Terranova di Pollino: Gastronomy

Every celebration has its traditional dishes. The pork festival, for example, combines the ‘jumniliare’ celebration with the taste of typical sausages, pork underbelly, ham and other cold pork meats. Local cheeses are also very tasty, and their taste is brought out by spices and by the natural forage, animals are fed with all year long. More discriminating palates can also taste the Christmas fried pastries called ‘cuscinetti’ (little pillows, pastry filled with a cream of chickpeas and cocoa), ‘crespelle’, ‘cannolicchi ‘and the Easter ‘chizzole’. Not to be missed a first course of ‘ferrazzuoli’ or ‘rascatelli pasta’ (hand made pasta), seasoned with tomato sauce cooked with meatballs of beef, salami or lamb. Another typical recipe is ‘ciambottelle’ (fried peppers, onions, tomatoes, sausages and eggs), that is used to fill in a home made loaf. Those who like to discover old tastes can try the ‘ingrattonato’ (minced tripe boiled in broth with cheese, eggs and plucks) and the ‘coscia di zita’ (young lady’s thigh, a whole leg of lamb cooked on the brick-oven or in tomato sauce).

Rivello: ‘Soppressata’

‘Soppressata’ or ‘soperzata’ is a high quality kind of pork made cold meat, typical of Basilicata. Almost all the villages in Basilicata have their own tradition in making soppressata, but some have very refined techniques, and Rivello certainly is one of them. The parts of the pork used for making it are the best ones (fillet and thigh muscles) and only pigs bred according to tradition are used. The meat is hand cut with the system called ‘a punta di coltello’, it is then worked on until it becomes a homogenous mixture that cubes of lard, salt and grains of red pepper are added to. This paste is then made into sausages and let dry under pressure for 24 hours. Every single piece weights about 200 gr. The maturing lasts from 4 to 5 months. Finally, this meat is lightly smoked. After this, the soperzata can be stored in terracotta or glass vases, in olive oil or in pork fat, in cool places. When cut this cold meat is bright red with white cubes of fat. Its smell is fragrant and slightly spicy; its taste is delicate and sweet.

Moliterno: The Pecorino

Since the foundation of this mediaeval centre its inhabitants have worked in the field of sheep-breeding and of dairy farming. Nevertheless, it is only since 1700 that this activity became a proper technique organised for producing pecorino cheese. This cheese is made with 2/3 of sheep’s milk and 1/3 of goat’s milk. Its shape is cylindrical, with flat faces. It can be made in different sizes and can weigh from 1 to 8 kg. Its rind is hard, lined and yellow-red in colour. It is a soft, fat, light yellow cheese. Its full taste is almost hot. It takes about eight months to mature, during which the rounds are periodically turned and greased with oil and vinegar. The cheese festival certainly is one of the most representative celebrations of Moliterno. The first festival was in August 1982 and it is repeated every year on the first Sunday of August.

Filiano: The Pecorino

The cheese produced in Filiano is made from the milk of sheep that are bred in pastures. For producing this cheese, the shepherds from Filiano still use traditional techniques. The milk that comes from two milkings, the morning one and the evening one, is heated in a big pot on a high flame, until it reaches 35-36 degrees, and then some natural cheese rennet is added. When the mixture has curdled, it is broken in small pieces and left for a while. The dough is then separated from the whey, put in shapes and hand-pressed to make it denser and to get rid of the remaining whey. After a 3/4-day rest, the shapes are salted, using some brine, and are then left to mature for about a year in a cool and ventilated place, at constant temperature. The product shows a cylindrical shape, with flat sides, hard and rough rind, white or yellowish dough, weighting from 2 to 8 kg.