A spicy lesson in Calabrian Cuisine

My latest cooking adventure was in Calabrian cuisine (southern Italy).  The menu is typically very simple and contains red pepper....yum!

None of the cooking could have been possible without this little guy

 First item up was N'duja (sounds very similar to andouille)

  We started with the tart crust....

We made the tart filling and strained only 1/2 of it.  Personally, I thought the strained filling tasted better. 

 

Do you ever have a little pastry dough left over?  This is a great idea!  Make tiny little biscotti to go with your espresso!

 

Next up.... meatballs and pasta with bread crumbs and anchovies!  Ok so for the past year I really thought spaghetti and meatballs didn't exit in Italy!  I haven't been to Calabria yet so that is why I didn't realize the dish existed here. 

squeeze the water out of the soaked bread

Buon Appetito!!