Typical dish of Reggio Calabria
Pasta with Eggplant and Salted Ricotta, Reggio-Style
A dish that smells of Mediterranean summer: pasta wrapped in a bright, fragrant tomato sauce, enriched with soft amber-colored fried eggplant. To finish, a generous shower of grated salted Ricotta adds savoriness and character. The result is a perfect balance between the sweetness of tomato, the creaminess of eggplant, and the intense note of the cheese. It’s a generous first course, often the star of family lunches and Sunday tables along the Strait.
Season: Estate€8–12
Why it matters
In Reggio Calabria, this dish tells the story of the essence of Strait cuisine: simple, seasonal, deeply Mediterranean ingredients. Eggplants, a symbol of the southern summer, meet salted Ricotta typical of Calabrian pastoral traditions. It’s a homestyle recipe that often appears on the menus of local trattorias, representing the everyday soul of the city.
Origin story
Pasta with eggplant and salted Ricotta was born in the rural tradition of southern Calabria, where summer gardens and local dairy products provided abundant, genuine ingredients. Over time the recipe became firmly rooted in the kitchens of Reggio Calabria, turning into a distinctive variation compared with other southern eggplant-based dishes. Even today it retains its simple, rustic structure, faithful to the family cooking of the Strait.
Typical ingredients
pasta cortamelanzanesalsa di pomodororicotta salataolio extravergine d'oliva
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