Fish and seafood

Tuna bottarga

Vibo Valentia tuna bottarga: roe salted and pressed by hand in terracotta

The tuna traps that once lined the coast between Tropea and Pizzo left behind this preserve: the roe sac of the tuna, worked with nothing but salt. In May and June it is brined, packed in salt in terracotta pots weighed down with stones, then dried in the sun and wind. Only a few small Calabrian workshops still make it, and it is listed as a traditional agri-food product (PAT).

• Deep pink and creamy, reflecting the rich flesh of trap-caught tuna
• Sweet on the palate, with a gentle scent of the sea
• Two ingredients, roe and salt, and every step done by hand

How to enjoy it. Along the Vibo coast it goes over spaghetti, one of the tuna dishes served by restaurants near the old Bivona tuna trap at Vibo Marina.

Production areas

Calabria

Season

Production: May, June

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