Regional cuisine

Calabrian cuisine

Calabrian cuisine is simple, healthy, but at the same time very varied. The dishes skilfully intertwine the various culinary cultures that have dominated the peninsula for centuries. The pasta, almost always homemade, is extremely varied, as are the sauces with which it is seasoned. Most of these sauces are meat-based: beef, veal, pork or lamb, which are slowly and carefully cooked in locally produced tomato sauce, preserved with the help of the purest olive oil. All these sauces are flavored with the local spicy red pepper. In Calabria, Red pepper is especially honored. In the town of Diamante, there is the Red Pepper Academy. The Academy offers various pastas and sauces with red pepper, and in September, Diamante hosts the Red Pepper Festival. This festival is of an international nature, and in parallel with it, film screenings, folklore concerts, exhibitions and gastronomic performances take place. 

In the mountainous areas of Calabria, guests will definitely be offered to try mushroom dishes made from magnificent and fragrant porcini mushrooms. Various types of mushrooms are used to enhance the natural flavor in exquisite recipes. Meat is usually boiled in sauce or grilled. A goat dish with potatoes baked in the oven, seasoned with green peas or artichokes depending on the season, is incredibly tasty. Countless types of greens and vegetables serve as a side dish to the main dishes. Stuffed eggplants and sweet peppers compete with canned eggplants and peppers in olive oil. On the coast of the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, fish dishes occupy an honorable place in the cuisine of Calabria. Tuna and swordfish dishes, fish soups, condiments and rolls are worth trying. Among the sweet dishes, the most famous are the “kodzupa”, gingerbread cookies in the shape of people and animals, baskets or hearts made of sweet dough, decorated with eggs attached with crosses and baked in the oven.

One can add a long list of other “sweets” such as torroni nougat with honey or compittu, mostac cioli, nepitelle (made of sweet dough stuffed with walnuts, raisins, chocolate and spices), le pitte nciuse, baskets with cottage cheese and wheat grains, etc. Local cheeses and sausages have a unique taste. Among the cheeses, the most famous are “Provola silana” and “Monte Poro” cheese (Vibo Valencia), and among the cold meats – sausages, pressed sausages and pork capicolli. All Calabrian wines have a thousand-year history, starting with “Ciro”, which is produced in the area of ​​the same name, in the vicinity of Crotoneia, which was offered as a gift to the distinguished guests of Magna Graecia – the Olympic Games winning athletes. Other equally famous wines are produced in Sibari, Cosenza and Reggio Calabria.

Calabrian cuisine

Soverato cuisine is full of delicious aromas and flavours. The specialty of the Ionian Coast cuisine, and especially the “Orange Coast”, is the combination of the exquisite aromas of the sea with the rather rich aromas of the mountains. For example, a typical dish of the area is “morzeddu”. The dish consists of meat, chopped onions fried in butter with carrots, parsley and celery, all seasoned with olive oil. Served with delicious Calabrian bread. A specialty of Calabrian cuisine is its commitment to ingredients such as hot peppers and olive oil, which have a beneficial effect on health.

The Tavern hosts numerous festivals, celebrations and sagras. A sagra is a celebration where various dishes prepared from the product in whose honor the celebration is held are tasted. From May to October, the Tavern hosts watermelon, beer and bruschetta sagras. They are usually accompanied by music festivals and theatrical performances. From October to January, the most outstanding sagras are those of local sausages, mushrooms, potatoes and pancakes.

For more information about typical Calabrian products, please read the following sections of the website:

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