Calabrian cuisine is among the most flavorful and spicy food Italy has to offer.
Red peppers are dominant and used in everything from cured meats to pasta. Particularly famous are Calabrian spicy sausages, soppressata and 'nduja. Other essential additions to Calabrian cooking are eggplant and peppers, which are cooked in sauces, pickled, grilled, or fried as an appetizer, main course, or side dish.
But the protagonist in this area is definitely pasta, usually home-made. The home made maccaruni, a pasta rolled around a piece of wire, are always served with excellent meat sauces prepared with lamb or goat meat. There is also a rich variety of soups such as pasta with beans and pasta with chickpeas.
The abundance of sheep in the area is the source of Calabria's various lamb dishes and some of its many cheeses. A famous Calabrian cheese is caciocavallo, which is a cow's milk cheese.
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Along the coastal regions, it is possible to find out many fish dishes: fish soups, sword-fish, barbecued and fried fish. There is also a tradition of soaked, salted cod and pescestocco, cooked either fried or alla molinara, with tomatoes, potatoes and capers. |
The best traditional sweets are the Christmas and Easter ones. The most famous is the Cozzupa, made in various shapes as animal, human or heart figures, baked and decorated with eggs. Don’t forget to try the traditional torrone, made with honey, sugar, almonds and covered with chocolate and the pignolata, a cake made of small balls of dough fried in olive oil and held together with honey.
The Best Restaurants in Calabria
Restaurants in Catanzaro and Province
L' Aragosta
Marina - Villaggio del Golfo
Nocera Terinese (CZ)
Tel: 0968/93385
Type: Seafood
Price: $$
Credit Card: All types
Closed: every Monday (except in July and August), January 10-28
Restaurants in Cosenza and Province
La Locanda di Alia
Via Jetticelle, 55
Castrovillari (CS)
Tel: 0981/46370
Type: Regional
Price: $$
Credit Card: All types
Closed: every Sunday, vacation days vary
Aquila Edelweiss
Camigliatello Silano - Via Stazione, 11
Spezzano della Sila (CS)
Tel: 0984/578044
Type: Regional
Price: $$
Credit Card: CSI, MC, VISA
Closed: every Monday (except in July and August), November and December
Restaurants in Crotone and Province
Casa di Rosa
Via C. Colombo, 117
Crotone (KR)
Tel: 0962/21946
Type: Seafood
Price: $
Credit Card: All types
Closed: every Sunday, December 20- January 6
Restaurants in Reggio Calabria and Province
Taverna Kerkira
Corso V. Emanuele, 217
Bagnara Calabra (RC)
Tel: 0966/372260
Type: Regional
Price: $
Credit Card: AE, MC, DC, VISA
Closed: every Monday and Tuesday, Christmas holidays and in August
Restaurants in Vibo Valentia and Province
L' Approdo
Località Vibo Valentia Marina - Via Roma, 22
Vibo Valentia (VV)
Tel: 0963/572640
Type: Seafood
Price: $$
Credit Card: All types
Closed: Vacation days vary