Local Dishes

1. u brocciu

   Brocciu — fresh whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk

   Usage

   Corsica's signature dairy product, protected by an AOC. It is eaten plain or used in savoury dishes and pastries, and worth trying when you see it on a menu

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; another spelling is brucciu. Strictly it is made by heating whey rather than curdling milk, so it is set apart from ordinary casgiu (cheese)

2. u fiadone

   Fiadone — a cake made with brocciu, sugar and eggs

   Usage

   A classic Corsican dessert, often served at the end of a restaurant meal

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; another spelling is fiadonu. The diminutive u fiadunettu is a small tartlet

3. u figatellu

   Figatellu — a sausage made from pork liver

   Usage

   A Corsican speciality sausage, usually grilled and eaten with eggs or polenta; ask the staff how they serve it

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; other spellings are ficatellu and figateddu. Because it contains liver, check before ordering if you dislike liver

4. u lonzu

   Lonzu — charcuterie made from pork loin

   Usage

   A regular on Corsican charcuterie boards, served thinly sliced as a starter

   Grammar Note

   Masculine. The same form also exists with another meaning, a dull person, but in a food setting it is the cured meat

5. u prisuttu

   Prisuttu — Corsican ham

   Usage

   A leading Corsican cured meat, eaten on charcuterie plates or in bread

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, meaning ham. Other spellings are presuttu and prizutu

6. a panzetta

   Panzetta — salt-cured pork belly

   Usage

   A Corsican pork product with a protected geographical indication (IGP), sliced as a starter or used to flavour dishes

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, meaning salted pork belly. The same word is also used for the top of trousers

7. a pulenda

   Pulenda — polenta made with chestnut flour

   Usage

   A brown polenta of chestnut flour and water, usually eaten with fresh cheese, brocciu or figatellu

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; other spellings are pulenta and polenda. It is not written like Italian polenta

8. l'aziminu

   Aziminu — Corsican fish soup made with several kinds of rockfish

   Usage

   A fish soup served at seaside restaurants, said to need at least seven kinds of fish

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; u becomes l' before a vowel. It can also be called suppa di pesci (fish soup)

9. a falculella

   Falculella — a brocciu pastry baked on chestnut leaves

   Usage

   A baked treat made with brocciu; ask for it by name at markets and pastry shops

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; another spelling is farculella

10. i canistrelli

    Canistrelli — simple traditional Corsican biscuits

    Usage

    A popular souvenir biscuit, eaten with coffee or wine

    Grammar Note

    Masculine plural; the singular is u canistrellu. In the south the form canistreddi is also used

11. l'imbrucciata

    Imbrucciata — a brocciu fritter or tart

    Usage

    A brocciu-based fritter or tart; use the name to ask for it at a pastry shop

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; a becomes l' before a vowel. Another spelling is imbrocciata

12. a suppa di fasgioli

    Bean soup

    Usage

    A warm soup made with beans; use the name to ask about it on a menu

    Grammar Note

    Suppa (soup, feminine) + di + fasgioli (plural of fasgiolu, bean). The exact ingredients vary from place to place

13. u salamu

    Salami — cured pork sausage

    Usage

    One of the Corsican pork charcuterie items, served on boards or with bread

    Grammar Note

    Masculine; another spelling is salame

14. u casgiu niulincu

    Niolu cheese

    Usage

    A cheese made only in the upland Niolu region, found on cheese boards

    Grammar Note

    Masculine casgiu (cheese) plus niulincu, an adjective formed from the region name Niolu. The similar casgiu calinzanincu is the cheese of the Calinzana area

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