Between two seas, in the village of Miluso, where the cuisine is on fire.
There’s a spot on the map of Italy where the Mediterranean Sea almost kisses the Tyrrhenian. Between them are the mountain villages of Calabria. The narrowest point of the Italian boot. I’ve been living here for five years now.
Five years, and every morning I still look out onto the slopes overlooking the Gulf of Sant’Eufemia and the cliffs of the Tyrrhenian coast. And every day I rediscover Calabrian cuisine. It’s just like this landscape: honest, spicy, and uncompromising.
My first love is ‘nduja
During my first week in Milguso, a neighbor brought me a glass jar of something red, like pรขtรฉ.
“‘Nduja,” she said, “spread it on bread.”
I popped a small piece into my mouth. My world exploded with pepper, smoke, and porky joy. That’s how I was introduced to ‘ndujaโa soft, spreadable sausage invented here in the mountains of Calabria. It’s made from the fattest meat and generously flavored with Calabrian pepperoncino.
Now I always have ‘nduja in the fridge. On warm bread, in pasta, on pizzaโit goes everywhere.
PepperoncinoโOur Life
ยซU peperuncino รจ a vitaยป
If you drive through Calabria in August, the balconies are red. Not from geraniums, but from pepper. Calabrians dry pepperoncino in garlands. Spicy, hot, almost sweetโit’s everywhere here.
The first year, I was afraid of it. The second, I started adding it little by little. The third, I realized: without pepperoncino, food is flat. Like the sky without the sun. The locals say, “U peperuncino รจ a vita”โpepper is life. Now I agree with them.
Lackerri and Two Seas
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Living between two seas, it’s impossible not to love fish.
Laccerri is a fish stew made by my fisherman neighbor. He goes out into the Tyrrhenian Sea early in the morning and brings back his catch by lunchtime: pike perch, gurnard, small bass.
It all goes into a pot with tomatoes, garlic, and hot peppers. It simmers for a long time, almost like a soup. Laccerri is eaten with stale bread, wiping the plate until it shines. This isn’t restaurant food. This is life in Calabria.
This is life in Calabria.
What I’ve learned in five years
Calabria doesn’t try to please.
Its cuisine isn’t postcard-worthy. There are no fancy sauces or three-hour risottos. Here, there’s fire, pork, fish, and bread. Here, they eat what grows in the volcanic soil, and they don’t apologize for the heat of peppers.
I fell in love with this land, with its cracks and steep slopes. For its honesty. For the fact that after a bowl of pasta with nduja, you don’t want to be politeโyou want to live.
Its cuisine isn’t postcard-worthy
Want to try Calabria?
I’ve compiled everything I’ve learned over five years in “A Taste of Calabria: A Journey Through Traditional Southern Italian Cuisine” from the “Encyclopedia of Italian Cuisine.” It includes recipes given to me by neighbors. Stories of fishermen and shepherds. And a lot about pepperoncinoโwhere would we be without it?
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