What to eat in Crotone: typical dishes not to be missed

Are you in the "City of Pythagoras" and want to try something typical? Follow us on a flavour trail and discover what to eat in Crotone.

A city suspended between the sea of the Costa dei Saraceni, the Sila Greca and the Marchesato area, Crotone offers visitors the products of its varied territory, bringing the sea and mountains to the table.

Let's taste the typical dishes of Crotone together on a delicious trip.

Also known as "Rosamarina", "'Nduja di Pesce" and "Calabrian Caviar", Sardella Crotonese is one of Crotone's most famous dishes. What is it? To find out, let's take a stroll along Crotone's Seafront and around the harbour, among the fishermen who deal with this tasty treasure of the sea every day. The origins of sardella seem to date back to the garum of the ancient Romans, just like the famous "Colatura di Alici" from Cetara. The queen of the Crotone table, sardella is prepared according to a recipe handed down from generation to generation: the main ingredient is small blue fish (bianchetto or nunnàta, 'neonata'), to which are added Topepo peppers, a more or less spicy variety of Calabrian chilli pepper shaped like a cherry, dried in the sun or in the oven and chopped, salt and wild fennel flowers. Everything is pressed into a barrel and left to mature until it becomes a spicy cream, which can be spread on fresh bread and bruschetta as it is, or used as a condiment in Crotone typical dishes.

Another product not to be missed during a visit to the city and its surroundings is Pecorino di Crotone PDO. Among the world-famous Calabrian cheeses, Pecorino Crotonese is a genuine food that combines the Sila mountains with the beautiful Ionian coast: a hard, semi-cooked cheese made exclusively from whole sheep's milk. The flocks graze in the fields of the Sila and among the picturesque Calanchi del Marchesato from September to June, providing fresh, aromatic milk, to which goat rennet paste is added. After salting, the typical basket-shaped wheels are left to mature for between 60 and 90 days in slightly ventilated rooms or sandstone caves. At this point, Crotone Pecorino is ready! Excellent to eat on its own or paired with typical Crotone dishes, grated or melted.

Among the Crotone products with the PDO label is the excellent Alto Crotonese Oil, a true distillation of health and goodness that makes Crotone one of the most important Oil Cities in Calabria. The Protected Designation of Origin is attributed here to extra virgin olive oil obtained from the Carolea variety, unmistakable to the eye and palate, perfect for eating raw, on a slice of bread, and as a condiment for the main typical dishes of Crotone.

After sampling local products, let's discover what to eat in Crotone in the province's restaurants, including Michelin-starred restaurant that combine innovation and tradition. We start with a great classic, Cavatelli al Ragù di Maiale, tasty homemade gnocchetti pasta served with meat sauce and the inevitable pecorino cheese, before moving on to the king of Crotone's typical dishes: u Quadàru e Pìsci (literally, 'fish casserole'), a succulent soup made with fresh fish in the Crotone style. It seems that the original recipe is very old, dating back to Magna Graecia, and combines various types of fish (sea bream, prawns, papotola, weever, fasciano) with a particularly aromatic seaweed, known in these parts as Sea Lettuce, all seasoned with PDO Alto Crotonese Oil, peeled tomatoes and hot chilli pepper. The perfect bread to accompany it? Obviously Cutro Bread, one of the finest Calabrian breads. How to end a meal based on typical dishes from Crotone? With Crùstuli, fried soft wheat pastries soaked in sugar and cooked wine.

The entire menu of typical dishes from Crotone can only be accompanied by a selection of fine Cirò and Melissa CDO wines, in addition to a taste of Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto TGI and Val di Neto, with their typical flavours. It cannot be otherwise! We are in the wine-growing region that has made Calabria famous throughout the world, with its fine grape varieties rooted directly in the soil of Magna Graecia (Gaglioppo, Malvasia Nera, Nocera, Nerello Cappuccio and Mascalese).