Recipe with Calabrian 'Nduja
What is 'Nduja?
An inviting flavour, a sublime aroma, a unique taste. Describing the Calabrian 'Nduja is a bit like taking a sensorial journey in which all 5 senses are satisfied, a sort of good surprise that captures and involves. Several starred chefs from overseas have chosen to reach Spilinga - the Calabrian town of the undisputed homeland - to taste and touch this delicious sausage. Using Calabrian black pig 'Nduja for a platter of cured meats and cheeses is rather reductive because the product can offer more, much more. The salami can be paired with cheeses, fish, meat, pizza and even tomato puree. In terms of flavours, there are European products that recall it: the French andouille, the Spanish sobrasada, but nothing is exactly as good as the real Calabrian 'Nduja!
Image property of Madeo Food
How is 'Nduja preserved?
Creating recipes with 'Nduja is a bit like leaving room for imagination: no compromises and only intense flavour, inviting aroma and exquisite taste. But what about leftovers? How is it preserved? In Calabria it is customary to store 'Nduja in the refrigerator, given that among the ingredients there are natural preservatives: chili pepper combined with spices and herbs. However, it is necessary to implement some precautions that allow the product to keep its flavor intact.
Skin issue
To slow down the color change, exactly as for all types of salami, it is necessary to preserve the 'Nduja in the skin in which it was preserved, so as to keep the habitat of the natural bacteria almost unchanged.
Film as salvation
In addition to the natural skin, it is a good idea to add and wrap the leftover Calabrian 'Nduja in transparent film, so as to keep the scent intact and not just the color. The transparent film is a sort of second protection that allows the product to remain almost unchanged without eliminating the oxygen as happens in vacuum packages. The same principle applies to other sausages such as Calabrian black pig lard and simple sausage.
Freezing as an enemy
'Nduja is, in all respects, a salami 2.0, since the pork has been treated and cooked. Freezing crystallizes the water particles that penetrate the meat during cooking and speeds up the creation of mold.
Pasta with Calabrian black pork 'Nduja and sausage
The dish is a real panacea for the mood and a little less for the scale, but as we know, to be happy you need to work hard! Cuts of pork are a perfect starting point for creating dishes rich in flavour, inviting in terms of aroma and truly satiating! Here's how to transform 'Nduja into something sublime and mouth-watering!
Ingredients for Calabrian 'Nduja pasta and black pig sausage
- 320 g of short pasta
- 180 g of ricotta
- 100 g of Calabrian 'Nduja from black pig
- 100g of spicy Calabrian black pig sausage
- 100 g of tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 white onion
- 1 ripe tomato
- ½ teaspoon of sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Procedure for 'Nduja pasta with black pig and sausage
Peel and finely chop the onion, sauté in a pan with a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil over high heat. In the meantime, remove the skin of the Calabrian 'Nduja and the spicy sausage and mash with a fork, add to the pan and brown.
When the pork has browned, add the tomato puree and the washed and chopped tomato. Reduce the heat to minimum, add the ricotta and leave on the heat for 8/10 minutes, so that the tomato sauce thickens. Place the pasta pot full of water on the heat, when it reaches the boil add 320 g of short pasta, leave to cook for the time indicated on the package and drain, keeping a couple of ladles of cooking water.
Add the pasta to the pan with the 'Nduja and the sausage, raise the heat and sauté everything for a couple of minutes, top up with ladles of cooking water and let the sauce thicken. If you want an extra touch to tone down the spiciness of the cured meats, add a sprinkling of solid ricotta at the end of cooking, plate and serve piping hot!
The dish is exalted, the table receives applause
When the ingredients are special, any dish - if well calibrated - manages to garner waves of applause from all diners - taste buds included. To obtain the right balance you need to use your imagination and rely on healthy and genuine ingredients that you can find in our online butcher's shop, which are created with certain criteria in response to the numerous protocols for the food supply chain. Choosing well to eat better is on the one hand a duty towards health and on the other it enhances the possibility of bringing authentic and sublime flavors to the table, which are difficult to replicate. This is why choosing and recognizing genuine, Italian products is so important!
