Tag: Nduja

SOUTHERN ITALY: Caciocavallo and ’Nduja

I’ve long been familiar with caciocavallo cheese and ’nduja, but I always enjoy discovering new things about food and produce.

Being Italian I enjoy the endless journey through traditions, family stories, unique regions and small producers who put their heart into every ingredient. Researching Italian food is discovering a world inside every dish.

Recently, I visited a small restaurant that focuses on Southern Italian cuisine and had two dishes that sparked my curiosity.

The first was a caciocavallo that came from Puglia and not Sicily, as I was expecting. (Below is  a photo of the classic shape of caciocavallo)

The second was ’nduja, Calabria’s famously spicy, spreadable salume (small good). It was served warm in a small terracotta warmer, ready for dipping with some house-made warm focaccia. I’d never seen it served this way. At home, I tend to slice it like salame and serve it with some quality bread, in a much more rustic manner.

I find it fascinating how produce reflects the unique identity of each region. It’s all thanks to the geography, animal husbandry, and traditional techniques that shape what we grow and eat. A cheese is the flavour of the land, the animals that graze there, and the those that made it. The caciocavallo, from Southern Italy, has maintained its authenticity despite being mass-produced. Its Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) classification safeguards its unique characteristics.

The ‘nduja, which was traditionally made by hand after a pig was slaughtered, is now mass-produced, but traditional recipes remain largely unchanged.

Naturally, I had questions to ask at the restaurant. Fortunately, a passionate, food-loving waiter from Messina was happy to share his knowledge. What I love most about Italians is how even the simplest ingredients and recipes carry the weight of local pride. Thanks to his enthusiasm, I left with a deeper appreciation for these two iconic Southern Italian specialties and a strong urge to verify everything he told me.

Sometimes all it takes is a chatty, informative waiter to turn a good meal into an even better culinary experience. The list of Italian wines was also very good and again this waiter was happy to share his knowledge.

Caciocavallo

Caciocavallo is produced across several Southern Italian regions: Sicily, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, and Puglia. However, I’ve always associated this cheese with Sicily, especially as it is made in Ragusa.

My paternal family roots are in Ragusa (photo above), so over the years I have visited Sicily many times. I developed a strong sense of pride around Caciocavallo Ragusano . This is made from the milk of Modica cows (Modica is a city close to Ragusa) that graze the wild pastures of the Iblei plateau. The cheese is rich and earthy, due to the wild herbs in the cows’ diet. My relatives led me to believe that this was the best caciocavallo, with all others being somewhat inferior. And I believed them.

I have eaten cheese produced by families in the region of Ragusa and, like my relatives, I appreciate caciocavallo very much. The caciocavallo cheeses The cheeses are the classic gourd or teardrop shape and are hung in pairs over a wooden beam (“cacio a cavallo” means “cheese on horseback”). It is appreciated as an aged cheese, but also when relatively fresh.

At the restaurant, I was offered Caciocavallo Podolico from Puglia. This local cheese is made from the milk of Podolica cows, a breed raised in southern Italy. Unlike cheese from Ragusa, Caciocavallo Podolico is aged for up to 36 months in natural caves. The cows feed on wild, aromatic herbs in a different terroir, giving the cheese a bold, intense flavour.

The restaurant served it pan-fried, warm, with a drizzle of honey and chilli flakes. The honey reminded me of how I’ve eaten pecorino in Liguria, not warmed.

Eating the caciocavallo from Puglia broadened my horizons beyond the exclusive patriotism for Ragusa-produced caciocavallo.

’Nduja

 ’Nduja is a soft, fermented, pork Calabrian salume made with about 30% chili peppers. Cured in natural casings, it remains spreadable because of the high fat content and fermentation.

Over the years, I have incorporated ‘nduja into various dishes and sauces, and have also enjoyed it sliced and served with bread, but I had never encountered it served warm. At the restaurant, it was presented in a unique warmer equipped with a small flame, ensuring a molten state and an opportunity to be scooped up with bread. This presentation is known as ‘scalda ‘nduja‘.

Here are a couple of ideas for enjoying these ingredients at home:

Pan-fried Caciocavallo: pan fry  in very little oil thick slices until golden, then drizzle with some quality honey and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. Look for DOP or regional varieties at specialty Italian shops.

Warm ’Nduja: Gently heat a slice in a ramekin in the microwave or small pan and serve with warm bread for dipping.. The restaurant served it with focaccia.

I’ve written other posts, especially about ‘nduja that may stimulate more adventures in the kitchen:

Squid with ‘nduja

‘NDUJA

NDUJA, a spreadable and spicy pork salame from Calabria

NDUJA, was considered peasant food in Calabria

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

NDUJA with SQUID, very simple

NDUJA and CALAMARI as a pasta sauce

NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO with Spaghetti

CACIOCAVALLO and similar cheese

SICILIAN CHEESE MAKING. A VISIT TO A MASSARO (farmer-cheese maker) IN RAGUSA. Formaggio argentiera

There are many recipes that include Caciocavallo as an ingredient  –  use the search button on my blog.

Below, photo of Ragusa.

‘NDUJA, was considered peasant food in Calabria

I am not Calabrese, and not being Calabrese means that I only discovered ’nduja late in life, as it was very much a regional and local food originally considered peasant food. I may have been late, but I did discover ’nduja much earlier than those living in Australia, who are now celebrating its use in a big way. Better late than never, because ’nduja is a fabulous salume (smallgood).

It was first made by contadini (farmers/ workers on the land) who raised and butchered pigs and being poor, would sell the prime cuts of pork to upper-class families who could afford them.  as is the way of the frugal, offal, excess fat, and off- cuts of meat were blended together, seasoned intensely with chilli, stuffed in a casing and transformed into a soft salame that tasted good and did not spoil easily.

These days ’nduja is probably made with better fats and cuts of meat and with its popularity, the price has also risen. ’Nduja originated in the Vibo Valentia province in Calabria, and much of it still comes from the town of Spilinga but it is now showing up as an ingredient all over Italy and in many restaurants in UK, US and in Australia – imparting a chilli kick on pizza, in pasta dishes, seafood dishes, burgers and even with Burrata; I would have thought that fresh cheeses are far too delicate to go with the strongly flavoured and spicy ’nduja. However each to their own. ’Nduja is no longer just found in specialist supermarkets and specialty butchers, but also in some fairly ordinary supermarkets. I have liked some varieties much more than others, so it is worth experimenting.

Featured photo is Tropea, Calabria.

So what is ’nduja?

RICHARD CORNISH:

We can thank Richard Cornish for his full-flavoured description of it in his Brain Food column in The Age on 10 November: A fermented sausage, originally from Calabria in Italy, that has a texture like sticky pate and a spicy kick on it like an angry mule. Pronounced en-doo-ya, it is a mixture of pork fat (up to 70 per cent), pork, salt, spices, culture and chilli peppers, which are ground together until smooth, wet, unctuous and deep red. It is stuffed into large-sized natural animal skins and slowly fermented and air-dried. The lactic acid bacteria in the culture ferments the sugars in the mix, making the ’nduja acidic enough to keep it safe from bad bugs. The name is Calabrian slang and is said to derive from the word for the smoked French sausage andouille.

Is it nduja or ’nduja? You will find that in certain references the spelling will be without an apostrophe.

The apostrophe before the nd (as in ’nduja), does not appear in the Italian language and I spent some time looking for the why it is spelt that way. It appears that in Calabrese, nd is proceeded by an apostrophe. Think of ‘Ndrangheta, as the mafia is referred to in Calabria, and ‘ndrina, the different families or clans, usually made up of blood relatives that are part of the ‘Ndrangheta.

Like most Calabresi, I usually spread ’nduja on fresh bread (like pâté) or I have used it as an ingredient in pasta sauces – it can fire up a tame ragù (a meat-based tomato sauce). I have also added ’nduja to sautéed cime di rape and Italian pork sausages, and to squid or octopus for a pasta sauce or on their own to be mopped up with bread.

MY EARLY EXPERIENCES WITH ‘NDUJA

I first encountered this spicy, spreadable sausage about forty years ago in the home of a Calabrese family who used to slaughter a pig and make smallgoods. They covered all of the smallgoods with chili. To their taste, food without chilli seemed flavourless, but also that the coating of chilli acts as a barrier, repelling flies (and bad bugs as Richard says) and is therefore a powerful and natural preservative. It’s the chili that gives this soft spreadable ’nduja salame its distinctive red colour.

Years later (about 23 years ago), I had some ‘nduja in the Sila mountains in Calabria, but I did not know then, that this peasant food product was to become the taste-sensation outside of Calabria that it is now.

My addition of ’nduja to seafood came much later in my cooking after I tasted a pasta dish of squid and fried breadcrumbs spiced with ’nduja, in a restaurant in Marin County, in California in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S).  Years later, I had a similar dish in a London restaurant. Both blew me away.

Probably the first dish I tasted with ’nduja in a Melbourne restaurant (Baby octopus with ’nduja) was at Tipo 00 when it first opened and later at Osteria Ilaria.

For those who like chillies, recipes that include ’nduja on my blog:

‘NDUJA, a spreadable and spicy pork salame from Calabria

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

‘NDUJA with SQUID, very simple

‘NDUJA and CALAMARI as a pasta sauce

‘NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO with Spaghetti

 

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

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‘Nduja is a good ingredient to have in one’s fridge to liven many recipes, especially pasta dishes.

I have been away from home recently, and what I really enjoy is coming up with a dish using ingredients that I have at home and need to be used. This must be one of the reasons I enjoy camping and we always eat so well.

INGREDIENTS

I had ‘nduja (a soft chilli-laden, soft salame from Calabria), a bunch of cime di rapa or rape (rape is plural of rapa) and some small and fabulous, pure pork sausages that I had cooked in some tomato salsa the day before. We had eaten most of these with polenta and these were left over.

PROCESS

What I did was simple. I braised the cime di rapa  in some garlic and extra virgin olive oil as I do when I cook cime di rapa with pasta.  Once cooked, I added the ‘nduja….probably too much, I love chilli but do others like it as much as I do? I could have used a half of the quantity and it still would have tasted great. The ‘nduja melts with the heat and coats the vegetables.

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Next, I added the sausages and a small amount of tomato salsa. My mother often reminded me that I was making a pasta sauce rather than a soup, so I required only a small quantity of liquid.

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I had rigatoni on hand, and some Sicilian pecorino pepato.

You will need to accept that it tasted vey good. So much so that I did not have time to take a photo of the finished pasta dish – it was gobbled up far too quickly by my two guests.

There are recipes for cooking with ‘nduja:

‘NDUJA, a spreadable and spicy pork salame from Calabria

SPAGHETTI with ‘NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO

‘NDUJA and CALAMARI as a pasta sauce

’Nduja with squid

 

‘NDUJA with SQUID, very simple

‘Nduja– a spicy, spreadable, pork salame originating from Calabria is sold in places that sell Italian smallgoods.

I have mainly presented ‘Nduja with some fresh bread (like Pâté) or I have used ‘Nduja as an ingredient in sauces for pasta –an excellent ragù (a meat-based tomato sauce), sautéed with cime di rape and Italian pork sausages and I often add it to squid either for a sauce for pasta/polenta/rice or on their own.

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As you can see by the photos, this is a very simple recipe and it is cooked very quickly – onions, ‘Nduja, squid and olive oil. Most of the time I also add finely chopped parsley at the same time as the squid.

Use small to medium sized squid.

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1,5 kg of Squid, 150g ‘Nduja, ½ onion, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Sauté onion in olive oil on medium low heat. Add ‘Nduja, it will dissolve, release some fat and fragrance.

Add squid, a little chopped parsley and stir fry it until it colours (about 10 minutes).

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Sprinkle with lemon juice, more chopped parsley or mint and present it.

Other posts about ‘NDUJA:

SPAGHETTI with ‘NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO

‘NDUJA, a spreadable and spicy pork salame from Calabria

 

‘NDUJA and CALAMARI as a pasta sauce

‘Nduja is a spicy, spreadable, pork salame originating from Calabria and is appearing on just as many menus and recipes as chorizo as an ingredient.

Chorizo and ’nduja do play similar culinary roles — adding heat, depth, richness and a lovely red hue to dishes — but they come from different traditions and behave differently in cooking. Here’s what they have in common:

What chorizo and ’nduja share

1. Pork-based, chilli-driven cured products

Both are made primarily from pork, and both rely on chilli for flavour, colour and gentle (or not-so-gentle!) heat.

2. Paprika/pepper–rich seasoning

Spanish chorizo uses pimentón (sweet, hot, or smoked paprika), while Calabrian ’nduja uses peperoncino.
Different chillies, but both produce: a deep brick-red colour, a smoky or fruity heat, a rich aroma when heated.

3. High-fat mixtures that melt beautifully

Both rely on a good amount of pork fat: Chorizo releases seasoned fat when cooked, ’Nduja essentially is a spicy, spreadable fat
Either way, they enrich sauces, soups and braises.

4. Versatile “flavour builders”

In cooking, both act almost like a seasoning: Melt into pasta sauces, Flavour beans, lentils, stews,Work with seafood (especially prawns, mussels, cuttlefish), Pair well with potatoes, eggs, and greens.

5. Traditional, regional farmhouse products

Both originate as rustic, home-cured, regional foods: Chorizo: Spain (with Portuguese chouriço as a cousin), ’Nduja: Calabria, especially Spilinga.

Each reflects local ingredients — paprika in Iberia, peperoncino in Calabria.

The main difference is texture: chorizo is firm and sliceable, while ’nduja is soft, spreadable and melts almost instantly into sauces. Chorizo gives you bites of seasoned meat; ’nduja gives you a silky, smoky warmth that flavours a whole dish. Different personalities, but the same family — and both guaranteed to make food taste bigger, bolder and more interesting.

Chorizo is a firm, sliceable sausage, while ’nduja is a soft, spreadable, intensely spicy fermented paste — but both deliver pork, chilli and smoky depth to whatever you cook and both guaranteed to make food taste bigger, bolder and more interesting.

A recipe for Calamari and ‘Nduja or chorizo

 CALABRIA and INTRODUCTION

Calabria, the rugged toe of Italy’s boot, has always been defined by the sea. With nearly 780 kilometres of coastline — from the Tyrrhenian to the Ionian — the region’s cooking draws deeply on fishing, preserving, and coastal trade that have shaped Calabrian life for more than two thousand years.

Along the coasts, small fishing villages such as Scilla, Pizzo, Tropea, Soverato, and Chianalea lived by the catch: swordfish, anchovies, sardines, octopus, calamari, prawns, and mussels. Much of this seafood was eaten fresh, but equally important were the ancient preserving traditions — salting, drying, fermenting, and bottling — which allowed communities to survive winter scarcity and seasonal storms. Calabrians became masters of stretching simple ingredients into deeply flavoured dishes.

Throughout history, Calabria sat on key Mediterranean trade routes. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Spanish brought spices, citrus, wheat, and new techniques. The most revolutionary arrival was the chilli pepper, introduced from the Americas in the 16th century. Calabrians adopted it with enthusiasm, using it to season and preserve everything from seafood to pork. Over time it became a defining flavour of the region, giving birth to iconic foods such as ’nduja, the fiery, spreadable salume of Spilinga, often combined with seafood to create rich, coastal dishes full of heat and depth.

Seafood today remains central to Calabrian cooking. Families still prepare traditional dishes such as Calamari with ‘nduja.

If you don’t have ’nduja on hand, Spanish chorizo makes an excellent alternative. It brings the same paprika-rich warmth and savoury depth, just with a firmer texture. Either way, this dish is quick, rustic, and full of personality — the kind of simple coastal cooking you’d find in a trattoria overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

CALABRESE Calamari with ’Nduja (or Chorizo) and Tomato

INGREDIENTS 

Calabrese Pasta with Calamari, ’Nduja & Tomato

Calamarata ’nduja e calamari — spicy, rich and deeply southern Italian.

Calamarata (sometimes misspelled calamata) is a short, thick, ring-shaped pasta that looks like slices of calamari(squid rings).
It is a traditional pasta shape from Campania, especially around Naples, but it is now popular throughout southern Italy — including Calabria — for pairing with seafood.

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 400 g pasta
    Traditional: calamarata
    Alternatives: paccheri, mezze maniche, or spaghetti
  • 500–600 g calamari, cleaned and cut into rings (tentacles included)
  • 2–3 tsp ’nduja
    (Adjust depending on heat level and strength of your ’nduja) OR (or 100g chorizo, diced small)
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 small red onion or shallot, finely chopped
  • 200–250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
    or 1 cup tomato passata
  • ½ glass dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste (optional but deepens flavour)
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch of Calabrian peperoncino (optional extra heat)
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  • Optional:
    • A few capers (very Calabrian)
    • Lemon zest

Method

  1. Prepare the calamari

Clean well, pat dry and cut into 1–1.5 cm rings.
Leave tentacles whole or halve them.

  1. Sauté the aromatics

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan.
Add onion and cook gently until soft and translucent.
Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

  1. Add the ’nduja or chorizo

    • If using ’nduja: let it melt into the onions, stirring until it becomes a rich red paste. If using chorizo: fry the diced pieces until they release their paprika-coloured oil into the onion mixture until you have a deep red, fragrant base.

  1. Add the calamari

Increase heat slightly and add the calamari.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Cook for 2–3 minutes until opaque.
Add the white wine and let it evaporate.

  1. Build the sauce Add:
  • tomatoes or passata
  • tomato paste (optional)
  • capers (if using)
  • a pinch of Calabrian chilli
  • Simmer gently for 20–25 minutes.

Calamari should be soft and tender, not rubbery.
Add a splash of water if the sauce thickens too much.

I have already written a post about ‘NDUJA and a recipe for ‘Nduja and Squid as a pasta sauce  – SPAGHETTI with ‘NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO. If you enjoy spicy food, it is worth doing.

See vegetable: CIME DI RAPE

 

‘NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO with Spaghetti

In a restaurant in London recently I ordered a plate of Spaghetti alla Chitarra – square cut spaghetti that was cooked with some very spicy pork sausage.  Square cut spaghetti are popular in Abruzzo, but also in Molise, Lazio and Puglia and obviously can now be found elsewhere in the world.

I had also found them on a menu in Marin County a year before London. There I ordered Rustichella d’Abruzzo Chitarra with Manila clams, Pacific squid and ‘Nduja with anchovy and breadcrumbs (this is how it was written on the menu).

There is a little bit of Italian regional fusion in this dish:

The pasta is from Rustichella d’Abruzzo  –  a pasta manufacturer in the central region of Abruzzo on the Adriatic coast, famous because it uses traditional methods for quality pasta production and quality ingredients. For example the durum wheat is from growers in Italy as well as Canada and Australia. The Italian square-cut spaghetti was originally shaped by the dough being rolled over a box strung with guitar strings (chitarra= guitar) to create the straight edges. Now of course, it is all machine made.

‘Nduja is a spicy, soft spreadable salame  from Calabria.

The use of toasted breadcrumbs as a topping for pasta is both Calabrese and Sicilian.

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I do not have a recipe from the restaurant for Rustichella d’Abruzzo Chitarra with Manila clams, Pacific squid,  ‘Nduja and anchovy and breadcrumbs, however, I have a pretty good palate and a sharp sense of smell.  This is my interpretation of this recipe.

The estimation of amounts and is based on my tastes and preferences.

Recipe for 6 people

Breadcrumbs, anchovies and garlic mixture (often called pangrattato in Italian) is used to sprinkle on top of the dish instead of cheese.

1 cup bread crumbs made from 1-2 day old good quality bread
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more if needed
6 anchovies, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely

In a fry pan (I use a non stick one) heat the oil, add the anchovies and toss them around for about 30 seconds before adding the garlic. Stir over medium heat until fragrant – the anchovies will break up and ‘dissolve’ into the oil.

Add breadcrumbs and continue to stir them until the crumbs are golden and toasted. Remove from the pan when they are ready otherwise they will continue to cook; set aside until you wish to use them.

700g of squid sliced into rings (optional – add 200g of vongole or clams without their shell per person )– adjust to your tastes.
150g of’ ‘Nduja (add more if you like more spice)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1-2 red onions, sliced thinly
2-3 tablespoons of passata

In a frypan sauté the onion in the olive oil. When it is soft and golden add the ‘Nduja and stir gently on low heat until it is dissolved. Add the squid and toss it around till it is transparent and cooked (I do not cook squid for long). Add the passata half way through cooking, stir over medium-low heat until you have the consistency of a thick tomato sauce. You may need to add a little more liquid if necessary.

400 g spaghetti. Use good quality durum wheat spaghetti. The recommended amount on packets is 100 g per person. I always think that this is far too much especially for a first course, but adapt amounts accordingly. If you increase the amount of pasta you could also increase the amount of squid.

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Cook the pasta, drain it and dress it with the sauce.
Dish it out into separate plates or into a large serving plate, top with the breadcrumb mixture and serve.

I have written about ‘Nduja in an earlier post. See: Nduja, A Spreadable and Spicy Pork Salame From Calabria