When vegetables become delicious dishes
Stuffed peppers, tomatoes, and aubergines: an explosion of taste
Just think of three typical dishes of the Calabrian tradition to get your mouth watering: peppers and amolicate tomatoes (Reggio “pipi and pumaroru chini”), dried tomatoes preserved in oil, and the unmistakable stuffed aubergines. These are recipes that make you feel the entire aroma of the Mediterranean, where vegetables become a main course and in just thinking about it, we are enveloped by the scent of basil and the full flavours of tomato. Once again, the references to the Greek cuisine are evident, in which stuffed peppers and tomatoes are called “ghemistà” (“stuffed”, in fact) and they are a typical dish of the country.
Summer colours
Think about all the colours that peppers come in, the deep colours of the aubergines, and the round tomatoes that seem to smile in the vegetable gardens. In Calabria, all this poetry is displayed on the table: it is a play on contrasts, with the sweetness of peppers mixed in with capers, the softness of the tomatoes combined with the brio of chilli, and the imaginative aubergine that accompanies pecorino cheese. Get ready to put the real taste of the Mediterranean cuisine in your mouth!
DID YOU KNOW THAT …?
The Mediterranean diet has always been considered one of the healthiest in the world. It is a simple way of eating, based on the consumption of food from the lands bathed by the Mediterranean Sea: olive oil, fruit, local vegetables, and fresh fish.
Why choose if you can eat everything?
For those wishing to try all three vegetables together—peppers, tomatoes, and aubergines—the regional tradition offers a recipe not to be missed: the Calabrian peperonata. The dish is nothing more complicated than the revisiting of the most famous bell pepper mixed with the vegetables of the season, using green and red peppers, Belmonte tomatoes, aubergines, and basil. Tradition has it that in certain area of Calabria, this dish is called zibatò, in honour of Leopardi’s Zibaldone, translating the collection of literary notes into a mixture of delicious ingredients. Good taste should never be wasted!
