Food Notes: 1/20

Nduja, Italian Americans, Pinsa, breadsticks with nacho cheese, and more

I spent the weekend talking about Italian American culture. So naturally there was samples of Nudja.

I just got back from the Italian American Future Leaders conference where I attended as a Visionary — aka, I’m too old to be a future leader, but not so old that I’m on death’s door.

The conference was founded four years ago in an effort to ensure Italian American cultural and heritage organizations are able to maintain membership and have experienced leaders in the years ahead as the current senior citizens age out. The young Italian Americans attending as Fellows had plenty to talk about during the day, but also enjoyed late night revelry. The other visionaries and I complained about arthritis and wondered if they could turn the music down.

The IAFL conference is co-founded by professional Italian American, John Viola, who’s also behind Red Sauce Studio and the Italian American podcast. Back in 2022, I was a guest on a two-part episode where I spoke about my book, Red Sauce. Fast-forward to December of this year when co-host Patrick O’Boyle sends a text message suggesting I apply to the conference as a Visionary. A few days later, I had been invited to the conference.

As visionaries, we heard heard presentations from the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club about participating in the local community, Casa Belvedere on Staten Island about renovating historic buildings, new exhibitions coming to the Italian American museum, and communities with small but mighty Italian American communities like Tontitown, Arkansas where they serve fried chicken and spaghetti (more on that in the future).

At lunch one afternoon, an Nduja enthusiast came around with samples (pictured above) of the spicy, spreadable sausage meat. The package came from Nduja Bella USA, a Seattle-based distributor of the Calabrian delicacy.

Calabria is a southern Italian province on the toe of Italy where spicy peppers are a mainstay of the cuisine. Nduja is just one local specialty. Made from pork and trimmings of meat, the spreadable paste is spiced with hot peppers, and every producer will have unique combination of spices, flavors, and heat level.

Nduja is often considered a precursor to American pepperoni. If you’re keeping score, pepperoni in Italian means simply pepper and has nothing to do with the dried sausage Americans top their pizza with.

If you’re wondering, American pepperoni sausage dates back to at least the 1920s when it achieves the endorsement of the U.S. Department of agriculture. But there are earlier references, if not definitive examples, such as in the The Gateway, a cultural magazine based in Michigan even mentions pepperoni sausage as early as 1908.

Nduja has been on trend in recent years, and one of my favorite ingredients. A few months back I got a large chunk of Nduja from Anthony & Son Panini Shoppe, the Brooklyn sandwich shop where the podcast Growing Up Italian, also a sponsor of the Italian American Future Leaders conference, first started out. While Nduja is often used as a spreadable condiment on crackers and bread, I like to treat it as an ingredient for more complex dishes.

I’ve made an Nduja vodka sauce, though I didn’t write out the recipe (add a tablespoon or two of Nduja to your favorite vodka sauce recipe or jarred sauce, or replace the pancetta or bacon). We’ve also created an a Nduja and broccoli rabe pasta (and there is a recipe) that’s an easy weeknight dish.

At the conference, we spread the Nduja on crostini snatched from the conference buffet table. The spicy sample seemed to delight everyone who tried it.

For now, there aren’t many importers or producers in the United States meaning its not so easy to find in local stores. Hopefully, that begins to change. But if you can’t find a local source, both Nduja Bella and the New Jersey based 'Nduja Guys ship nationwide.

The Latest

Where Have All the Vegans Gone?

Over at New York Magazine, Rachel Sugar looks into why all the vegan restaurants are shutting down. Whether its fast food like Champs Diner or haute cuisine like Eleven Madison Park, animal-free meals are disappearing.

Eating a Pinsa in New York

Pinsa is a Roman-style flat bread made from a special blend of flour. I recently ate at Montesacro, an Italian-inspired restaurant serving up the unique pizza style in Brooklyn, and one of the few places where you can find a Pinsa more generally.

Eating at a Neighborhood Diner

Also at All The Things I Eat, I wrote about the Court Square Diner, one of the last 24 hour eateries left in the city. The historic Long Island City diner has been around since at least 1946, and has been the setting for numerous television shows thanks to the nearby film studios. And at this point I can safely call this part of a series on the diners of New York, with more in the works.

Eater Slices More Staff

The empty shell of a website that was once Eater has once more sliced off more staff, reports Ryan Sutton. What was once one of our favorite destination sites has been reduced to rehashing old content, and New York City’s local Eater site, while still showing up with interesting stories, is feeling like its been on Ozempic a little too long. Also according to Sutton, a staff member on parental leave was let go too, which should be made illegal.

Fiber in Your Coffee? Its More Likely than You Think

Move over whole sticks of butter, the fiber trend is coming for coffee. Fibermaxxing, when you try to reach and exceed the minimal daily fiber intake, has taken off like protein did a few years ago. Now supplements are coming for your coffee, reports Joy Saha.

Indiana Apparently Eats Breadsticks with Nacho Cheese

Apparently, its actually a thing. Okay, I’d try anything once.