'Nduja: Salame Piccante Spalmabile... Spicy Spreadable Salame.

If you like spicy food, you must have a little taste of 'Nduja, a type of spreadable spicy pork sausage made with different meat cuts from the pork's head (but not the guanciale-jawl), trimmings, paprika, spices and roasted peppers, which give 'Nduja its characteristic taste.

It is typical of the Calabrese cuisine, mainly that of the town of Spilinga, in the province of Vibo Valentia (located 30 minutes from Tropea, a must-visit historic town on the east coast of Calabria), similar to chorizo and andouille with roots in Spain and France.

[(Italy was once dominated by both these countries and Austria (1600-1800). "I Promessi Sposi" (The Betrothed), a classic, historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827, describes the 1630 plague of northern Italy, particularly in Milan, during the oppressive Spanish rule as well as social, religious and political themes, including the struggles of a couple, Renzo and Lucia-the betrothed-whose love wins over the misery that others had inflicted on them aimed at destroying it. Their love story was turned into an opera by Amilcare Ponchielli (1856) and Enrico Petrella (1869) and made into a movie (1969) and for television.)]

You can spread 'Nduja on warm or toasted slices of bread, serve it with cheese, olives, prosciutto and marinated artichokes or add it to home fries and onions served with sausage and mushrooms like I did. Some swear that 'Nduja is excellent in pasta sauce... Arrabbiata sauce, perhaps, 'Nduja style?

Its spicy, unique taste makes it suitable for all sort of platters. Just don't forget the wine!

Enjoy it!