Enogastronomic evenings of Greek Calabria

AN ORIGINAL JOURNEY IN THE GASTRONOMY OF GREEK CALABRIA, FROM LESTOPITTE TO DESSERTS AND BERGAMOT

Starting from the month of March we organize and realize, with the collaboration of the Slow Food Reggio Calabria Area Grecanica, our Pucambù Agency and with some of our client restaurants, a program of food and wine evenings throughout Calabria with original dishes of Greek Calabria accompanied by Organic wines of Terre Grecaniche.

Sarà un’occasione per stare insieme e per fare un viaggio nella gastronomia della Calabria Greca, dalle lestopitte ai dolci al bergamotto.

THE CUISINE OF GREEK CALABRIA

The traditional cuisine of the Greek Aspromonte is spartan, “mountain” but not without flavor and tasty surprises. It derives directly from the pastoral and peasant culture and reflects the environmental conditions of this harsh land, with contrasting views of the mountains and the sea. The typical local dishes are simple, poor and flavored with the strong and genuine flavors of a long peasant and seafaring tradition.

But the dishes are also strongly linked to religious and spiritual life (collective and private). For example, on the occasion of Christmas and Epiphany it is customary to put thirteen courses on the table, while at Carnival they eat macaroni, meatballs and pork. Easter is celebrated with roast lamb and spiritual breads and so on for other holidays. Every event of family life (baptisms, weddings, deaths, etc.) is always celebrated with a dinner based on special dishes.

Until the 1960s, some basic elements that are not always available today prevailed in traditional cuisine. For bread, for example, rye, acorn or chestnut flour and various other minor flours were used alongside wheat flour. For pasta, wheat was sometimes mixed with barley, rye, corn, and so on. Among the meats, two key elements were undoubtedly the goat and the pork.

In an economy in which sheep farming had a leading role, sheep and goat meat played an equally important food role. In particular, the goat, wilder and less fat than the sheep, is the undisputed meat par excellence of the archaic Aspromonte cuisine. The main form of cooking is stewed with only onion and bay leaf. Some forms of cooking were also widespread today almost disappeared. The goat (or sheep) underground is particularly archaic. In a pit, a bottom of sand and ferns is prepared. The meat, cut into pieces, is placed on it, seasoned with salt and herbs and closed in the animal’s stomach. It always covers itself with sand and ferns and above it a fire is lit for about ten to twelve hours. On the other hand, a type of cooking was reserved for lamb or kid, which is still known today throughout the Balkans. The procedure is defined as “meat in a pan”. An earthenware pot is placed on a bed of embers with the meat prepared for cooking inside. On the superimposed lid a further layer of embers is spread and it is left to cook in a sort of open-air oven.

The breeding and transformation of the pig in the traditional world had a central importance that still remains very strong in the widespread practice of domestic breeding. The delicatessen includes all possible derivatives: sausages and soppressate, capicolli, pickled meat, black puddings. Even today, the sacrifice of the animal is accompanied by a family celebration, the frittolata. Thus, immediately after slaughter, the perishable parts of the animal (brain, liver, lungs, etc.) are consumed and all the leftovers are simmered in the traditional boiler to obtain pork rinds and cracklings.

To learn more about the traditional cuisine of Greek Calabria we point out the fundamental essay: Salvino Nucera, “Food uses of the Calabrogreci” in the volume Ancient flavors of Greek Calabria, Giuseppe Pontari Editore, Reggio Calabria, 1996

PROGRAM

The evenings will include, in addition to the presentations of the dishes and wines for tasting, also small cultural events of the Greek Calabria (projection of docufilms, music, poetry, etc.).

During the evenings, guests will be given the Guide to Sustainable Tourism in the Grecanica – Pucambù area and some proposals will be presented for visiting Greek Calabria and our vineyards in Capo Spartivento, on weekends or for short holiday periods.

Inside the restaurants will be set up the Spazio Fajì Kalò (in Greek of Calabria Cose Buone ) where it will be possible to buy, in addition to our wines, some of the most renowned typical products of Greek Calabria.

CONDITIONS AND COSTS OF PARTICIPATION

The food and wine evenings will be held if a minimum number of 30 participants is reached. There is a maximum number of 80 participants. The cost of the complete dinner per participant is € 25.00.

INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS

For more information you can contact us by email (enoturismo@terregrecaniche.it) or by phone (339 1834645)