Homemade is Michelina Natale’s cooking watchword. Born in 1933 in a town called Piscopio, in the southern Italian region of Calabria, she emigrated to Australia in 1962, explains her granddaughter, Linda Alam. Calabria is known for its cucina povera, a term that refers to the tradition of taking the simple local ingredients that were available in the once poverty-stricken region – fish, pork, eggplant, tomatoes, onions – and creating delicious (and thrifty) dishes.
Homegrown and homemade may have been the only option for many Calabrian cooks, but they’re famous for being able to transform necessity into a virtue. “Nonna Michelina is an amazing cook,” confirms Linda. “All her children and grandchildren love to eat her food.”
And she credits her nonna’s other skills, those of gardening, animal husbandry and, crucially,…