TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Fileja con 'Nduja e PomodoroFileja with ’Nduja and Tomato
Calabrian handmade fileja pasta with tomato sauce and fiery ’nduja from Vibo Valentia. Made with pork fat and chili, this spreadable salami melts into the sauce, releasing intense heat and savor. A dish that fully expresses southern Italy’s culinary character.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
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Ingredients (4 servings)
- Fileja, handmade spiral pastaShape by wrapping dough around a thin rod, such as a knitting needle.400 g
- ’NdujaVery hot; adjust the quantity to taste.100 g
- Canned whole peeled tomatoes400 g
- Red onionFinely chopped.1 piece
- Extra virgin olive oilFor sautéing (3 tbsp).45 ml
- Calabrian pecorino (sheep’s-milk cheese)50 g
Method
Make the fileja
- 1 Knead 400 g durum wheat flour, 200 ml water and 1 tsp salt and rest for 30 minutes.
- 2 Wrap the dough around a thin rod to form short spiral pasta.
Ready when
The fileja are shaped into spirals.
Sauté the onion and ’nduja
- 1 Finely chop the red onion.
- 2 Sauté it in a frying pan with 3 tbsp olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- 3 Add 100 g ’nduja, breaking it up as it cooks until melted into the fat, about 3–4 minutes.
Ready when
The ’nduja has dissolved and combined with the fat.
Caution
’Nduja is spicy; adjust the amount.
Add and reduce the tomatoes
- 1 Add 400 g whole peeled tomatoes and reduce over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Ready when
The sauce has reduced and thickened.
Boil the fileja and dress
- 1 Boil the fileja in salted water for 8–10 minutes.
- 2 Toss with the sauce.
- 3 Sprinkle with 50 g pecorino.
Ready when
The fileja are cooked and dressed with the sauce.
About this dish
Calabria occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula, a steep land where the Apennines reach the sea. Its food culture has 2 symbolic ingredients: fileja, handmade pasta, and ’nduja, spicy spreadable salami. Fileja takes its distinctive shape by winding dough around a metal rod; removing the rod leaves a tubular spiral.
’Nduja combines pork with large quantities of Calabrian chili and is soft enough to spread at room temperature. Heating melts its fat and turns it into a sauce. Combined with tomatoes, it is perfectly caught by fileja’s twists.
Calabria’s chili culture spread the idea worldwide that Calabrian food is spicy. In reality, complex sweetness and savor coexist within that heat. It is a completely different matter from using chili solely for fieriness.
Bring the full course home next weekend.
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