Basilicata
Basilicata is a southern region bordering Campania to the west, Puglia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. The region has two short coastlines; one on the Tyrrhenian Sea to the southwest, the other on the Gulf of Taranto of the Ionian Sea to the southeast.
Basilicata is named after King Basilikus of the Byzantines, who occupied the region after the Greeks and Romans. The Romans had called the region Lucania, a name which is still used in some contexts.
Historically, Basilicata has been a very poor province, with both a lack of fertile land and of coastline. The cuisine is therefore very simple, and makes use of whatever is available in the best possible way. One example of the simplicity of traditional fare in Basilicata is its bread soup, a most humble soup which provided shepherds their nourishment. All that went into the soup was water, onion and garlic, some potatoes, chile, some greens, and the bread.
Being a barren, mountainous land, Basilicata is not blessed with a lot of fertile land, but it does manage to grow eggplants, sweet peppers, citrus fruits, and olives. There is some game in Basilicata, such as wild boar and rabbit, and pork is also big. Chestnuts, pistachios, and mushrooms often accompany the meats. A fair amount of spices are used in Basilicata – the pork is often flavored with juniper berries and cloves; the chestnuts with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. The Southern Italian agro dolce (sweet-sour) taste is found all over the region, with red wine vinegar and sugar or honey used to finish many dishes. Another mark of Southern Italian cooking, the chile pepper, is also embraced by the cooks of Basilicata, who infuse them into their olive oil. The beloved spicy oil, called olio santo, or sainted oil, is drizzled over toasted bread, tossed in pasta, and used to finish soups such as the shepherd’s bread soup.
With only a little coastline, sea fish does not play a large role in Basilicata cuisine. However, the region’s freshwater lakes and rivers provide trout, which are often dressed with garlic and herbs, wrapped in a layer of pancetta, and roasted.
Basilicata’s regional specialty foods include oven-dried olives, salami such as lucanica and soppressata, a highly-smoked sausage called capocollo, and several cheeses: Provolone, Caciocavallo, Mozzarella, cream and cottage cheese, and a Pecorino made with sheep’s and goat’s milk.
