Sacla' Italian Calabrian 'Nduja Pesto, 90 g, (Pack of 1)

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But before I tell you all about ‘nduja, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you find our guide to Calabria’s spicy pork paste helpful or you’ve cooked our recipes and enjoyed them, please consider supporting Grantourismo so that we can keep producing delicious recipes and food stories. You see this pesto is actuallymade from 'Nduja, which is a particularly spicy, hot Italian salami. Similar to Spanish chorizo but hotter and made with plenty of local roasted hot red chilli peppers.

Baked to perfection, the gnocchi absorbs the flavoursof the sauce while retaining their tender interior. The dish emerges from the oven with a beautifully bronzed top that promises a delightful crunch with every forkful. As you delve into this culinary creation, you’ll find the heat of the ‘Nduja harmonising with the warmth of the oven-baked gnocchi, creating a balance that’s both comforting and exhilarating.

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As ‘Nduja cooks, it releases an intensely piquant pepper infused oil, that merges with the gnocchi and tomato sauce.

Bring a 20cm or 8" saucepan of water to a boil and season it generously with salt (1½ teaspoons for a pan this size). While it’s thought that the name ’nduja, which might once have been ‘anduja’, suggests that the Calabrian specialty was derived from the French ‘andouille’, which might have been introduced to Calabria in the 13th century by the Angevins, the only thing the two sausages share is that they’re smoked. So what is ’nduja? The spicy sausage paste is a traditional Calabrian pork product that originated in the village of Spilinga in the province of Vibo Valentia in Southern Italy’s region of Calabria. Calabrian food is fantastic and the region is a tantalising culinary destination that’s famous for everything from its fiery red peppers and sweet red onions from Tropea to its fantastic wild mushrooms. Sleepy Spilinga sits on a plateau in the Calabrian province of Vibo Valentia, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. If you imagine Italy’s boot-shaped peninsula, Spilinga sits on top of the big toe. While there are a few historic sights to see, there’s not enough to hold you here for a night. Nduja is so much more intense in flavour, which is why another theory suggests that ’nduja is related to sobrasada from Spain’s Catalan island of Mallorca. While sobrasada is certainly a closer cousin, it’s worth noting that Italy has soppressata Calabrese, from Calabria, and sobrasada is actually like a cross between ’nduja and soppressata. How Do You Pronounce ’Nduja

Moskin writes how “in 2009, nduja was the spicy underground taste that went mass market, making it the Lady Gaga of pork products. If nduja didn’t already exist, it might have been invented in a lab as the perfect food trend: it combines nose-to-tail eating, pork, smoke and chili heat.” She noted that it had been called “flaming liquid salami”, “spicy pork butter” and “the spreadable Italian love child of pepperoni and French rillettes”.

While in Rome we tested out a couple of local tours and experiences, including a fantastic Italian language lesson cum Italian wine class, and a walking tour that took in some of Rome’s finest and oldest shops for Italian gourmet specialities. When we mentioned to our lovely guide that we were heading to Calabria next, she asked if we’d tried nduja. In Calabria, ’nduja is typically made with just a few ingredients: the pork shoulder, pork belly and tripe of Calabrian pigs, local salt, and roasted spicy red peppers from Calabria, which give the sausage paste its vibrant red colour. As this is an extremely filling pasta dish all you really need to go with it is a simple Mediterranean green salad of some mixed lettuce leaves and chopped assorted peppers.

Both the ‘Nduja and pesto have quite intense flavours, so I love adding a dash of crème fraîche to help balance everything out (namely the spice from the ‘Nduja). It also enhances the creaminess of the potato itself. This recipe was inspired in part by one of my favourite bloggers, Half Baked Harvest and her Baked Gnocchi Bolognaise recipe. I had never really thought about doing a gnocchi bake before, but it makes complete sense. Especially as pasta bakes in our house are few and far between.

My notebook from our guidebook research trip has a note beside a list of Calabrian specialties that ’nduja had been pronounced ‘dooj-ah’ by the woman I chatted to at a stall selling ‘salumi Calabrese’ – cured meats, sausages (salsiccia) and salami such as soppressata di Calabria, all handmade locally – at a morning market in seaside Diamante. Why Is Everyone Talking About ’Nduja Again? Over the next few weeks – or as long as our precious Calabrian sausage paste lasts! – Terence is going to be sharing some of our favourite ’nduja recipes. As Terence publishes his recipes, we’ll tell you more about how you can use nduja and add links here.Gnocchi: There’s no need for a particular type of gnocchi, nor brand. Use Gluten-Free, traditional, or any other flavour that has captured your eye. Spinach gnocchi is an amazing alternative in this recipe!