‘Nduja crostini, formerly on the menu at Alta Strada. (Photo by Travis Mitchell)

Dish of the week: ‘Nduja
Where to find it: Little Coco’s, All Purpose, B Side, Pennsylvania 6

D.C. has many fine spots for sausages. The half-smoke is a local institution, and other area butcher shops and meat-loving chefs are introducing their own takes on classic sausages and house charcuterie. One of the types popping up more frequently is ‘nduja, a spicy and spreadable sausage hailing from Italy’s southern Calabria region.

‘Nduja doesn’t look or sound particularly like a traditional Italian word—because it’s not. It’s derived from the Latin term “inducere,” meaning to insert. The origin is similar to the popular French andouille, but most similarities end there.

With ‘nduja, the sausage is filled with a variety of cast-off pork parts such as those from the head, skin, and fatback. It also gets a heavy dose of dried red chili peppers for a nice spicy taste. If you’re a fan of showering pepperoni pizza with chilies or hot sauce, ‘nduja is the sausage for you.

You’ll find ‘nduja around Washington on the menus of many meat shops and Italian-leaning restaurants. Check out the cozy B Side (8295 Glass Alley, Fairfax) restaurant in Merrifield, the Red Apron offshoot where you can order poppable bites of ‘nduja-stuffed olives.

At Pennsylvania 6, it’s served with charred octopus, fennel and giant beans.

And it’s also becoming a trendy pizza topping. The bustling All Purpose (1250 9th St. NW) in Shaw plops it on the Duke #7 pizza, pairing it with a combination of tomato, mozzarella and scamorza cheeses, sweet red peppers, and giardiniera. It gets a similar treatment at Little Coco’s pizzeria (3907 14th St.), where you can order the clever “‘nduja really want to hurt me,” a pizza with ‘nduja, caramelized onions, ricotta and arugula.

Along with these menus, many chefs love to experiment with these types of things, so ‘nduja is liable to make its way into restaurants from time to time, especially as a special appetizer or crostini. If you see it on offer and like a little heat in your meat, it’s certainly worth a try.