Cuisine – Page 8

25.8.2019

There is a goodness inside Calabrian cuisine, the so-called “Sardella” or “Rosamarina”, it comes from a cream of pilchard, a mixture of newborn fish, which in local dialect is the “nunnata” (namely a newborn fish).

Even if the ‘nduja (a very spicy cream of salami) is the identifying product of Calabria, especially abroad, we could consider this cream of pilchard as the sister of the famous salami’s cream, but in a fish version.

The names of this caviar of newborn fish can vary, indeed this is called “rosamarina” on the Tyrrhenian Sea, while on the Ionic coast it is called “sardella”.

**A fixed couple: Tropea onion + Sardella**

HISTORY

It is mostly certain that that the pilchard is a revisitation of the ancient “Garum” of which the ancient Romans were delighted. This was a fish-based sauce, but less refined than the version made in Calabrian homes.

– The Garum is mentioned 20 times by Marcus Gavius Apicius (in his famous cookbook “De re coquinaria”), who was a Roman gourmet and lover of luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius.

– Pliny the Elder in Naturalis historia (XXXI, 93 ff.) said that the best garum was the garum sociorum, made with mackerel and coming from Spain, produced by a Tunisian society of Phoenician origin, which it exported mainly to Italy. This was expensive as a perfume. There were also famous garum factories in Italy, Campania, Pompeii, Clazomene and Leptis Magna.

– Seneca in a letter to Lucilius (Epistulae ad Lucilium, XV, 95, 25), launching his arrows against food excesses, especially against the garum: “illud sociorum garum, pretiosam malorum piscium saniem, non credis urere salsa tabe praecordia?” (“And that sauce that comes from the provinces – is the garum sociorum of which also Pliny spoke – an expensive mess of dead fish, don’t you think that you burn your guts with its spicy rot?”).

– Describing the dinner offered by Trimalcyon in Satyricon (36, 3), Petronius describes in great detail a huge tray, in the center of which a hare in imitation of Pegasus prevails, and at the corners four statuettes of Marsyas, from whose garnets flow garum sauce and pepper on a fish placed in a canaletto supported in such a way as to seem alive and to swim in the sea.

– Finally, Martial – in Epigrammata (XI, 27, 2) – he praises a friend of his called “Flaccus” who can resist the smell emanating from a girl who drank six measures of garum. Further, in the epigram III, 77, 5 he criticizes the use of “putris allec” (putrid herring) in dishes.

Conclusively, this quick list of historical testimonies speaks a lot about our sardella, like a fantastic legacy of ancient gastronomy and returns with a pinch of nostalgia a precious tradition.

TODAY SARDELLA

The Calabrian sardella is a delicious heritage of Mediterranean cuisine, but it is cheap and good.

Instead, the garum derived from the entrails of the fish which were treated together with a large quantity of salt (indeed, the mixture was macerated in the sun for long periods, releasing the liquamen, very similar to the current anchovy sauce) and it was expensive. Garum was a product for rich families who could afford the product by paying considerable sums, and it was used as a condiment.

THE INGREDIENTS

The main problem for the preparation of sardella, this wonderful fish cream, is to find the raw material, that is the juvenile sardines. Their fishing is regulated by very strict laws and can only be carried out between January and March, giving exception to the article 15 of the European CE 1967/2006 regulation, which prohibits this fishing.

Therefore, a good substitute is on sale, easily available: the so called ice-fish that is found, defrosted, in the fish market or, frozen, in the supermarkets. However, it is not suitable for the preparation of our sardella of pilchard, that obviously needs newborn anchovies or sardines, and has a color tending to gray as opposed to ice-fish, that is white.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 kg of newborn pilchrad
50 grams (minimum) of ground hot pepper
Dry wild fennel

If you want, you can add sweet ground chilli.

Preparation:

Wash the newborn fish well until the water is clean.
Put the fish in a container with salt and put a weight on the cap.
Squeeze the fish sauce and season with the red pepper and wild fennel.
Homogenize and place in glass jars with a layer of olive oil.

Use

The pilchard can be eaten purely on the bread or it can be used to flavor pasta. It is also excellent with eggs, as an omelette, or on a fried egg. Good in potato boats or in the typical “pitta”, a soft bread.

**Puff pastry rustic, full of Sardella**

THE PLACE

Sardella is a versatile product. The only care is eating it in small quantity because it is particularly spicy.

Crucoli (KR) is the town of this Sardella, but also Cirò Marina (KR), Cariati (CS) and Trebisacce (CS) claim paternity. Crucoli promotes this typical product with a festival that takes place continuously in the historic center since 1970, every second Sunday in August.

It is protected as Traditional Italian Agri-food Product (so called PAT). The Pat are products included in a special list, established by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies with the collaboration of the Regions.

Considering that the ban on fishing may make it lose its production, consumption and tradition, if you come to Calabria it would be a shame not to try it!

17.8.2019

“PURPPETTI” (SPECIAL CALABRIAN MEATBALLS)

Typical of mountain areas, these aromatic meatballs, full of parmesan, black pepper, parsley and a fine powder of stale bread, are now spread throughout the region. They are prepared with a fair amount of protein products: raw pork, eggs, goat cheese and oil and salt.

The dough is then fried, becoming caloric but extremely good.

“LICURDIA” (A SPECIAL VEGETABLES SOUP)

This dish has a special taste, it is a must of Mediterranean cuisine, at the same time is a very traditional recipe. This soup can contain various vegetables, such as endive, beets, asparagus or carrots, cooked to become cream to dip slices of toasted bread. In any case, the main ingredient is the red onion of Tropea, absolutely the starring of this recipe with its strength and sweetness.

“PASTA E PATATE ARA TIJEDDRA” (A KIND OF PASTA WITH POTATOES)

It is the simpler version of the pasta “ncasciata or pasta a lu furnu” (a baked pasta).

The recipe of pasta “ncasciata or pasta a lu furnu” is very popular with various names throughout the South. The variants contains various measure of salami, hard-boiled eggs, meat, caciocavallo cheese and provola cheese. All these ingredients come into play.

Instead, the “pasta e patate ara tijeddra” is cooked using only pasta, potatoes, sauce, cheese and stale breadcrumbs.

“LAGANE E CICIARI ARA CUSENTINA” (A KIND OF PASTA)

The “Lagane” (a kind of pasta) are mixed together with a chickpea sauce. Lagane are among the first types of pasta attested in ancient texts, they are similar to tagliatelle, but their ingredients are only water and flour, they are cooked in salted water, and then seasoned with a lightly fried sauce, oil, garlic, chilli and chickpeas, boiled separately. The outcome is a very traditional dish that comes from afar.

“MACCARRUNI ARU FIERRU” (A HAND MADE PASTA)

The ‘fierru’ is the iron instrument (a sort of knitting needle) still used today for the preparation of this pasta. Fresh pasta is prepared with milled durum wheat semolina and water: it is seasoned with very rich sauces, such as beef ragout, pork or goat, or with the beloved ‘nduja.

**So called “Scilatelli” or “Maccaruni”**

“PESCE SPADA ALLA GHIOTTA” (SWORDFISH “ALLA GHIOTTA”)

Swordfish is the protagonist of the Calabrian seafood cuisine, which is influenced by neighboring Sicily. There are various recipes: one of the most famous is the sowrdfish “alla ghiotta” with tomato, capers and olives but the version of Reggio Calabria (“riggitana“) is also widespread, where only garlic, oil and parsley are used.

“MAZZACORDE ALLA COSENTINA” (OFFAL ROULADE)

This dish uses the less noble parts of the lamb: lung, spleen, heart, tripe, which are coarsely chopped and wrapped in the guts of the lamb. After a short turn in oil and onion, the cook adds tomatoes, bay leaves and other aromatic herbs. The “mazzacorde” are accompanied with peppers and browned potatoes.

“STOCCO ALLA MAMMOLESE” (STOCKFISH “ALLA MAMOLESE”)

In Calabria, the stockfish is part of a myriad of recipes: it is prepared with mushrooms, beans, salad with lemon and parsley and in many other ways. But the most important remains the stockfish “alla Mammolese”: in this small town in Reggio area, the dried cod is cooked with tomato sauce, potatoes, peppers and olives.

“MELANGIANI CHJINI” (STUFFED EGGPLANT)

The most common ones are prepared with the filling of the flesh of the same aubergines: the flavor is determined by the mixture with the cheese and the natural aromas. Other regional recipes include stuffing, ricotta, vegetables, potatoes, onion and tomato sauce in the filling.

“CREMA REGGINA” (“REGGINA” CREAM)

Legend has it that it was born at the beginning of the nineteenth century due to the mistake of a pastry chef in the preparation of a classic cream.

Calabria has a good reputation in the art of ice cream making. This icecream of Reggio is now considered a Traditional Agri-food Product – based on milk. sugar, carob seeds, rum, candied fruit and chocolate.

Category: Cuisine

The Calabrian Caviar: the “Sardella” or “Rosamarina”

Special Calabrian Recipes, so typical!