What is Cucina Povera?

Literally translating to “poor kitchen”, cucina povera is a style of cooking from rural Italian peasants. The recipes and traditions that come out of this style of cooking are about making more with less. They are about no waste, being resourceful, using everything, and eating seasonally. 

Originally, this wasn’t a choice for Italian peasants. This was the only way they could afford to eat. It relies on a lot of cheap, filling carbs such as pasta and polenta, legumes such as lentils and beans, lots of vegetables across the seasons, and very little meat. After all, meat is an expense! Any meat would have traditionally been cheaper cuts that were more affordable at the butcher's. This cuisine is almost an art of turning basic cheap ingredients into delicious meals. Giulia Scarpaleggia describes it as l’arte dell’arrangiarsi, or the “art of making do”. It’s almost a ‘fend for yourself’ mentality. You have the ingredients and now you have to make a meal.  

Many Italians would argue they don’t cook a certain way, this is the only way they know how to cook. As mentioned, it wasn’t a choice in post-war Italy and they had to make do with what they had. Italians are very good at maintaining seasonality in their cooking (unlike the US and UK). They had no choice but to use what was on offer in the shops or in their gardens.

Cucina povera is mainly from central and southern Italy, where rural and poorer communities were typically more common than in the industrial North. Areas like Puglia, Campania and Tuscany are the homes of many of these recipes

How To Cook: Cucina Povera

Reduce waste

Everything you think you can’t use can always be repurposed into something else. Old bread and breadcrumbs are turned into pangrattato. Wilted greens are pounded into a pesto. Vegetable peelings and scraps are turned into stock. All of these are then added into other recipes. Pesto is tossed into pasta and scattered with pangrattato. Risotto is made with fresh vegetable stock for a filling, nutritious meal as is the core of cucina povera.

Eat locally and seasonally

A long time ago, the idea of eating a strawberry in January or a tomato in March was unheard of. This was mostly because Italians grew their own fruits and veg and therefore, it was impossible to grow strawberries in the depths of winter, for example. They would grow a lot themselves, as well as trade with neighbours for other ingredients they couldn’t grow. It’s a sustainable way to eat even if you can’t grow your own food. Eating locally saves on food miles which has a big impact. This is a big part of cucina povera.

Experiment with meat

Whilst we have the luxury now of walking into a supermarket with everything pre-packaged and neatly arranged, rearing your own animals or the local butchers are the 'cucina povera' options. This meant nothing was wasted and they ate ‘nose to tail’ - every part was used. This is why dishes like ragu were popular as they relied on a long cooking time to make the cheap, tough cuts of meat nice and tender. It’s why salumi is popular in Italian cooking too, as it uses fat and offcuts. Additionally, salumi is cured, ensuring longevity to use throughout the season.

Classic Cucina Povera recipes

Pasta e Fagioli

Inspired by Stanley Tucci, this Pasta e Fagioli is a filling and cheap pasta recipe full of beans, cavolo nero, and canned tomatoes. It’s an absolute staple in la cucina povera, with each region having their own version. 

Pasta e Ceci

Pasta e Ceci is a classic Italian dish. Cheap and filling, full of vegetables and no meat. Of course, our recipe is elevated with lashings of parmesan and crispy sage leaves however it would have often been made without. All you need are just good chickpeas and pasta as the main base. 

Pasta Alla Puttanesca

Spicy and warming, Pasta Alla Puttanesca is a cucina povera staple, since it uses so many jarred ingredients. Serving with burrata is not traditional in this cooking style but I do love the cooling, creamy burrata with the fiery sauce.

Salumi

Salumi refers to Italian cured meats in general, so this includes prosciutto, bresaola, coppa, soppressata, pancetta, mortadella and nduja, to name a few. The curing process preserves the meat so it lasts a long time out of the fridge, something many Italians did not have. The curing also concentrates the saltiness, to boost flavours in what would otherwise be bland vegetable dishes. Something like soppressata and ‘nduja (from Calabria) are especially relevant to cucina povera, as they were made from a mix of offcuts and fat to produce a delicious cured sausage or spread.

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