Until not so long ago, in some parts of the Italian province of Reggio Calabria (in southern Italy) they used the remains of wheat and rye milling, including flour and bran that had been scattered on the ground, to make a peculiar pasta. .
It is stroncatura (struncatura, in the Calabrian dialect), a slightly black and rough pasta that is usually shaped like linguine. Of Amalfi origin, it is now an object of desire, although it is no longer picked from the ground, and has become a classic of Italian cuisine, according to what has been published Straight to the Palate.
The consumption of this pasta became popular in Reggio Calabria – more specifically in the surroundings of the city of Gioia Tauro – despite the fact that its manufacture and marketing had been prohibited, since the remains of flour and bran, recovered from the dirty soil of the mills, could only be served for animal consumption, according to the same portal.
But, in one of the poorest regions of Italy at the end of the 19th century, hunger pressed and sharpened ingenuity. Nowadays, however, it has little to do with the original version, although it continues to maintain the color and rough texture, which is an advantage for soaking the pasta with sauce or dressing.
Stroncatura is a relatively popular pasta in towns in Reggio Calabria such as the aforementioned Gioia Tauro or Palmi, where it is not strange to see it in restaurants. This is usually accompanied by very native sauces such as oil, garlic, hot pepper, salted anchovies and dry and toasted bread crumbs, which is common in southern Italian cuisines such as Calabrian or Sicilian. .
