The ‘Grupariata’ from Luzzi and the Myth of the Little Dove

A special, bread-like focaccia, around which a sad legend unfolds, and which is celebrated every year in Luzzi with a big festival.

The finished grupariata, fresh out of the oven. Mmmm!

Many of you probably know focaccia from Tuscany or schiacciata siciliana from Sicily.

Less well-known, however, is grupariata from Calabria — more precisely from Luzzi, a village at the foot of the Sila mountains. Luzzi, nestled between the green slopes of the Sila and the wide Crati Valley, is known for its hospitality and simple, flavorful cuisine. I’ve often seen this dish at friends’ houses in Luzzi, and since it’s a true local specialty, I wanted to take a closer look and try making it myself.

My friend Concettina was kind enough to share her family recipe with me, and I’m already looking forward to the next time we see each other — we’ll make grupariata together then.

Soft, moist, and easy to make — grupariata is one of those dishes everyone will love, and it goes well with almost anything.

The story of Palummella — which in the Luzzitan dialect means “little dove” — has a sad yet noble origin. According to legend, a childless couple from Luzzi adopted a little girl from a convent, where she had been left by her biological parents because she was allegedly the illegitimate child of the local noble family. Grateful for this gift from God, the couple named her Donata — “given by God.”Donata, also called Palummella, was an exceptionally beautiful girl. To protect her from the envious gazes of others and to prevent her from meeting the noble’s son, she was hardly allowed to leave the house. She could only go to Mass, always with her head covered.

Even so, Donata’s seclusion could not prevent her from meeting the noble’s son, and they fell in love. But this love could not be, for Donata might herself be the daughter of the noble family.

To be able to visit his beloved, the young man asked a witch to transform him into a dove, so he could reach Donata whenever he wished.

One day, he visited his Palummella, who was just coming back from the garden with a basket of freshly picked tomatoes. Palummella did not expect the dove and was startled, causing all the tomatoes to fall to the ground. Not wanting to waste them, she mixed them into the bread dough she had already prepared.And so grupariata was born — with peeled tomatoes becoming a key ingredient of the recipe.

Donata’s parents enjoyed this new bread with the mixed-in tomatoes very much. But when Donata’s father learned that the dove had frightened his daughter — and suspected it was the noble’s son — he immediately grabbed a weapon and shot the dove.Palummella could not believe what had happened. She picked up the little dove and, in her despair, threw herself off the balcony of the house

Despite this sad story, grupariata is still a cause for celebration! La Notte Rossa is a festival held once a year in Luzzi, dedicated to grupariata. The streets fill with music, performances, and food stalls, and as a grand finale, there is a contest to crown the best grupariata.

But what does grupariata actually mean? In the Calabrian dialect, grupu means “hole.”

When the dough for grupariata has fully risen and is placed in a round baking pan, small holes are made in the dough with the fingers. These holes are then filled with cherry tomatoes and anchovies, giving the bread its distinctive look and flavor.

Let’s take a closer look at grupariata!

What do we need?

• 800 g peeled tomatoes (canned is fine)

• 1 kg flour

• 50 ml olive oil (for the dough)

• 1 tbsp oregano

• 2 cloves of garlic

• A pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper

• Optional: cinnamon

• 20 g brewer’s yeast

• Sweet and hot paprika

• Optional: chili pepper (peperoncino)

• Anchovies

• Cherry tomatoes (pomodorini)

  
  

How to make it:

1. First, prepare a round baking pan and grease it well.

2. Warm the peeled tomatoes in a pot and dissolve the brewer’s yeast in them. Add the spices and finely chopped garlic to the sauce. Gradually add the lukewarm sauce to the flour until you have a soft, not too firm dough. You can add spices according to taste, depending on whether you want the grupariata to be spicy or mild. I added a generous pinch of peperoncino.

3. Cover the dough and let it rest for 2–3 hours until it has risen.

4. Then place the dough in the round baking pan and make small holes in it with your fingers. Fill these holes with the cherry tomatoes and anchovies, and sprinkle generously with oregano.

5. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Cover the grupariata with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour with fan (convection) on. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

6. Serve the grupariata warm or lukewarm.

   

   

   

It goes perfectly with an aperitivo, as an antipasto, or as a snack in between. Today, I’m having it with a salad for dinner.

Not so difficult, right? Would you like to try making grupariata too? Write and tell me how it turns out!