Sausage and Friarielli: The perfect combination of Neapolitan cuisine

Sausage and Friarielli it is a classic of Neapolitan cuisine, a perfect combination, an always well accepted combination that is on one Pizza, a sandwich, a simple main course, or why not, even with pasta.

According to some, the name friariello derives from the Spanish “frio-grelos” (winter broccoli), while others believe that it derives from the Neapolitan verb frijere (to fry). Grown exclusively in Campania, the friarielli, which grow in the areas of Naples, are difficult to find in other areas of Campania and Italy.

In ancient times the hills of Posilipo and above all of Vomero (which was called "O colle de 'friarielle") they were full of vegetable gardens and land cultivated with this tasty leafy vegetable. 

Today the broccoli are mainly grown in Campania, especially in the Neapolitan, in Caserta, in Sarnese, and in some areas of the Piana del Sele.

In the period of greatest poverty, Neapolitan women, nicknamed "Zandraglie", they went to the kitchens of the nobles, where i "Monsù", or the cooks from beyond the Alps, offered food scraps, such as the entrails of poultry and animals. It was a way to cope with hunger but it was not always possible to find something.

At this point, the Neapolitans realized that to ensure their daily food they would have to focus on humbler and poorer foods, such as turnip greens. Thus they began to gather the unopened flower clusters of the turnips and to cook them, adding the lard, "A nzogn", to give flavor. Today the lard has been replaced with extra virgin olive oil.

To obtain an excellent plate of sausage and broccoli, the choice of the latter must be very careful. Get them, cook them in extra virgin olive oil with garlic, salt and hot pepper, accompany them with a delicious and succulent grilled sausage and you will certainly not be disappointed.