Make This Spicy Prosciutto Prayer Immediately
There are very few dishes or moments that cannot be enhanced with the addition of fat, salt and heat, which may explain the popularity of nduji , the spicy, almost bright red pork salumi that appears everywhere on the menu.
While nduja can be found in some Italian grocery stores, it is not quite ubiquitous in most parts of the United States and is probably easier to make on your own. “Self-cooking” can mean two things: you can go the full fermentation-raw-pork route, or you can be like me and cheat your way into kindness with pork, salty and fatty. To create this fiery-fat approximation, I use Calabrese for the characteristic sausage aroma, Prosciutto di Parma for a rich, nutty, aged flavor, and Calabrian chili for warmth. To hire one yourself, you will need:
- 2 ounces Calabrian salami
- 2 ounces Parma prosciutto
- 6 or 7 Calabrian chilies (you can find them in oil)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or better yet lard
Mix everything in a food processor and grind until smooth, then spread over many things; it is especially good on crunchy bread with spoonfuls of cooling ricotta. Aside from the meat board, this material also shakes when placed in scrambled eggs, added to pasta sauce, or placed on pizza. I also dipped pizza crusts into nduju straight from the fridge, which made me very happy.