Traditional delights: “Satizzu” and broccoli (Sausage and broccoli)
A flavourful and simple dish passed down from generation to generation
Sausage and broccoli are included among the irreplaceable ones on the Reggio table. They are considered wild cards used to satisfy every culinary need: from a succulent second course with side dishes, to variations used in the sandwich format, up to and including the dishes that make up traditional out of town trips. The more “mountainous” side of Reggio gastronomy never fails, presenting sausage and broccoli as the most profound and strongest sign of the link between these products and the territory.
Broccoli "'ffucati" (“drowned”), or just stir-fried with oil and garlic over a very low heat and served steaming, have always dictated the memory of entire generations belonging to this territory, even before any local restaurant menu existed. It is a traditional peasant dish, handed down by grandmothers and still firmly present today in the dishes that make up lunches and dinners on the banks of the Strait.
Not only broccoli and sausage...
It is a must for those who love to discover the most authentic flavours of the Reggio area and which finds it maximum exaltation in the combination with "u satizzu" (sausage). It is another essential element of the local cuisine, which is available in Reggio Calabria for practically 36 days a year, with its peak reached in the first half of September during the Marian holidays. However, precisely the combination of sausage and broccoli reveals one of the many culinary souls of the Reggio area. A simple dish, traditional and full of flavours that can also be enjoyed in combination with beans, peppers, Aspromonte potatoes, with chili pepper, and why not, together with the fragrant Pellegrina bread (in the district of Bagnara Calabra) to sublimate one of the most intense moments that Reggio cuisine offers the palate.
The culinary marker that defines the identity of Reggio cuisine
“Cu si marita godu nu jornu, cu mmazza u porcu godu n’annu!” (“Those who get married enjoyed happiness for one day, while those who kill pigs enjoy it for an entire year”). The effective synthesis of this popular saying best describes the importance of pig slaughtering in the Reggio area, and, consequently, of the products obtained from it. Above all, the “frittole” stands out, included in the list of traditional Italian agri-food products (P.A.T) by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (Mipaaf) as a typical Calabrian product. No less important, of course, is the sausage that the Reggio tradition strictly wants requires in the format of a big knot, mixed with fennel seeds, making it very aromatic, and its spicy variant. A unique product, it is to be counted among the culinary markers of the province.
