History of Calabrian tonnara and two families that carry on an ancient tradition. And a super recipe to prepare at home, a gift from chef Giuseppe Romano
For years a Pizzo Calabro the most important were active tonnare of the Calabrian coast. Then, in 1963, when they closed, hundreds of fishermen and experienced tuna fishermen had to change jobs: there were those who emigrated, those who embarked on the large merchant ships, those who with difficulty continued the small fishing or those who, still, started doing the fishmonger. And then there were those who continued the ancient tradition of tuna processing, like the family Ceravolo or the most famous company Callipo, which has its headquarters and origin right here.
Mediterranean red tuna and Ikejime technique
Among those hundreds of experts there was also Nicola Ceravolo, a small merchant who had long bought fish on boats to sell it to the markets. Years and years of experience and knowledge of the sea that could not be thrown away like this: for this reason his son Pino and his nephew Francesco give life to the company Marpescal, or to continue this family tradition to expand it and renew it continuously. First of all, they were among the first to find new places to catch Mediterranean bluefin tuna: "We really chased it with tuna!" Says Francesco. Then today the company also stands out for being the only one in Italy to work tuna with the Japanese Ikejime technique, easily recognizable by the cut on the fish's neck. The Ikejime, in fact, is a special procedure that allows the interruption of the nervous flows of the spine, which cause the degradation process to stop, thus preventing the quality of the meat from being ruined by the spread of toxins. Furthermore, all subsequent operations, such as washing or evisceration, are carried out on board; This allows the organoleptic characteristics to remain completely unaltered. Finally, thanks to a large catch with the longline system, they have also extended fishing times, as well as having implemented reproduction. So today this dynamic, innovative sprint company sells everywhere with total traceability, from local restaurants such as Me by Giuseppe Romano (of which a recipe with their Mediterranean tuna will follow), up to Milan and Japan, thus continuing a family tradition that, even if in different forms, times and ways, has been going on for more than 50 years.
Callipo
Perhaps not too many presentations are needed for one of the biggest tuna processing companies in Italy. But if this, in large retailers, has always been considered among the best in circulation, there will be a reason (since it is also the favorite of Rais degli Almamegretta). And the reason lies precisely in the historicity of this company, which has its roots in 1913, when the founder Giacinto Callipo was the first in Calabria and among the first in Italy to box Mediterranean tuna, fished with the system of "fixed traps". If once everything was done manually, today thanks to the help of new machinery things have changed, but not too much: in fact, to be so large, much of the work still takes place entirely by hand, in particular with the hands of women who traditionally they have been dealing with cleaning for years. But that of not delocalizing the production is a precise precise of Callipo, always very careful to guarantee the quality of a made in Italy product. So, if due to availability, today most of the tuna that arrives is yellow fins from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian ocean, it is also true that for 106 years all the processing phases have been carried out in Calabria, with a fundamental implication social, which in this way generates local work and therefore the possibility of remaining.
A special recipe
There is a perfect dish for the summer, which tastes more of Calabria than ever and that best enhances a quality product such as Mediterranean tuna. It is the excellent tataki that prepares the great chef Giuseppe Romano with Tropea onion gelée, Reggio Calabria bergamot crumble and wasabi candy.
Ingredients
280 g of bluefin tuna tuna
1 kg of red Tropea onion
3 tablespoons of apple vinegar
Salt to taste.
extra virgin olive oil q.b.
1 g xantana
mint q.b.
For the crumble
20 g of almond flour
80 g of 00 flour
100 g of cold butter
40 g grated Grana Padano cheese
Salt to taste.
1 bergamot
confetti of wasabi
Method
Pour the flour into the mixer with the grated parmesan, the chopped cold butter, the rosemary and a bit of salt, operate the blades for a few moments, just for the time necessary for creating a sandy mixture. Distribute it evenly on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake in a static oven at 160 ° for 15 minutes (or in a ventilated oven at 140 ° for 10 minutes). When cooked, take out the crumble and add the buffing of the bergamot peel and let it cool.
Put the sliced onion in a pan with a liter of water, vinegar, salt and mint and let it stew until it is soft and cooked.
Pass it to the blender and add the xantana making it turn a few more seconds; then let it rest. In the meantime, cut the tuna into 70 g cubes and blanch on the plate for a few seconds on both sides, leaving the central part with its natural color.
For the dish place at the center of the plate a spoonful of gelée on which you place the tuna cube, a little crumble and finally crumble the wasabi confetti.
Calabrian wines
In combination we recommend one of the best white wines of the region, or the Lamezia DOC Vegan of Statti, a blend of 50% Greco bianco and 50% Mantonico, two indigenous varieties of the Lametine territory. In addition, the Statti winery is one of the few, if not the only Calabrian, to have a circular economy, or to have developed a whole recycling and recovery system that also produces electricity, with only vegan wines, for a Calabria more green and sustainable than ever.
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