There are regional dishes that are so closely linked to their origins that they become symbols of a city or area. One of the most striking examples in Calabria is the morzello or morzeddhu from Catanzaro. This is the dish made of intestines, immersed in a thick spicy sauce and cooked for hours.
I make my way to the city’s last real putica: Trattoria 2T Di Talarico.
Although there are not many places to find morzeddhu anymore, the legend lives on. Several organisations exist to promote the dish, such as the Compagnia del Morzello, for example. Then there is also the association Contea D’o Morzeddhu Catanzarisa, which organises meetings and small events every year. Finally, there is also the Antica congrega dei tre colli, which welcomes new members every year with an initiation ritual. They then wear an official apron and have to be able to answer general knowledge questions about morzello. Membership is official only after they smear their chin with the morzeddhu sauce, thus stamping their admission form.
Salvatore: “Morzeddhu is a speciality that one eats at home, in a trattoria, or as street food in Catanzaro, strictly by hand.”
Giusy: “People used to use just about all the intestines of the beef in the morzello preparation. In recent years, we only use 4 quinto quarto parts of the animal. These are trippa, centopelli (the leanest part of the beef stomach), heart and lungs. We cook the meat for a very long time and then cut it into fine pieces. In the sauce, we put water, olive oil, tomato concentrate, origano, salt and chilli. The more peperoncino in the sauce, the tastier we always say,” Giusy concludes with a broad smile.
Address: Trattoria 2T Di Talarico, Via Alessandro Turco 16, Catanzaro
