Ciambotta is popular throughout southern Italy, from Naples south[4] and many parts of Argentina going by the name "chambota". There are many individual and regional variations of ciambotta, but all feature summer vegetables.[4][5][2] Italian eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, potato, onion, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil are common ingredients.[3][4][5]Ciambotta is most often served as a main course, or alongside grilled meats, such as sausage[4][5]orswordfish.[4] It is sometimes served with pasta, polenta, or rice.[6]
Ciambotta "is a member of that hard-to-define category of Italian foods known as minestre, generally somewhere between a thick soup and a stew".[1] It is frequently likened to the Frenchratatouille;[1][7] both are part of the broader family of western Mediterranean vegetable stews.[2]
^ abcdefgAnthony F. Buccini, "Western Mediterranean Vegetable Stews and the Integration of Culinary Exotica" in Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2005 (ed. Richard Hosking: Prospect Books, 2006), p. 132-34.
^ abcdeJoyce Goldstein, Italian Slow and Savory (Chronicle Books, 2004), p. 260.
