4 dried peppers
  • 1 kg of peeled tomatoes
  • EVO oil
  • Olives in brine

Preparation

In a terracotta pot, sauté the sliced onion in the oil. Then put the peeled tomatoes and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.

Stocco di Mammola

Add salt and the potato wedges and after a few minutes the stockfish with the olives and peppers. Cook over low heat without stirring but shaking the whole pan for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and after serving, let rest the stockfish for a few minutes serve.