L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES N duja, pronounced "an-du-ra" or "an- du-ya" depending where you are in I t a l y , o r i g i n a t e s from a Calabrian village called Spilinga, the original home vil- l a g e o f o n e o f m y N o n n a s . Spilinga is located in the Cal- abrian province of Vibo Valen- tia. It is a very small antique vil- l a g e s u r r o u n d e d b y R o m a n aqueducts, many caves, sheep herders, and home to the largest production of nduja. N d u j a i s o f t e n c a l l e d t h e Nutella of the south because of its spreadable consistency and p o p u l a r i t y . I t h a s b e c o m e increasingly well known around the world in recent years, but is normally a specialty item not found in many grocery stores so we thought we would share with you Nonna Pina's adapted ver- sion. Traditionally, it is made with pork shoulder, trimmings, the fatty underbelly area and parts of the head, all ground together and mixed with a large quantity of hot peppers and salt. It is then lightly smoked and cured in a hog intestine. Southern Italians have a crazy love affair with hot peppers so be prepared - hot means hot! You would typically see this spread on bread but its new-found fame has it appearing on menus around the world in various forms. Today some com- mon modern uses of nduja are in pasta sauces and on pizza. Many chefs use a dollop as a secret ingredient to give that mysteri- ous punch to a dish. This is one of those Italian foods that is arguably best from its place of o r i g i n , s o i f y o u e v e r g e t a chance to buy or try nduja from Spilinga, Calabria, you are in for a treat. Being one of the most typical Calabrese foods, it was on the top ten list of "foods I missed when I left Italy'" for Nonna Pina. This is one of those things that any family member coming from or going to Italy would bring back to her as a special treat. She eventually started making her own version, omit- ting some of the fat and pig head. This is a great example of how Italians living in different parts of the world have adapted some of their traditional foods and recipes. Sometimes it is a result of what's available and other times it's because they like t o e x p e r i m e n t a n d t r y n e w things. This is not spreadable like the original nduja and once cured it can be sliced like sala- mi. Nonna Pina also preserves half-pound portions of the pre- pared pork mixture in the freezer for use in other dishes such as pasta with nduja and anchovies or pizza with nduja. It's even great just fried up and eaten with a chunk of crusty bread. Her recipe calls for 40 pounds of ground pork shoulder howev- er, we will halve the recipe for you below. The ingredients are simple, but it does require that you purchase a whole shoulder so that you can retain the skin and fat. Butchers will often trim off some of the fat before selling the shoulder so be sure to tell them that you need it intact. Nduja Style Salami Ingredients: ● 2 0 p o u n d s g r o u n d p o r k shoulder ● 1 cup salt ● 2 pounds ground pork fat ● 2.5 pounds pork skin with a bit of fat attached ● 10 cups finely chopped or puréed hot red peppers of your choice Instructions: 1 . C l e a n t h e p o r k s k i n b y washing it and scraping it with the flat side of a knife. Place in a pot with just a little water, about 1-2 cups, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. 2. Drain and let cool. 3. Once cooled, grind together with the pork fat. 4. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl or container and mix with hands to combine. You may want to wear gloves as the hot peppers may irritate your hands. 5. Put this mixture through t h e m e a t g r i n d e r w i t h a # 1 2 plate. 6. Place the mixture into a large bowl or container, cover, a n d s t o r e i n a c o o l p l a c e overnight. The next day prepare your sausage and salami casings by washing them thoroughly and leave them soaking in a bowl of w a t e r w i t h a s l i c e o r t w o o f lemon. Assemble your sausage stuffer with the appropriate size funnel for your casings. For the sausage casings: begin stuffing them, but do not worry about twisting them into links. Keep o n e h a n d o n t h e c a s i n g a s i t comes out of the stuffer to con- trol how much you stuff them. You do not want to leave air pockets, but you also don't want to overstuff or the casing will break open. Once you are fin- ished the section of casing, tie off desired length links with string and hang in a cold cellar to cure. The salami casings are much larger. Each one is stuffed full, tied off on each end and pricked with a sewing needle various times. Again, make sure they are nicely packed without air pock- ets. Once they are stuffed, place t h e m b e t w e e n t w o p a n s o r pieces of plywood and cover with an old tablecloth or paper towels. Put a weight on top of them for one week turning them once every day. While under the weight, it is normal for some moisture or liquid to leak out. Change the paper towels or cloth if need be. After one week they are ready to hang in the cold cel- lar. Curing time can range from 4-6 weeks depending on the con- ditions of your cold cellar. If you a r e u n s u r e , c u t o n e o p e n t o ensure they are cured before storing. A vacuum sealer ensures an airtight seal and stops them from continuing to dry out. Store t h e m i n a c o l d c e l l a r o r t h e refrigerator. Nduja has become increasingly well known around the world in recent years. Photo: Nonna's Way Nduja ingredients: pork meat, declined in all ways possible, and spices. Photo: Nonna's Way ANNA ROMANO & ANGELA DESALVO Nduja Style salami

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