Macco di Fave Secche con Cicoria Calabrese

Calabria

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Origin

Calabria — Vibo Valentia and Catanzaro provinces, widespread throughout the region

Description

Calabrian purée of dried split fava beans (similar to the Pugliese fave e cicoria but with Calabrian character) — a thick, almost porridge-like fava purée enriched with olive oil and served with pan-wilted wild chicory (cicoria selvatica di Calabria) passed in olive oil with chilli. The Calabrian version diverges from the Pugliese in the use of more aggressive chilli heat in the cicoria and the addition of 'nduja (optional but traditional in the Vibo Valentia area) stirred into the fave purée for a spicy, deeply flavoured alternative. Also called 'macco' — the term for a broken-down bean purée.

III

The Thread

—The same fava purée and wild chicory combination — the Calabrian macco adds 'nduja and more aggressive chilli heat as regional differentiators Pugliese

—Dried fava beans cooked to a purée as a staple — the Mediterranean-wide fava tradition of which both macco and ful medames are expressions Egyptian

—Dried fava purée enriched with oil and served with bitter or spicy accompaniments — the Levantine fava tradition parallel to the Calabrian one Syrian

Flavour Context

Earthy, starchy fava base with olive oil richness; the 'nduja version adds spiced pork fat heat that transforms the mild legume into something vivid and assertive — Calabrian flavour intensity applied to a humble base

Pillars V — VII

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