Taste Calabria

20/08/2026

What is 'nduja?

‘Nduja is a fiery pork spread unique to Calabria, Italy. The salami contains about 40-50% fat content (hence what makes it spreadable). The meat and fat are both ground, heavily seasoned with local pepperoncini and salt and mixed until creamy, spreadable, and with an intense red hue. Then it’s s...

20/08/2026

I took this photo of my mom walking around the hilly streets of Gerace, Calabria 23 years ago (it was my artsy phase hence the black and white photo). I was studying in Milano that summer and we met after my course ended and had a fabulous week together exploring towns and villages near her own birth town. It was a great summer. I’ve been visiting Calabria all my life and I never get tired of visiting. There’s so much to explore, see and taste.

06/08/2026

There is no grandiosity here, but rather simplicity, order, and elegance, echoing its origins—which likely date back to the monastic communities who settled here centuries ago. Aside from the simplicity of the structure’s materials—stone, mortar, brick—La Cattolica rises into harmonious forms and geometries, serving as a metaphor for the power of meditation and the search for the Divine.

02/08/2026

I PITELLI! A Calabrian summer staple! There are many variations on how Italians use squash blossoms throughout the season but in a Calabrian kitchen, the zucchini flowers are roughly chopped (all of it) into pieces and mixed into a batter consisting of flour, milk, fresh basil, fresh garlic, pecorino cheese. The fritters embody 100% summer in both Calabrian flavor and aroma. This recipe will be included with our next Taste Calabria newsletter. Have you signed up yet?

08/07/2026

Mattia Preti aka Il Cavaliere Calabrese (The Calabrian Knight) combined high drama with vibrant color traditions in his work. In this particular piece he painted ‘Veronica with the Veil’ (1652-1653) and uses the chiaroscuro technique where dark shadows dominate. This technique makes Veronica and the veil appear as if they’re emerging from the dark into a single sharp beam of light catching the very essence of her pivotal role as a woman from Jerusalem having pity as Jesus carried his cross to Cavalry. She offered him her veil to wipe his face, and when he returned it, his facial features were miraculously imprinted on the fabric.

Preti was a part of the Neapolitan Baroque movement which focused on single intense moments vs the more calmer Renaissance art. Mattia Preti was from Taverna in the province of Catanzaro but spent most of his professional artistic life in Malta which, at the time, was a hub for the Baroque art movement. Malta was also a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily and acted as a vital military shield between the eastern Mediterranean and the Italian mainland (that’s for another post). Heritage and culture run very deep between the island of Malta and Southern Italy.

02/07/2026

Read and learn. Italian is not an
ancient language. It is a modern one. As modern as 1948!

08/05/2026

Tartufo means “truffle” in Italian referring to its shape and coating. It is considered PGI (protected geographical indication) to affirm its place of origin. How it’s made: a scoop of one gelato flavor is flattened and a center (like a cherry or chocolate) is placed in the middle. Another scoop of a different gelato flavor is then used to completely cover the first scoop, forming a ball. The ball is frozen until firm. Final step is coating it in a chocolate shell and rolled in cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or chocolate crumbs. It’s delicious and molto Calabrese! It is delicious!

23/04/2026

Listen and learn about your Calabrian roots 🌳 Taste Calabria

03/04/2026

Holy Week (Settimana Santa) in the town of Polistena (Πολυξένη), Calabria. This week is a profound expression of faith featuring ancient traditions and rituals including Good Friday processions carrying statues of the Passion and deeply emotional community-led reenactments of Christ’s burial and resurrection.

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24/02/2026

This image is from 2010 and shows a rich red hue used over 2,000 years ago. This piece was excavated in the ancient town of Taureanum (located between current day Palmi and Gioia Tauro, RC) where Roman villas once glowed with pigment made from earth and fire. Most likely part of a fresco wall. Taureanum was a Roman coastal settlement that sits along the Tyrrhenian coast, and that matters because trade routes connected it to Naples, Sicily, and North Africa. Pigments like cinnabar could be imported. This red hue that today is commonly referred to as “Pompeiian Red” followed Roman Mediterranean aesthetics.