Cooking In Calabria’s Tropea™

Take a culinary journey to Calabria – Southern Italy’s most overlooked travel destination. Your 5 day/4 night gastronomical tour is set in the pretty seaside town of Tropea, with accommodation in a delightful bed and breakfast in the historic center, and lessons led by charismatic cook Rosa. From the day you arrive at her country home, where all cooking lessons are held, you will be immersed in the culture and flavors of the region, and your Calabrian cooking adventure will begin. Rosa, a native of Tropea, shares her love of local food with you while she teaches you how to incorporate the freshest seasonal ingredients into a number of mouth-watering Calabrian dishes. From picking your own ingredients out of her lush, organic gardens to tasting the finest homemade olive oils, your cooking experience in Calabria will be unforgettable.

Calabria

“…nothing breaks the stillness save the rhythmic breathing of the waves, and a solitary cricket that has yet to finish his daily task of instrumental music, far away, in some warm crevice of the hills.” Norman Douglas, Old Calabria

Luckily for us, many of the wonderful qualities of Calabria that delighted Norman Douglas back in 1915 are still there to be enjoyed by visitors today: the enviable climate, the beautiful beaches, magnificent, untamed countryside, hillside villages and every so often a Norman church or a Greek ruin to remind us of Calabria’s eclectic past. Add to that, the fact that many parts of Calabria are far from the well worn tourist track and this area of Italy becomes utterly irresistible to travelers who wish to discover the other face of Italy and immerse themselves in a culture rich in traditions and history.

Tropea is a historic village nestled next to the Tyrrhenian Sea. Here, you will discover the cipolla di Tropea, the sweet, red onions that have made the village famous. As you browse through local produce markets, be sure to get your hands on some of the “peperoncinos” which decorate store windows or sit jarred in oil and stuffed with capers. These little chili peppers pack a big punch in dishes like “nduja,” Calabria’s famous pork pâté with minced peperoncinos.

On your free day, a trip to Capo Vaticano will appeal to those who appreciate tranquility as here you’ll find some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Nicknamed Costa Degli Dei – Coast of the Gods – this peaceful town features white granite cliffs giving way to sparkling blue waters below in a dramatic display of natural beauty. Often, capers grow wild in coastal areas such as these and are much used in local Calabrian cuisine.

You might also want to visit the ancient fishing village of Scilla. Seventeenth -century buildings still stand proudly upon cliffs casting their gaze across the seas toward Sicily. Here, local culinary fare centers around freshly caught seafood like swordfish, tuna, and a regional fish called spatola (silver scabbard fish) – all of which are still caught using techniques that are hundreds of years old.

Cooking Calabria

Her charming second home in the hills of San Angelo is just a few minutes from the center of Tropea. She opens her home-away-from-home to visitors in the spring when all her flowers are in bloom and the whole countryside is lusciously green. Most of the land at this lovely hideaway is dedicated to a large vegetable garden. Her outdoor kitchen, brick oven, oversized grill, spacious veranda and long wooden dining table make it the perfect setting for authentic cooking lessons. In the outdoors among the fragrant flowers and trees, Rosa uses ancient recipes to create delicious rustic meals you won’t find in any restaurant – not even in Tropea.

Her passion for Calabria’s cuisine is evident in every cooking class she teaches. Her extensive knowledge of the region’s most prized ingredients and their succulent flavors create savory perfection in every homemade dish. She will talk about traditional culinary staples and share ancient recipes with you for favorite family dishes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Born and raised in Tropea, she offers guests the opportunity to eat and cook the way real locals do. You will get to see her take one main ingredient and demonstrate a variety of ways to use it. This results in an intense array of flavorful creations from simple ingredients. During her down to earth cooking lesson, you could learn to make anything: pasta, fish, meat dishes, desserts, sweet liqueurs and more! At Rosa’s, the food and the lessons are wonderfully abundant, and she is truly in her in her element as she introduces you to a vast array of tastes and treats. Before you know it, her table will be set for an incredible feast for everyone to enjoy under the cool shade trees. Soak up her captivating energy during a full afternoon of cooking and eating, and wash down her delicious local dishes with traditional Calabrian wine.

Calabrian Cuisine

Calabria’s gastronomy reflects its mixed history, the meeting of past and present represented by the region’s typical products: red onions from Tropea, chilli peppers, red potatoes and porcini mushrooms from the Sila plateaux, clementines from Corigliano, bergamot from the Reggio Calabria area, citrons from the Riviera dei Cedri, liquorice from Rossano, and olives from the Piana di Gioia. Then there are all sorts of vegetables and meat, different types of salami, the most famous the rustic nduja, a creamy pâté that is really hot and extremely delicious, pecorino cheese and so much more. Fish is also popular: the fishing of sword fish in the Reggio Calabria area is an age old tradition and it is still not uncommon to see men out on the typical boat used for fishing swordfish, felucca or lustro, characterized by a sighting platform and an extended deck. Stock fish exported from Norway has also become a classic food prepared in countless different ways all over the region. But the most typical and flavoursome kind of fish that can be tasted in Calabria has several different names, all of which mean the same thing: neonata, nudilla, rosamarina, nannata, bianchetti: newly born fish (sardines) preserved in oil and spiced up with scarlet flakes of chilli pepper. These tiny fish aren’t always available because the fishing season is limited to a specific short time in winter, so they are often conserved, and are so delicious they are known as the caviar of Calabria.

Accommodations

Your stylish bed and breakfast is situated in Tropea’s historical center and features elegant suites, a quaint terrace and easy access to the beach, shops, cafes and the artistic and historic treasures of Tropea. In such a central location, you are within walking distance to almost anywhere in the town you wish to go.

This bed and breakfast boasts six lovely rooms, including three suites and three junior suites. All the rooms have a phone, sky TV, minibar, internet access and a private bathroom. Your suite will be warm, welcoming and refined – an excellent place to relax between visits to Marianna’s kitchen.

Itinerary 5 days, 4 nights

Day 1:

• Arrival and transfer to your elegant bed and breakfast in Tropea.
• Rest from your travels and freshen up before dinner.
• Relish the flavors of your first Calabrian meal and wind down with a regional wine at the “Welcome Dinner” held in Tropea’s medieval center.

Day 2:

• Wake up, and enjoy a buffet style breakfast on the terrace overlooking the town square.
• Spend the morning enjoying a guided tour of Tropea with English speaking guide.
• Have lunch on your own at any local eatery.
• In the afternoon, Rose will pick you up and transport you to her farm.
• On arrival, you will take an extensive tour of her lush gardens and rustic farm. On your tour, immerse yourself in the beauty and fragrance as you select seasonal ingredients for your cooking lesson.
• In your first cooking lesson, you will learn how to make homemade pasta and prepare flavorful main dishes. You will get the chance to roll up your sleeves and help her prepare many courses in the Calabrian tradition including fish, meat, vegetable and side dishes. • Dine together outside. The long, country table will be full of savory Calabrian treats you created together.
• After dinner, you will be transported back to the bed and breakfast.

Day 3:

• Wake up, and enjoy a buffet style breakfast on the terrace overlooking the town square.
• Enjoy your free day by exploring the beautiful beaches of Tropea, perhaps with a picnic, or take an organized trip to Capo Vaticano (60 Euro extra charge)
• Lunch and dinner on your own
• Return to bed and breakfast

Day 4:

• Wake up, and enjoy a buffet style breakfast on the terrace overlooking the town square.
• You will have another free morning to lounge on the shore or shop in Tropea.
• Eat lunch on your own anywhere you like.
• In the afternoon, you will be picked up and brought back to Marianna’s secluded farm for your second cooking lesson.
• During this cooking lesson, you will learn family recipes for pizza (pitta in Calabrian) and some of the sweet desserts used to celebrate traditional Calabrian festivals: biscotti, fruit pies or cakes. Time permitting, she will also demonstrate how she makes her tasty liqueurs like chocolate, licorice and limoncello. Marianna loves baking and uses fresh ingredients like almonds from her garden to create sweet treats for her guests.
• After the cooking lesson, you will be transported to the bed and breakfast.

Day 5:

• Wake up, and enjoy a buffet style breakfast on the terrace overlooking the town square.
• Check out and transfer to airport or train station. Arrivederci e a presto!