Morzello, a Calabrian stew of bovine offal with tomatoes and the region’s famous chili peppers, is the meal that Valentina Raffaelli and Luca Boscardin remember most from their research for their cookbook Scarti d’Italia, or Italian Scraps. It’s eaten as a sandwich in a ring-shaped bread called pitta, the book explains, often “with the fans on to counter the Calabrian summer heat and the intense spiciness of the sauce.” The couple was invited to enjoy the dish with great ceremony by the Antica Congrega Tre Colli, which works to preserve the city of Catanzaro’s traditional cuisine.
“We were there in August, it was crazy hot, and this thing is super spicy — and you have to eat it quite fast because otherwise the bread starts soaking up all the sauce,” Raffaelli says. “It’s delicious, but also this circus around it is quite funny.”
Morzello
Printed with permission from Scarti d’Italia by Valentina Raffaelli and Luca Boscardin
Serves 6
Skill Level: Medium
Time: 8 hours
Ingredients:
200 grams mixed bovine tripe (rumen, abomasum, reticulum)
400 grams omasum
200 grams veal esophagus, lung, spleen, and heart
Hot chili peppers, to taste
Bay leaves, to taste
Fresh oregano, to taste
Olive oil, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
100 grams tomato paste
1 ½ liters oil-packed Calabrian chilis
2 liters tomato sauce
Bread of choice, for serving
Method:
Thoroughly clean the tripe and entrails, place in a pot full of water, and bring to a boil. Cook until all parts are soft enough to be stabbed with a fork, about 4 hours. During cooking, skim the fat that appears on the surface and set it aside. Remove the entrails from the cooking water and cut them into medium size pieces.
In a separate pan, add the chili, bay leaves, oregano, the fat kept aside from earlier, and a little olive oil and cook over high heat. Once softened, add the meat, salt, and pepper and brown well until the cooking water has completely evaporated, then add the tomato paste and the Calabrian chilis. Let fry for a few minutes, then cover with tomato sauce. After half an hour, put a whole bunch of oregano in the pot, and stir.
Adjust the salt and chili pepper to taste, and let simmer. If it dries out too much, add a little lukewarm water (preferably the water used to boil the entrails) from time to time. The morzello will be ready after about four hours.