| Pasta. Pizza. Yawn. Today, we are so exposed to | | | | almost arabic flavour to much of the region's food. |
| 'Italian' food on the high street that it's easy to lose | | | | Indeed, the fiery intensity of some of the local cuisine is |
| sight of the fact that Italy has a far richer edible | | | | a shock to the system of some people accustomed |
| heritage than tomato sauces and bland, made-over | | | | to the Italian comfort blanket of salty cheeses and |
| pastas. Perhaps the key to understanding the real | | | | tomato. |
| beauty of Italian food is to learn about the strong - and | | | | With Calabria's traditional poverty to the fore, there is a |
| widely differing - regional heritages. | | | | great tradition of using the entire carcass of the pig. Pig |
| In the North of the country, close to the rest of Europe, | | | | cheeks are a popular snack for example, but perhaps |
| the pizza has achieved near hegemony. Purely a | | | | the most obvious example of this are the huge spit |
| Napolitan and Roman tradition this basic bread and | | | | roasts in which whole adult pigs are roasted over an |
| tomato recipe is nearly ubiquitous. Alongside the bland, | | | | open charcoal pit - often as the centrepiece of |
| heavy, cheese-laden pasta dishes that line up for our | | | | celebrations such as weddings and religious festivals. |
| attention on supermarket shelves has frogmarched | | | | Away from the land, the region is also rich in seafood - |
| over our perceptions of Italian food, despite its most | | | | its endless miles of heavily indented coastline creating |
| common incarnation having more in common with the | | | | hundreds of sheltered bays in which shellfish thrive. |
| kitchens of Manhattan than the simple rustic traditions | | | | Tiny sweet clams are a particular favourite, forming |
| of Italian food. | | | | the basis of delicate stews or simply served with |
| The really interesting side avenues of Italian food are | | | | pasta and allowed to speak for themselves. Returning |
| to be found in the South of the country - where the | | | | the theme of peasant food, bacala - a form of cod |
| proximity of Africa and a tradition rooted in overt | | | | heavily salted as a preservative forms the basis of |
| poverty has resulted in an exciting clash of flavours | | | | many local delicacies. So salty is this delicious fish dish |
| and styles a world away from what you might expect. | | | | that it must be soaked for 24 hours before use to |
| Take Calabria's version of lasagna. The traditional | | | | draw the salt out from it before it can be eaten. This |
| version is turned on it's head in this region's twist on the | | | | unusual dish dates back to Roman times, before the |
| recipe. Instead of the traditional mince and layers of flat | | | | establishment of a proper road network made it |
| pasta, the local cooks make a version in which tiny | | | | possible to transport fresh fish inland and keep it edible |
| meatballs are layered with a delicate network of white | | | | in it's natural state. |
| noodles and flavoured with a rice, creamy white | | | | So, if you're looking to cook up something a little |
| sauce. To add to the subtle and yet sensational taste | | | | different for your next romantic meal or family |
| difference, the meatballs are made from pork. | | | | get-together, look up the food of Calabria as a great |
| Pork is the staple meat of the region and forms the | | | | starting point for new ideas and twists on traditional |
| basis of many favourite dishes. Salami and cured meat | | | | Italian food. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed |
| - common throughout the country - is given its own | | | | with the results and it might open your eyes to a few |
| twist by the use of a chilli unique to the region - the | | | | flavour combinations you might never have happened |
| peperoncini. This small, sweet and intense chilli lends an | | | | across otherwise. |