What is Nduja?

Nduja is a spicy, soft spreadable pork salume infused with fiery chillies from Southern Italy, and here at Scarpetta, we are big fans. We love incorporating this exciting ingredient into our pasta dishes because we know there are some other fellow nduja obsessives out there, and we aim to please!

We source our Nduja directly from Calabria and use it in many of our dishes, available to try in our pasta meal kits, and in our London restaurants. This spreadable salami is a staple in Italy and we believe it makes a great addition to any dish. You must try it out for yourself if you haven’t already! 

Why do we love this Italian ingredient?

The added Calabrian chillies soften and break down the pork which leaves us with incredibly soft salumi with a flavour and texture that is different to most dry-cured, sliceable salami. This is what makes it so unique. 

Curing time doesn’t necessarily have an impact on the texture unlike a lot of other Italian sausages, however, nduja that has been hung for just a few weeks will have a more vibrant orange colour rather than a longer-aged nduja that will have more of a deep red colour. Both types are absolutely delicious and work great in pasta dishes due to their attractive colour and smooth texture. This is why we love creating Nduja pasta sauces for our authentic dishes.

This spicy spreadable sausage is becoming a lot more readily available to get your hands on and it can be purchased in several supermarkets. But, you might have to do a bit of digging to find one that's good quality. The good stuff shouldn't have any more than 3 or 4 ingredients, pork, salt and Calabrian chillies. Our Nduja comes from an authentic, trusted source and is truly delicious. 

Ways to eat nduja

Nduja is such a versatile ingredient which is one of the many reasons why we love to use it when coming up with new dishes. It easily dissolves when it comes in contact with heat which is why we love adding it to our pasta sauces for a boost of fiery flavour. Nduja can also be used in lots of other ways and can easily be incorporated into dishes you might already make at home such as risotto or added on top of pizza. 

If you’re as obsessed with the flavour as us, you might want to simply spread it on crackers or warm crusty bruschetta to experience the full depth of flavour. There are plenty of delicious yet simple starters you can make with this fiery ingredient. 

Nduja dip with grilled vegetables is an impressive and super easy starter to pull together for a dinner party. You can also add it to simple dishes such as soups, stews, scrambled eggs or stir in with pasta.

Of course, our favourite way to use this ingredient is by adding it to pasta sauces. There are plenty of simple nduja recipes you can try to make delicious pasta sauce, and many of them include minimal ingredients. Tomatoes, basil, fennel and olives are key flavour pairings.

Try our delicious Nduja at Scarpetta

You’ll always find a dish on our menu using this authentic, Italian ingredient. We love to experiment and pair it with different types of pasta, especially pici, as it soaks up the sauce perfectly.

Our Nduja and Tuscan Sausage Pici has been on the menu from the start and is one of our most popular dishes. This spicy, Calabrian sausage pasta has a deep, smokey flavour that’ll get you hooked. Be ready for the kick, as our chillies are full of flavour and there to pack a punch. Keep your eyes peeled as we regularly switch up our dishes and of course, we love experimenting with nduja.

In our London restaurants you will also find two delicious Nduja dishes. Bruschetta with Nduja, burrata and pistachio crumble, and Nduja arancini with scamorza cheese. They are both extremely popular dishes on our menu, come and see for yourself!

What is your favourite way to eat Italian Nduja?