The ethnic minorities of Calabria and their traditional dishes

One of the most pleasant ways to get to know the traditions and identity of a people is to sit down at the table and prepare one's palate for tasting, all the more so if the people in question belong to an ethnic minority that generously offers its own typical recipes.

Calabrian gastronomy, for example, enriches its culinary offerings with the traditional dishes of the three ethnic minorities present in the territory, from north to south. These communities are attentive to preserving and enhancing from one generation to the next their respective histories, traditions, folklore, typical customs, language, rituals and, of course, the ancient recipes of yesteryear.

At table with Occitans, Italo-Albanians and Grecanics

Let's discover this ethnic cuisine together on an itinerary that takes us to meet the Occitans of the Waldensian religion in the province of Cosenza; the conspicuous Italo-Albanian community (arbëreshë) spread across the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro, and the Grecanic community in the province of Reggio Calabria.

The Waldensians preserve intact their typical customs, festivities, rituals and precious language of Romance origin, just like the communities of the Arbëreshë villages, which preserve the festivities of the Greek-Byzantine rite accompanied by traditional songs (vjershë) and dances (vallje), and the Grecanics, with their pagan processions, the Griko of Calabria and the sound of the Calabrian lyre.

Each of these ethnic minorities brings its own identity to the table, ranging from the recipes of the poor cuisine of the Mediterranean to the spices of the East, in a sensory journey that takes us across time and space.

A few examples? The "must-tries" for each of these communities are cassoulet, dromësat and lestopitta.

Ethno-gastronomic itinerary

The suggested itinerary stops in some of Calabria's main ethnic minority localities, recommending traditional dishes not to be missed and what to visit in their respective areas, from the north to the south of Calabria.