QUALITALY_134

May/June 2023 XIV MAGAZINE Basento, Cavone, Agri and Sinni rivers, which all flow into the Ionian Sea), the fruit and vegetable sector is particularly flourishing: typical autumn-spring crops are strawberries, artichokes, cauliflowers, fennel, peas, salad, while the spring-summer cycle is dominated by tomatoes, watermelon, aubergine and peppers. A STROLL THROUGH THE SPECIALITIES There are many protected products, one of which is the Senise pepper, a typical variety from Senise, a municipality in the Potentino area that overlooks the Sinni valley and the Agri river. It is a type of pepper with a pointed hook or trunk-like shape, sweet and thin, with a low water content. It varies in colour from green to purple-red when ripe and is characterised by its size and thin flesh. It can be dried by stringing it into necklaces. Once dried, they can be fried in plenty of extra virgin olive oil to obtain the crunchy and fragrant ‘ peperone crusco’ , ideal for garnishing pasta dishes, red meats, boiled potatoes, fried eggs, salt cod or pizza, pasta with sauce, with garlic, oil and chilli peppers or with fried crumbs. ‘I often use the crusco pepper in both first and second courses, both meat and fish dishes,’ says Giovanni Chiaromonte. ‘Excellent in spaghettoni rigati profilati al bronzo with salt cod and crispy crumbs, and in spaghetti with squid ink with local ricotta or with canestrato di Moliterno cheese and pistachio from Stigliano. Another typical local fruit and vegetable product is the melanzana rossa di Rotonda (red aubergine from Rotonda), which is different from the common one because it is small and round and vaguely resembles a tomato. The consistency is still spongy like the purple aubergine but the flavour is slightly spicy and bitterish. Native to Africa and tropical Asia, the red aubergine was imported to our country in the 20th century by veterans of the colonial wars and here in Basilicata, in the countryside around Rotonda, it has found its ideal habitat. Unlike the common aubergine, this one does not blacken even hours after cutting and has an intense, fruity aroma reminiscent of prickly pears. Thanks to the support of farmers and institutions that have promoted its cultivation and consumption, it obtained the PDO mark in 2007. Another crop, a fruit, a natural cross, grown in the Metaponto area, is the Candonga strawberry , very fragrant with a particularly sweet taste . Conical and elongated in shape, the flesh is firm and juicy, red inside and out. It contains little sugar and calories; it is rich in vitamin C, folic acid (vitamin B9), potassium and fibre, which is why it is often recommended for low-calorie diets. Planted in October, it starts producing fruit from January until June, which is why the fruit is also called January strawberry . “It doesn’t happen everywhere, but in the Metaponto area we don’t just eat strawberries as a fruit or a dessert, we also use them as an ingredient in some first and second courses,” says the chef from Policoro. “For example, with strawberries I make risotto with purple prawn tartare or I combine it with scallops and raw scampi.” Among the vegetables grown ‘and frozen’ in Basilicata are artichokes, which, with 75 thousand quintals, cover more than 50% of the Italian frozen artichoke market, followed by leaf vegetables, aubergines, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, fennels, courgettes, cauliflowers and asparagus. 15 years ago it was this that prompted the Orogel cooperative group, Italy’s leading producer of frozen vegetables, to make Policoro the second Italian centre for frozen food production after Cesena. FROM VEGETABLES TO PULSES If we leave the Metaponto area behind us and head north, the landscape changes, the horizon is interrupted by hills or mountains where, on whose slopes, a number of villages and rural settlements appear, frequently separated from one another by geographical barriers, rivers, lakes and forests that, especially in the past, conditioned their traditions and cuisine. The inhabitants of the various villages ate only what the surrounding countryside produced and it often happened that many local dishes, the most common ones, varied from one village to another. Legumes and cereals, which until the end of the Second World War were consumed only by farm labourers, who could not afford meat, fish and cheese on a daily basis, are still the real protagonists of Lucanian inland cuisine. ‘Mashed broad beans with sautéed wild chicory and crusco peppers is a must in traditional Lucanian cuisine,’ says Giovanni Chiaromonte. ‘Excellent as an appetiser but also as a side dish, with sliced Scottona lucana beef or Podolica beef from the free- range farms in the Tricarico and Accettura area. LOCAL EXCELLENCE In the 1950s, thanks to the economic boom, the agri-food and livestock sectors grew steadily and the dairy industry underwent a remarkable surge. It was then that Lucanian breeders and institutions began to safeguard the native breeds of pigs and sheep. Among the local sheep varieties, the best known is the Agnello della Dolomiti Lucane (Lucanian Dolomites lamb), which is on the list of Italian products protected by the PAT - Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (Traditional food product) label. The Agnello delle Dolomiti Lucane must be reared exclusively in a semi-wild state on holdings that must have special requirements imposed by law on the housing, feeding and slaughter of the animals. The Podolica , on the other hand, is the oldest breed of cattle that has best represented the hilly and mountainous landscape of the region for centuries. Its figure is linked to the history of the Lucanians, so much so that it has become the symbol of their identity, like the banner of the city of Matera. The Podolica cattle is numerically the most important breed among the Italian species (about 25,000 head bred in Basilicata). This is why the Provincial Breeders’ Associations of Matera and Potenza, in collaboration with the ASP - Associazione Sistema Podolico (Podolica Network Association), have for some years now been carrying out a capillary activity throughout the region, offering technical and health consultancy to companies, to guarantee food safety and