Italy is famous for its landscapes, of course, but also – and perhaps above all – for its cuisine, its typical products and its wines.
For this reason, we have decided to accompany you on a gastronomic tour of our region, Calabria. We will describe our tastiest products, especially those of the Vibo Valentia area: we are sure that, at the end of this gastronomic itinerary, your palate will no longer be the same.
Let’s start with one of the most famous and delicious products in our area: the Tropea Calabria PGI red onion.
Its origins, like many, have been lost over time – although historical sources seem to agree that the Greeks and Phoenicians introduced it to the Mediterranean basin.
It has been a staple food on the tables of Vibo Valentia residents since the Middle Ages, when its trade began to spread first in Tunisia, then in Algeria, until it returned to the Greeks, who first imported it into Italy.
Known mainly for its round or slightly elongated and ovoid shape, it has a particularly sweet taste, which makes it crunchy gives it a pleasant bite.
To learn more, or to fully immerse yourself in the world of this unique and tasty food, we recommend the Tropea Experience, the red onion festival. Held every year between April and May, it is not only a real showcase for Calabrian excellence, but also an opportunity to witness the work of international chefs and enjoy the presence of real food influencers.
We will leave Tropea for a moment and move to Spilinga, a small village in the province of Vibo Valentia that is famous for the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Fontana.
Sources say that, in the early years of the twentieth century, a certain Domenica Muià had premonition dreams: they invited her to go to a cave not far from the urban centre of Spilinga. Once she arrived at the place that she had already visited in a dream, the lady is said to have found the statue of the Madonna, the same one that can be admired today and that, over time, has drawn a large influx of pilgrims and led to the construction of a small church nearby.
After this little introduction, let’s talk about ‘nduja di Spilinga.
Probably arising in the early nineteenth century, it owes its conception to the arrival of some Napoleonic troops in Calabria. The word ‘nduja, in fact, seems to derive from the French word ‘andouille’, a name linked to a sausage made from offal.
It is interesting to note that both terms can be traced back to the Latin word ‘inductilia’, “things to introduce”, in reference to the practice of bagging this type of food. Other versions suggest that it was Gioacchino Murat (king of Naples, about whom we already told you here – link to historical itinerary -) who introduced it to the Calabrians.
What is certain is that it was precisely the Italians who added generous doses of chilli, making it a unique and typical product of the boot.
After Tropea and Spilinga, we will move to Vibo Valentia, the place of origin of Fileja.
A traditional dish of the city, the only place where it was possible to find it until a few years ago, it has begun to reach an increasingly wide audience in recent years, to go beyond the borders of Calabria and it has come to be used, today, also in the dishes of Michelin-starred restaurants.
Fileja is a traditional fresh pasta recipe, whose name is linked to the iron with which its characteristic shape is created. Handed down by generations and generations of Vibonese, the recipe is distinguished by the absence of eggs in the dough, which is created only with hot water and flour. It is then be the various condiments and sauces that give the fileja its characteristic taste.
You can eat it fresh, or dry it and store it properly for future use – in particular, one of the most famous recipes is the one that involves seasoning it with nduja di spilinga and Tropea red onion.
Let’s move now to the entire area of the Vibo Valentia region, comprising not only one municipality, but all the 27 that make it up: from San Nicolò to Maierato and from Nicotera to Pizzo. You
may be wondering how a production can be so extensive, well, here you have it, we are talking about Pecorino del Monte Poro, a typical dairy product of these areas.
The peculiarity of this pecorino is that, in addition to the use of raw and whole sheep’s milk, this must be obtained from two different milkings: one carried out in the evening, and one the next morning, strictly from animals bred in a semi-wild state.
Another interesting detail is the breakage of the curd, which is carried out using only a ‘rodu’, a wooden tool typical of these areas that, once the curd is processed, will reduce it into pieces no larger than a grain of rice.
The shape of pecorino cheese, then, subsequently aged for two to six months, will acquire an exquisitely hazelnut-like flavour. The taste is made more intense and fragrant by the presence of aromas of wild flowers, such as gorse, myrtle and hawthorn, typical of the different areas of Vibo Valentia. Depending on the ageing of the pecorino, then, you will have a bouquet of different aromas and flavours: in both, however, it is customary to combine the cheese with olive oil and crushed chilli pepper.
After so many ingredients, let’s now move on to a processed dish that is typical of these areas – a real delicacy for your taste buds!
We are talking about tartufo di Pizzo Calabro, a municipality of Vibo Valentia known for its gastronomic production.
It was conceived in 1952 in what seems to have been a pure stroke of luck by the master Giuseppe de Maria. The story of its creation is simple to the point of being almost funny: after running out of moulds for packaging loose ice cream during a wedding, de Maria simply decided to opt for a creative solution, overlapping inside the palm of his hand hazelnut ice cream and chocolate ice cream (inside which he inserted melted chocolate) finally wrapping everything in a sheet of aluminum foil before freezing it.
Before serving it to the guests, he sprinkled it with bitter cocoa and sugar, eliciting such enthusiasm from the diners that it convinced him, at that point, to serve it again on several occasions before proceeding to turn it into a real bestseller.
Strictly handmade, tartufo di Pizzo cannot be simply described, it must be tasted: the enveloping sensation of melted chocolate, mixed with the freshest of hazelnuts whose aftertaste will remain in your mouth with each bite is absolutely unforgettable.
We have talked about ingredients and sweet treats: now it’s time to move on to wines!
In fact, Calabria is not only famous for its food, but also for its vineyards from which, as in this case, very high quality beverages are extracted.
But let’s go in order, starting by talking about Brattirò, a small fraction of the municipality of Drapia, in the Vibo Valentia region. Located on a hill near a spring from which, it is said, it takes its name (brattirò comes in fact from britarium, a Greek word, translatable as “which springs”) is renowned for the quality of its vineyards.
Now let’s talk about the real protagonist of this place: wine.
With a ruby red colour, it has a sweet aftertaste that can remind the most trained palates of that of plum jam. It pairs incredibly with medium-aged cheeses, such as the aforementioned Pecorino del Monte Poro, or with cured meats and sausages with a rich taste such as ‘nduja.
The Brattirò wine festival is definitely one to note, it is an annual event – as is traditional – that takes place every summer along the Coast of the Gods. Famous to the point of gathering thousands of people, it is an unmissable opportunity to taste the wine of Brattirò, pairing it with typical ingredients of the area.
Everything is served free of charge to visitors, who can walk along the main street of the village tasting the different combinations offered by the various stands in total freedom and only later, possibly buying a few bottles.
