|
|
Salami |
Wine |
Travel | Italian Food
 Basilicata Food:
The peperone di Senise, or Senise pepper, is cultivated in
a number of villages in the provinces of Matera and Potenza, in the heart of
Basilicata. These include Senise, the village that gives the pepper its
name, stands on the slopes of a hill in the valley of the river Sinni.
Traditionally used for flavoring peasant dishes, the Senise pepper is today
a specialty of the Basilicata region and has been produced with IGP status (Indicazione
Geografica Protetta - Protected Geographical Indication) since 1996. Brick
red in color, the Senise pepper may be eaten fresh. It has a slightly
elongated form and thin flesh, and contains very little water, making it
particularly well suited to being dried and turned into powder. In powdered
form, the Senise pepper is often used for making local cheeses and cured
meats, and for flavoring soups.
In Basilicata food the best salsicce lucane, or
lucanica sausages, the pork sausage of Basilicata
(which was once known as Lucania) are made using only top quality meat,
seasoned with salt pepper and fennel seeds, or with pork fat, pepper, salt,
peperoncino, and fennel seeds. Although the people of other regions
of Italy would quibble with the idea that this sausage originated here, few
would argue that the varieties produced in the region, where pigs are prized
and still fed almost entirely on natural foods (bean, corn, acorns), are
some of the finest in the country.
Some typical dishes of the Basilicata region are lamb
cooked in a pignata, or earthenware pot, and
flavored with bread crumbs, carrots, cheese, and sausage, or al
cuturillo, cooked with chicory. Also exceptional are the
region’s pastas, such as the local orecchiette,
dressed with cherry tomatoes and cacioricotta, the
wonderfully scented local cheese. In the province of Potenza, two tasty
specialties are pupazzella, small round hot
peppers in vinegar filled with anchovies and parsley; and pasta
with lu’ntruppc, a tasty meat sauce made with meat and
sausage. Typical food from Basilicata includes:
Calzone di verdura: pizza dough baked folded over a
filling of chard, peppers and raisins.
Cazmarr: stew of lamb's innards, prosciutto,
cheese and wine.
Ciammotta: fried eggplant, peppers and potatoes
stewed with tomatoes.
Ciaudedda: braised artichokes stuffed with
potatoes, onions, fava beans, salt pork.
Cotechinata: pork rind rolled around a filling of
salt pork, garlic and peppers and stewed in tomato sauce.
Focaccia a brazzudÍ: flatbread with pork
crackling, lard and oregano.
Grano al ragü: wheat grains boiled and served with
a rich ragout made of sausage and salt pork, tomatoes,
garlic, olive oil and white wine and topped with grated
pecorino.
Grano dolce: pudding of wheat grains, blended with
chocolate, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and vin cotto (sweet
“cooked wine”).
Peperonata con carne di porco: pepper and tomato
stew with various pieces of pork.
Pignata di pecora: ewe cooked with potatoes,
tomatoes, onions, pork and Pecorino in a clay pot called a
pignata.
Pollo alla potentina: chicken braised in wine with
onion, tomato, peppers and basil.
Scarcedda: Easter tart with ricotta and
hard-boiled eggs.
Spezzatino di agnello: lamb stewed in an
earthenware pot with potatoes, onions, bay leaf and peppers.
Torta di latticini: cheesecake based on ricotta,
mozzarella and pecorino with pieces of prosciutto.
Zuppa di pesce alla Santavenere: soup based on
grouper, scorpion fish and other Ionian seafood with plenty
of garlic and pepper.
|
