Morzello

Morzello is a traditional dish hailing from Catanzaro. Known in local dialect as morzeddhu, it's made with calf's tripe and offal, tomatoes, hot peppers, bay leaves, olive oil, and oregano. The ingredients are simmered over low heat for at least a couple of hours.

Traditionally, morzello is eaten with a local ring-shaped bread called pitta. The pitta is sliced open and the morzello is stuffed inside like a sandwich, known as morzello in pitta. In the past, the workers used to eat it during their morning breaks.

Regarding morzello itself, there is a popular legend that attributes the dish to a widow named Chicchina who was hired to clean a courtyard after the slaughter, and instead of throwing the offal away, she used them to make Christmas dinner for her children, and morzello was allegedly created this way.