Typical Sea Food Dishes from South Italy / Calabria with the family

Last summer we decided to spend our holiday with family in the south of Italy.
The first leg of our journey started in Rome. We landed in Rome's Fiumicino Airport at about noon where my brother and sister where waiting for us to start our long 6-hour drive to Calabria.

Italians don’t mind long car trips. My brother and sister live in the region of Tuscany. In the heart of Chianti to be precise, in very beautiful town called Impruneta. They had already been on the road for 4 hours to make it to Rome.
We took off from Rome, drove south to Napoli, passed the famous volcano Vesuvio until we finally made it to Calabria.

Calabria’s landscape is breathtaking, mainly mountainous with wild, dense forests on one side and the dramatic Mediterranean coastline on the other.

Now this trip was not a cultural trip by any way. It was all about family quality time in the sun, the beach, the 6p.m. aperitivo, and the good Italian meals. The highlight of nearly every trip.

Crystal clear Mediterranean water

Buddha Beach

Amazing view of the Mediterranean sea and Dino Island from the house

Let's not forget the 6pm aperitivo. Selection of the finest local prosciutto, mortadella, salumi, and local cheese.

The region is rich in typical products like olive oil, sweet red onions of Tropea, and red hot chili peppers which constitutes nearly in every meal in Calabria. And being a land of fishermen, sword fish and tuna-based dishes are very common in the region along with shrimp, scampi, and squid.

Photo courtesy italybyevents

These are some of the dishes we had on this very memorable trip:

Seared Tuna on the grill with fresh arugula and balsamico

Sword fish and eggplants

Scampi / vongole with fresh homemade pasta

Baccala (cod fish) with a zesty olive oil sauce, mixed with herbs and red peppercorns

Shrimps with black truffles

Another typical lunch

Thank you all for taking the time to read my post, I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to reading your comments.
Please do tell what your favorite dishes were!!