Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski
A few years back I found my mom's first cousin on Facebook. My g-rents died young and we lost touch with all her relatives. The guy still has his family's home in Calabria, in the tiny village of Caulonia, on the Ionian Sea. Dinner were mostly him* or friends cooking. Each morning I'd wake to the fish monger driving along the one road that snaked through town "Pesche! Pesche!" We'd go down and buy what looked best. The dishes were wonderful and, bonus, they were family recipes from my great grandma. But then one night he made tuna pasta. Now I was confused because the fish monger had fresh tuna that morning, it is plentiful in the Ionian, but we hadn't bought any. This I-tie takes out a CAN of tuna fish and sautes it with tons of garlic and peppers. It is something we make to this day. I love it, but cannot get an answer why they don't use fresh tuna? Calabrese? Testa dura.
*He owns a Calabrese restaurant in Adelaide and goes to Caulonia for July and August. It is the only Calabrese restaurant I have ever found outside Calabria. Yes there are some "Calabria Pizza" restaurants near you; me too, the closest sells Chicago style zas. And no, the "Calambrian _____" pasta at your local is not Calabrese food likely. Mostly that just means they stick lots of peppers in it.
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I’ve never tried to make a dish with canned fish. But I eat it all the time. Patagonia makes tasty mussels in a few sauces, and various brands of smoked oysters and clams in olive oil are excellent. You can also get varieties of octopus in tins, and it’s good. But that animal is too smart to eat from a tin. Seems wrong.
