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 Sacottino di Verdure Vegetable Stuffed Pasta with Eggplant & White Bean Puree in a Parmigiano Basket |
 I Vini di Calabria Calabrian wines, known as Super Southerns for their full body and decisive bouquet |
La Cucina
Calabrese!
(Calabrian Cuisine!)
La Cucina Calabrese! The exclamation point is necessary and anyone who has had the pleasure of experiencing Italy's most lively cuisine knows why. Thanks to four thousand years of history and its location in the heart of the Mediterranean, Calabrian specialties are the most sought after in Europe and the basis for Mediterranean cuisine.
Calabrese dishes are simple in preparation and use of ingredients. Major emphasis is place on fresh vegetables and "farinacci" or breads and pastas. All natural goat's cheese are accompanied by the most ancient wines in Italy. Seafood is next in importance followed by lamb, poultry, pork and beef.
Specialties include marinated and sundried vegetables, sword fish, bluefin tuna, calamari, needlefish and dried cod. Meats and poultry are roasted rather than braised and spicy Calabrian favorites are its myriad of fresh and dried pork sausage products. Calabria is Italy's second largest producer of olives and one of Europe's major growers of citrus, including the rare Bergamot, and hazelnuts which help to make Calabrian desserts unique and distinctive in flavor.
In order to appreciate Calabria's colorful gastronomy, it's important to be familiar with Italian gastronomy in general.
Italian Cuisine Doesn't Exist
Parole forte! (tough talk!). Maybe, but it's true. Given the history
of Italy, and the evolution of cuisine in general, a simple explanation
to this statement is not possible but there are universal reasons for
Italy's unique gastronomic culture.
Italy is comprised of twenty-one regions with sharply different cuisines that are further varied when considering each region's individual provinces, geographic positions, microclimate and, of course, history. That superficially explains why the various cuisines have evolved so differently. The nature of the Italians is the reason that the cuisines remain so diversified. Italians are regional, not nationalistic, people. They are not only proud of their regional heritage but are bound by it especially when considering cuisine.
No
Michelin Stars
Italy is not a country of three-star Michelin restaurants. Consider
that in Paris alone there are 27 restaurants with 3 Michelin stars.
In all of Italy there are only 2. Quei francesi! (those French!...).
Besides politics, there are fundamental reasons for this situation that
we consider to be positive for Italy's culinary culture.
France has a national cuisine. That is, there are scores of dishes that are well known by connoisseurs in France and internationally, as French. French restaurants each present many of the same dishes on their menus. Naturally, in order to compete, it is necessary for them to each offer the best versions and, just as important, to offer an ambiance not found with their competitors.
In Italy on the other hand, it is quite the opposite. With rare exceptions, a restaurant in the Veneto Region where Venice is located would never have Sicilian cuisine on its menu. (unless of course the owner is Sicilian!) Likewise, a Calabrian eatery would not normally offer Risotto alla Milanese, a traditional dish from the Lombardy Region, on its menu. The cuisines are different because of the generalities that we explained above. In this case for two reasons, microclimate and history. Rice can grow in Lombardy and cannot grow in Calabria. Rice has grown in Lombardy since Marco Polo returned from China.
Determined
to Be Different
The reasons why this diversity persists even in our global society is
also based on economics. Italians are famous for making fashion statements
so much that Italy is the world's fashion capital. Rarely does this
kind of economic importance derive from international success, Success
starts at home with your own people. Italian designers in the 50's and
60's frantically tried to satisfy one of the most fickle audiences in
the world-Italians. They kept up the pace and the world watched and
loved it. Italians love to be different and the world loves Italy for
this.
Tourism is also one of Italy's main industries. Rarely do people visit Italy once as there is so much to see....and to eat! Naturally, the first to vacation throughout Italy were Italians. The Italian on vacation considers cuisine to be an important part of a 2 or 3 week sojourn. Therefore, he or she will travel to that Region that is home of his or her favorite cuisine. So, resorts, restaurants, hotels, etc. located throughout Italy, not only pride themselves on being different from their inter-regional counterparts, but understand that it makes good business sense.
In the past few years with the communication boom, international travelers are becoming just as savvy, traveling regionally and making Italy more regional than ever.
No
Fast Food
Thank goodness! Seriously, travelers to any major Italian city will
see certain multinational fast food, sorry, quick service restaurants
located throughout the area. Italy's more than 25 million visitors annually
give more than enough revenue to the chain. However, statistically,
fast food on the national or international level, doesn't exist. In
the US, fast food accounts for 20% of total revenues in the F&B
industry.¹ (not included are eateries such as Denny's which is
considered a restaurant). In Italy, these same revenues account for
less than .5%.
Sandwiches in Italy are considered fast food but are quite different than those one might mind in a typical fast food restaurant. Anyone visiting a roadside gas station in Italy will attest to this. FRESH bread, produce and cold cuts instead of soggy buns and radiated meats....
Pizza
is NOT fast food!!! Pizza is a healthy, tasty and fun snack or meal.
E` ai nostri amici francesi (and to our French friends), pizza
is NOT national cuisine. Just ask anyone from Naples what they
think! In any case, the lack of any real fast food presence in Italy
has also helped to preserve regional identity.
La
Cucina Calabrese!
Calabria's versatile history of Barons and Lords, conquerors and liberators,
pirates and religion have all contributed to one of the most diversified
cuisines in Italy.
| Calabria is currently comprised of five provinces: Catanzaro, Cosenza, Reggio di Calabria, Crotone, and Vibo Valentia. (Badolato is in Catanzaro, the Region's capitol province) The Apennines mountain range extends across Calabria, where the large central massif is known as La Sila. The terrain is rugged except for lowland marshes and a fertile coastal strip. Agriculture products that are harvested in small production but considered the highest quality in Italy, include wheat, citrus fruits, figs, potatoes, and olives. Livestock, forestry, and fishing are also important. |  |
Calabria
is one of the oldest regions in Italy and, regarding gastronomy, was
the first on the peninsula to produce several important products including
wine
and olive oil. Additionally, its geographic region has always been
considered the "key to Italy" as Hannibal wrote in his logs.
Subsequently, after the Greeks, the Romans, Normans, Byzantines and
more battled here for centuries each leaving their mark on cuisine
that now varies greatly from town to town.
Badolato, located on a hill 700 feet above the sea, was established in 1081 and its seaside town, Badolato Marina, in 1940. On the other hand, Squillace, an ancient seaside town located 15 minutes from Badolato, had its first port hosting ancient Greek and then Roman ships. These 3 towns, although so close in distance, offer gourmet travelers 3 unique cuisines.
To be continued...
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