Terra da fotografare - Emilia Romagna Tourism

Transcription

Emilia Romagna
I Tasting the Tradition
Emilia Romagna
I
Tasting the Tradition
“Losing touch with a dish from the past means sacrificing a small part of ourselves”
as the famous French gastronome Brillat-Savarin wrote in the 16th Century.
These words are more true than ever, with today’s fast taste and lifestyle mutations
imposed by the globalisation.
The food with it’s rituality, full of emotion, mixes well with the appreciation of culture
and environment, especially in this region with its strong tradition of flavours,
a popular heritage which people are proud to share and pass on to the young ones.
Thanks to the scent and flavour of a dish of delicious food with a good wine,
the traveller will experience the profound sense of hospitality, culture and joy
of living, which has always characterised Emilia Romagna.
Driven by these considerations we have taken a journey through memory
in search of “lost flavours”, inviting people from Emilia Romagna to rediscover
the old family recipes, which might have been forgotten or proudly archived
in the drawer, and send them to the editorial office of the Tourist Information Site
of Emilia Romagna.
A lot of people welcomed the invitation. The result is a precious recipe book
representing the varied and rich gastronomic panorama, which is expressed in many
ways from the traditional village fair to the initiatives of “The Wine and Food Routes”
- and representative of the flavours and tastes of this region.
We invite you to try the challenge of one of the dishes published in this book,
or one of the dishes published on the regional website, or even better, come here
for a visit and taste a sumptuously laid table in Emilia Romagna.
Guido Pasi
Regional Tourism and Commerce Councillor
Regional Councillor for Tourism and Commerce
3
The recipes in this book are also available on the regional website
(www.emiliaromagnaturismo.it) in the section dedicated to gastronomy,
together with other received recipes that were not chosen for publication
in this volume.
Breads and Flat Breads
Onion Gnocco
Fried bread recipe from Southern Modena. Used in place of bread or
as a tasty snack. Particularly enjoyable in the cold season, tastes
nicer if baked in a wood-fired oven.
Ingredients: 500 g of flour, 1 cube of fresh brewer’s yeast, a pinch
of cooking salt, milk as needed, 100 g of pork fat (lard) coarsely
minced, 1 big yellow onion. Serves 4.
6
For the dough: melt the yeast in a little warm milk, then bind it
with the flour adding more hot milk, add the pork fat and ultimately
the salt. Once the dough consistency is appropriate, knead it with
a rolling-pin for at least 10 minutes. Add the chopped onion while
still kneading the dough, then cover with a cloth and leave to rise
until doubled in size. Roll out the dough in a round greased baking
tin and bake the “gnocco”, ideally in a wood-fired oven, at 170°,
for around 40 minutes.
Substitutions: the pork fat can be replaced with minced ham fat.
Sent by: Rosina Verrini - Carpi (MO)
Pignoletto dei Colli bolognesi
Gnocco ingrassato
Recipe from Modena and Reggio. It was formerly known as “rancid
gnocco” because it used to be prepared with the last scraps of ham.
The fried bread is to be served with cubes of Mortadella ham. It is
approx. 6 cm high.
Ingredients: 500 g of white flour, 100 g of minced bacon, 1 small
cube of fresh brewer’s yeast, approx. 250 g of warm fizzy water,
3 tbsp. of oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar.
For the dough: blend the yeast in the warm water and pour it in
the middle of the flour placed on the pasteboard in a well.
Add the oil, the salt, the sugar, the bacon and blend them into
the flour with the tips of your fingers, then knead vigorously
for about a quarter of an hour. Shape a cake, slightly flatten it
with the palm of your hand and leave it to rise in a covered bowl.
Grease and flour an oblong baking tin and roll out the dough to
a thick layer. Leave to rise in a warm place for around half an hour,
then bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° for approx. 30 minutes.
“
7
The “gnocco” was sometimes
cooked under the embers and
eaten by peasants after mucking
out
the stables in the morning.
“
Substitutions: instead of bacon, use ham or the traditional garlic
pesto of the “crescentine”, made up of lard, rosemary and garlic.
Sent by: Maria Rita Vivi - Sassuolo (MO)
Lambrusco
Flaked Gnocco
It is a time-honoured fried bread recipe, typical of Southern Modena.
Ingredients: 700 g of flour type “0”, 2 small cubes of fresh brewer’s
yeast, 50 g of olive oil, 150 g of lard, 50 g of grated Parmesan
cheese, salt, 1/2 l of warm water.
8
For the dough: Put the flour on the pasteboard, make a well,
add the olive oil, the water where the yeast has been dissolved,
the salt and work into a dough. Once a fairly soft mixture
is obtained, roll it out with the rolling-pin into a layer of around 80
cm. across. 80. Spread the lard, which must be at room temperature,
on the layer of pastry and sprinkle with cheese. Fold the four sides
of the pastry towards the centre. The square thus obtained must be
folded 2 more times, until a shape of approx. 30 x 30 cm
is obtained, which must be rolled out again with the rolling-pin
(to the size of the pan in the oven). Cut into the “gnocco” with a
knife, prick many times with a fork and put in the mould previously
greased and floured. Cover with a cloth and leave it to rise
in a warm place for about an hour. Bake the “gnocco” in a 200°
pre-heated oven for around 40 minutes.
Sent by: Morena Grandi - Massa Finalese/Finale Emilia (MO)
“
My grandmother used to make
this “gnocco” on Sundays
and my family,
very traditionalist, still prepares
it today.
Thank you very much
for teaching me how to prepare
this dish, since it is not cooked
anymore even in our area.
You can find it in some
bakeries in Finale Emilia,
or eat it in some small
restaurants with cold cuts.
“
Gutturnio dei Colli piacentini
Ricotta Bread
Recipe from Modena. According to the different areas, these breads
are also called “zaletti” or “pastine”.
Ingredients: 1 kg of flour type “00”, 500 g of mountain ricotta
cheese or 300 g of ricotta cheese and 50 g of Parmesan, 140 g
of fresh whole eggs, 300 g of fresh whole milk, 30 g of brewer’s
yeast, 30 g of extra-virgin olive oil, 30 g of refined sugar, 15 g
of salt. Serves 4.
9
For the dough: Meld the yeast with the warm milk and blend it
into the flour along with all the other ingredients. Leave it to rise
for 10 minutes. Bake at 180° for approx. 20 minutes.
Substitutions: the ricotta cheese can be replaced with Parmesan
and the dough can be flavoured with spices or herbs to taste,
e.g. black pepper, chives, red pepper.
Sent by: Davide Dalloco - Chef of the Hotel
and Catering School of Serramazzoni (MO)
Grilled Piada
It is a kind of piadina (flat bread) once very popular in Southern
Romagna, particularly in the Lughese area; its peculiarity lies in
the cooking, which takes place on a grill, on wood embers.
It is usually served as an accompaniment of pork or goat meats,
also cooked on the grill.
10
Ingredients: 1 kg of soft wheat flour type “0”, 2 small cubes
of fresh yeast, 150 g of suet, 1 level tbsp. of cooking salt,
1 pinch of sugar, 1 1/2 glass of water or milk. Serves 6/8.
For the dough: Put the flour on the pasteboard and make a well.
Dissolve the yeast and the sugar in a glass of warm water, dissolve
the salt in the remaining water, gently melt 100 g of suet and work
everything into a very stretchy dough. Make a ball that easily comes
off the hands (if the dough is too soft grilling would not be possible)
and sprinkle it with a light coat of flour. Slightly cut with a knife into
the top of the dough to shape a cross, cover with a soft cloth
and leave to rise in a warm place for around 2 hours.
Slice the dough in half and roll it out with the rolling-pin into two
rounds about 6-7 mm thick and about 30 cm across.
Put the two pizzas in a covered warm place and leave to rise
for another two hours. Prick with the fork tines and brush the suet
over the side that will rest on the grill, then the other,
before you turn it over. Brown for approx.
15 minutes on a very low heat.
Substitutions: the fresh brewer’s yeast can be replaced by
the freeze-dried one, a sachet equals to a small cube.
Sent by: Luigia Savorelli - Lugo (RA)
Sangiovese di Romagna
Starters
Canapés with hop buds pâté
The “bruscandolo” is the terminal bud of the wild hop-plant.
Ingredients: 200 g of hop tops, 120 g of tuna, 1 tbsp. of capers,
1 hardboiled egg, 10 pitted olives, slices of bread. Serves 4.
12
For the dough: Steam the hop tops, then whisk them along with
the tuna, the capers, the olives and the hardboiled egg,
until a slightly rough purée is obtained.
Cut the bread into small slices, spread the purée on them
and decorate with a boiled hop top.
Sent by: Daniela Paglierini - Berra (FE)
Chardonnay dei Colli di Parma
Small Sea Snails
Recipe from Rimini. The small sea snails, as well as the Pelican’s foot
shells, are very tasty typical dishes of Rimini’s maritime tradition.
In the old days, when people lived in poverty but there were plenty
of this shellfish, they used to be eaten as a second course, dipping
a lot of bread in the sauce.
Ingredienti: 1 kg of small sea snails, 4 tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil,
1 sprig of wild fennel, cooking salt, pepper, a touch of red chilli
pepper, 1 glass of dry white wine, 1/2 stock cube,1/2 lemon zest,
2 generous tbsp. of tomato purée, 4 garlic cloves.
Preparazione: Rinse the sea snails many times, then put them
in a large baking tin, pouring while still cold the oil, the stock cube,
the tomato purée, the wild fennel, the lemon zest, the whole garlic
cloves and the red chilli pepper. Cover the snails in water, up to two
fingers above their level. Leave the snails to simmer, covered,
for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Half an hour before the end of
simmer, adjust the flavour with a little cooking salt, adding a little
water if it has dried out. Once cooking is complete, the water shall
have evaporated but shall not have dried out, so that the bread
can be dipped in the sauce. Sprinkle a little fresh black pepper
and serve with canapés, toasted separately, and toothpicks to pull
out the meat of the shellfish.
“
13
The kids used to have a really
fun time, because they could eat
using their hands, since
the snail’s meat is taken out with
a toothpick.
Nowadays, the small snails
are served in fish restaurants
as a starter.
“
Ricetta segnalata da: Lea Bernabei - Rimini
Pagadebit
Raviggiolo Cheese
Produced in the Upper Savio Valley and all the Tuscan-Romagnolo
Apennine.
Ingredients: 1 litre of milk, freshly taken and preferably cow’s milk,
40 g of liquid rennet, salt.
14
For the dough: Raise the milk temperature to around 35/37 °C,
add the rennet and a pinch of salt. Stir to mix the ingredients well,
but as little as possible. Allow to set in the same pot, until it starts
thickening. This will take around 30 minutes (time also depends
on the room temperature).
Afterwards, taking care to break the curd as little as possible,
put the “raviggiolo” in a metal or wooden ring approx. 20 cm
across, which is placed on a plate containing fern’s withered leaves.
The ferns are used to separate the whey, formed during the ripening
of the cheese, from the cheese. After approx. 12 hours, turn
the cheese on the other side, placing it on the ferns and slightly
seasoning the surface with salt. After 1-2 days it is ready to eat.
“
The “raviggiolo” was the winter
cheese. In fact, since milk
was less nutritious in that season,
it was more suitable
to produce fresh cheese
than mature cheese.
“
Substitutions: sometimes goat’s milk was added.
Sent by: Melita Teverini - Bagno di Romagna (FC)
Albana secco
Zucchini Tart
Courgette recipe from the Modena Province. The tart must be cut
into cubes and served warm or cold, as a starter; it can be
accompanied by other savoury tarts or fry-ups.
Ingredients: For the shortcrust pastry: 200 g of flour, 100 g of
ricotta (goat’s cheese), 100 g of butter, salt to taste. For the filling:
500 g of sliced and buttered zucchini, 2 whole eggs, salt to taste,
pepper, 1 200 g mozzarella cheese cut into small dices, 1 generous
handful of grated Grana cheese, 1 mould 24 cm across.
15
For the dough: Prepare the shortcrust pastry with the abovementioned ingredients and line the mould with it, keeping some
to make the strips used to close the tart. Prepare the filling with
the zucchini, the beaten eggs, the mozzarella dices, the Grana
cheese, salt and pepper and then pour it over the pastry, criss-cross
the strips (prepared and baked at 180° for around 40/45 minutes)
to form a lattice on top of the tart.
Sent by: Anna Cavazzuti - Pozza di Maranello (MO)
Riesling Italico dei Colli bolognesi
Tortelli on the Slab
Typical recipe of the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennine (also popular on
the Tuscan side of the hills). It is a filled pasta dish historically
cooked by the poor, based on ingredients which could always be
found in the area. It is considered a single dish, indeed in the old
days it was used either as a snack or for dinner.
16
Ingredients For the pastry: 1 kg of soft wheat flour, water, salt.
For the filling (reward): 1 kg of potatoes, 200 g of lard, 2 eggs,
2-3 garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste.
For the dough: Prepare the “reward” with the potatoes, boiled
and mashed, add the eggs and season with a mixture of lard
previously sautéed with garlic. With a rolling-pin, roll out a round,
thin pastry, prepared by blending the flour with water and salt.
Spread the “reward” evenly on one half of the pastry, fold the other
half over and seal the edges of this “crescent” with a wheel.
Press the rolling-pin over the filled pastry in order to shape a regular
criss-cross with squares of 10-12 cm per side. Run the pastry cutter
over the marks left by the rolling-pin, pressing with your fingertips
close together, in order to seal and cut each single “tortello”.
Lay them on a hot stone slab located on the fireplace embers,
for 3-4 minutes, until the “tortello” is slightly burnt on the surface.
Nowadays it is more common and practical to cook the “tortelli”
on the earthenware baking tray (used also for the “piadina
romagnola”), placed on the cast iron plate located on the gas
cooker or on the hot plate of the stove.
“
The “Tortelli On The Slab”,
very popular in the Upper Savio
Valley, used to be eaten
as a full meal, without anything
else, just a glass of wine.
Every household used to prepare
them (and still does) in large
amounts, to feed all the family
for several days and be offered
to guests.
“
Substitutions: according to the season and the area, the “reward”
can be made with potatoes and pumpkins in equal parts, or adding
cabbage or even delicious “carlines” (the wild thistle growing in
the meadows at high altitudes).
Sent by: Ilve Martelli - San Piero in Bagno (FC)
Pasta Courses
Cappellacci with Ricotta Cheese
It is a typical recipe of the Ferrara area, where you can still come
across grazing flocks of sheep (sheep’s ricotta cheese is tastier than
cow’s). According to tradition, the stuffed pasta squares must be
seasoned with butter, sage and grated Parmesan; gluttons prefer to
have them seasoned with a tasty meat sauce and grated Parmesan.
18
Ingredients for the dough: 3 handfuls of flour, 3 eggs.
For the filling: 300 g of sheep’s ricotta cheese, 400 g of spinach
or silver-rib Swiss chard, 150 g of grated Parmesan, 1 egg,
2 pinches of salt, ground nutmeg. For the seasoning:melted butter,
sage, grated Parmesan. Serves 4.
For the dough: Cook the spinach in very little salty water; cool,
then drain well and finely chop it. Place it in a bowl, add all
the other ingredients and mix well. Work the flour and eggs into
a dough and knead for 10 minutes. Roll out the dough with
the rolling-pin or using the pasta machine up to the penultimate
notch. Cut the strips into many 9 cm sided squares and stuff
them with an adequate amount of filling, then fold into a triangle
by joining opposite corners and make sure that the edges are well
sealed in order to prevent the mixture from coming o.
To perfect “cappellacci”, grab the corners on the longest side of
the triangle with your thumbs and index fingers and seal the two
tips by raising your left hand and lowering your right hand.
Ultimately, use your right thumb and index finger to raise
the remaining corner. At this point, place them on a floured wooden
board or table-cloth to prevent sticking. Boil water in a large pot,
add salt and drop each square of “cappellacci”.
When they float to surface, remove them little by little and dish up.
Season with melted butter, sage and grated Parmesan.
“
Like “cappellacci” with pumpkin
or “cappelletti” with meat,
they are made one by one, thus
requiring a long time.
They are not an everyday dish,
but are prepared on special
occasions. Daughters-in-law,
sisters-in-law, sisters, son’s
and daughter’s mothers-in-law,
even husbands or grandparents
at times, used to gather
to prepare “cappellacci”,
making this a very socialising
moment. They were made
in great quantities so as to meet
the needs of all the families
involved. And it still happens
today.
“
Substitutions: alternatively, “cappellacci” can be seasoned with
meat sauce and grated Parmesan.
Sent by: Anna Maria Tagliati - Copparo (FE)
Sauvignon dei Colli bolognesi
Lasagne with chestnuts
Porretan cuisine is basically centred on local products and blends
the flavours of Bolognese tradition with those of Tuscan cookery
in a tasty gastronomic fusion. Particularly, this dish breaks with
the traditional Bolognese lasagne that we all know.
A basic ingredient of the mountain cuisine has been added:
chestnuts.
19
Ingredients for the lasagne: 250 g of chestnut flour, 200 g of wheat
flour, 5 eggs. For the seasoning: 200 g of chestnuts, 200 g thick-cut
ham, _ litre of milk, 80 g of butter, salt, bay leafs, nutmeg, 2 tbsp.
of cream, 100 g of Parmesan.
For the dough: Mix the two flours, add the eggs and, if needed,
a little water to bind; knead the dough enough time to obtain
a stretchy ball, not too soft, then roll it out into a thin layer and cut
12 lasagna squares. Peel the chestnuts and remove the inside skins,
then boil them in the milk seasoned with a pinch of salt and one bay
leaf. Sauté the diced ham in a little butter, add the thoroughly
drained chestnuts, a touch of nutmeg and leave it to season
for some minutes. Remove the chestnuts and the ham from the
stock, filter it, then reduce it by adding two tbsp. of cream.
Place the ham and chestnuts back into the saucepan, keeping some
whole ones for decoration. Boil the lasagne on the hard side
in salted water. Prepare single hot plates: lay one sheet of lasagna
on each plate, then spread the sauce and lay one sheet of lasagna
on top, sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan and melted butter,
decorate with some whole chestnuts and serve piping hot.
Sent by: Pietro Campaldini - Porretta Terme (BO)
It is ideally accompanied
by the chestnut beer, which
is produced on our Bolognese
Apennine and available in three
different versions, chestnut,
chestnut & wheat and smoked
chestnut & juniper.
Lasagne with Savoy Cabbage
It is prepared like a normal lasagna, but the pastry layers
are replaced by the Savoy cabbage.
20
Ingredients: 1 Savoy cabbage, 200 g of minced beef, 200 g
of minced pork, 1 sausage, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1/2
glass of dry white, 500 g of pulped tomatoes, 3 tbsp. of olive oil,
20 g of butter, grated Parmesan to taste. For the béchamel sauce:
30 g of butter, 30 g of flour, 1/2 litre of milk, salt, nutmeg. Serves 4.
For the dough: Strip the Savoy cabbage, wash the leaves and blanch
them for a few minutes in boiling water, drain and lay them on
a cloth to dry. In a casserole, sauté the chopped vegetables
in a little oil, add the minced meats and the sausage deprived of
the rind. When the meats are browned, add the salt, the wine,
leave to evaporate, then stir in the tomato sauce and cook on
a low heat for at least an hour.
Prepare the béchamel sauce: Melt the butter, add the flour and
the hot milk in a very low stream; season with salt, a touch of
nutmeg and leave to cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture
thickens. Blend the béchamel in the meat sauce.
Butter a Pyrex saucepan, cover the bottom with a first layer of
sauce, then add a layer of Savoy cabbage, then again sauce
and Parmesan; keep arranging in layers until you run out of
ingredients. Ultimately, add some curls of butter and bake
in a pre-heated oven at 180° for around 20 minutes, then cool
down and serve.
“
This dish reminds me
of my grandmother
and brings me back
to my childhood.
“
Sent by: Patrizio Di Fidio - Modena
Montuni del Reno
Lunghetti with Cinnamon
This type of pasta owes its name to its long shape, but these days
everybody in Romagna calls them “strozzapreti”.
Popular in the Cesenate area for at least one century, today they
are largely known across Italy. Eaten as a first course, it is a handmade type of pasta, without eggs and very simple, to be served
with red wine.
Ingredients: 700/800 g of flour, a little salt, 350 dl of hot water.
Add a tbsp. of ricotta cheese or 1 boiled and mashed potato
for tenderness. Also: grated cheese and cinnamon powder
to taste for sprinkling on each plate. Serves 4.
For the dough: Work the ingredients, except for the breadcrumbs
and cinnamon, into a firm dough and then stretch it into a slightly
thick layer. Cut it into 1.5 cm wide tagliatelle (noodles) and roll
them with your hand in order to obtain long tubes, then cut them
as long as a macaroni, or slightly longer.
Leave “strozzapreti” to rise for at least an hour, then cook them
on the hard side, in plenty of salted water. When they float to
surface, remove the saucepan from heat, pour 1/2 glass of cold
water (to stop the boil and prevent from overcooking),
drain and season. They were cooked by the poor and peasants
in the pre-war period, who traditionally seasoned them
with breadcrumbs and a little cinnamon powder
(this is the original recipe). Nowadays, they are also seasoned
with tomato or meat sauce.
“
21
It is a dish historically cooked
by peasants. In those days, pasta
was not sprinkled with Parmesan,
as it is commonly done today,
but with a little breadcrumbs.
My mother loved “lunghetti”
with bread and cinnamon
so much, that she used
to season them in this way even
in her last years (she died a few
months ago).
“
Sent by: Natalia Fagioli - Cesena
Trebbiano di Romagna
Wheat Flour Migliaccio
Ingredients: 150 g wheat flour, 100 g of breadcrumbs, 80-100 g
of grated Pecorino cheese, 1/2 litre of milk, 4 or 5 eggs, 1 tbsp. of
extra-virgin oil, suet (for greasing the baking tin), 1 litre of water,
1 pinch of baking soda and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4.
22
For the dough: Prepare a mixture by stirring the flour and the
cheese into the eggs. Add the milk and a little water.
Stir well until the ingredients are blended and add oil, bicarbonate,
nutmeg, salt, pepper and the remaining water.
Grease the baking tin with suet. Its size must allow you to obtain
a liquid mixture 2-cm thick.
Put into a pre-heated oven at 150° C and bake for 30-35 minutes,
until the mixture thickens: make sure that air bubbles do not form
during baking. If this is the case, prick with a fork.
The dish is ready when the mixture forms a soft and lightly brown
crust, or you may check its consistency with a knife blade: when
the blade remains clean, cooking is complete.
Cut the “migliaccio” into small squares and serve piping hot.
Sent by: Giuliana Saragoni - San Piero in Bagno (FC)
Albana secco
Pancotto with Grana Cheese
This cooked bread is originally from the Modena area.
It is a much richer remake of the classical and old “pancotto”,
enriched with ingredients such as Grana cheese and cream.
It is usually served as a first-course dish.
Ingredients: Serves 6 persone.
For the dough: Butter a saucepan and cover its bottom with bread
slices. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and stir in the Parmesan, flour, milk,
cream and a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture on the bread slices
and leave to stand for about an hour. Afterwards, move
the saucepan to a pre-heated oven at 200° for around half an hour.
Leave to stand before serving.
Sent by: Paola Balducchi - Modena
“ “
This dish reminds me of the
Sixties and my girlhood, carefree
moments.
Chardonnay dei Colli bolognesi
23
Domed Macaroni Pie Ferrara Style
It is a time-honoured dish from Ferrara, dating back to the Sixteenth
Century. Its shape is reminiscent of a priest’s hat and it was mainly
eaten during Carnival.
The sweet and savoury flavours are in sublime contrast.
24
Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry: 500 g of flour, 250 g of butter,
5 egg yolks, grated lemon zest, 1 pinch of salt, 300 g of sugar.
For the meat sauce: 30 g of dried mushrooms, 1 onion, 1 carrot,
1 celery stalk, 2 sausages, 200 g of minced veal, 150 g of minced
beef, 1 glass of dry white whine, 1/2 stock cube. For the béchamel:
25 g of butter, 2 tbsp. of flour, _ litre of milk, nutmeg, grated
Parmesan. Also, 300 g of “sedanini” (short, curved, thin tubes of
pasta), truffle, extra-virgin olive oil, 1 yolk for brushing. Serves 6.
For the dough: Use the above ingredients to prepare the shortcrust
pastry and stretch it to form 2 rounds 30 cm across and 2 cm thick.
For the meat sauce, brown the chopped celery, carrot and onion
in oil, then stir in the meats, salt, pepper and mushrooms, previously
soaked, squeezed and chopped. Add the wine and, when it
has evaporated, blend in the stock cube, then cover with water
and cook on a moderate heat for around 2 hours. In the meanwhile,
prepare the béchamel with the above-mentioned ingredients.
Cook the pasta on the very hard side, drain and season with
the meat sauce, the béchamel, the grated Parmesan and flakes
of truffle. Cool the seasoned pasta and then stuff one of the circles
previously prepared with it, shaping it like a dome with your hands.
Lay the other pastry circle over the mound, then seal it to the edge
of the base of dome, trimming the excess pastry. Brush the
“pasticcio” with a beaten egg yolk and bake for around 25 minutes
in a pre-heated oven at 175°.
“
This “pasticcio” was on the table
whenever my family gathered
to celebrate a holiday.
Now that I share its secrets,
I value even more the long and
patient work behind the dish.
Every time I knead the dough,
I am reminded of my childhood
and the sweetness of my
grandmother Giuseppina,
who cooked cheerfully while
I was running around,
trying to learn the craft.
“
Sent by: Alessio Duò - Roma
Lambrusco di Sorbara
Polenta, Rocket
and Squacquerone Cheese
Recipe of Faenza’s countryside (Parrocchia di Sant’Andrea).
It is a single dish, typical of vigils, when meat was forbidden.
Ingredients: 500 g of corn meal, water, salt, 500 g
of “squacquerone” cheese, 2 handfuls of rocket, bread, eggs, oil.
Serves 4.
For the dough: Cook the polenta in salted water, stirring
continuously, for about 45 minutes. When it is ready, lay it on
a marble work-top previously greased and allow to cool.
Cut it in big squares (around 15x5 cm) and bread-coat, first rolling
them in the egg and then in breadcrumbs.
Fry the polenta squares in hot oil (in the old days suet was used),
then spread the “squacquerone” cheese when they are still piping
hot and garnish with chopped rocket.
Sent by: Giuliana Montalti - Riolo Terme (RA)
“
25
It is very easy to find the rocket,
since I live in the countryside.
And it is very easy to make
polenta. Since there were stalls
at my grandmother’s house,
fresh cheese was also prepared,
known as, in Romagna’s dialect,
“furmai tumè” (today called
“squacquerone”).
As a girl, I often went off with
my grandmother to pick rocket
in the ditches.
“
Trebbiano di Romagna
Risotto with Vartis
Risotto with Vartis (Wild Hop-plant). Recipe from Piacenza.
The “vartis” (wild hop-plant) is a spontaneous plant which grows
on the hedges and in the fields of our countryside.
It is excellent for preparing omelettes.
26
Ingredients : 350 g of rice, 500 g of “vartis”, preferably cut 5 cm
long, 1/2 glass of dry white wine, 4 tbsp. of grated Grana Padano
cheese (or Parmesan), onion, butter, broth to taste. Serves 4.
For the dough: Wash and blanch the “vartis” for 5 minutes in lightly
salted water, then squeeze dry. Coarsely chop them and sauté
them in butter for a few minutes. Brown the onion in the butter,
then blend in the rice and toast for a minute. Remove the onion
and add some “vartis”. Cook the rice in the broth that you will pour
little by little. Halfway through cooking, add _ glass of white wine
and, when it has evaporated, the remaining “vartis”.
Once cooking is complete, turn off the heat and cream with butter
and grated cheese. Allow to stand for a few moments and serve.
“
The “Ris e vartis” used to be
and still is cooked by
the peasant families
of Piacenza’s countryside.
“
Sent by: Umberto Cantù - Piacenza
Ortrugo dei Colli Piacentini
Cinnamon Flavoured Sweet Strozzapreti
This recipe is known (it is uncertain to what extent) in the Cesenate
area. It clearly stems from the frugal cooking of peasants’ tradition.
It blends the sweet flavour of sugar with the spicy taste of
cinnamon. It is a tasty dish, very simple, easy-to-cook and cheap.
Ingredients for the “strozzapreti” pasta: 300 g of breadcrumbs, 300
g of flour, milk to taste for blending. For the seasoning: 50 g of
sugar,
1 tsp. of cinnamon, 2 tbsp. of breadcrumbs, extra-virgin olive oil
to taste. Serves 6.
For the dough: Mix the flour and the breadcrumbs.
Blend into the warm milk, until a soft mixture is obtained.
Roll out the dough to obtain a 2 mm thick layer and cut it into 1-1,5
cm wide strips. Roll each strips with your hands lengthways (hands
must rub each other in the direction palm-tip). In this way,
shape the “strozzapreti” 5-6 cm long. Boil in hot salted water
for 2 minutes, drain, then drop them in a tureen and sprinkle
with the mixture of sugar-cinnamon-breadcrumbs, previously made.
Season with raw oil.
“
27
In my family this recipe has been
passed down from mother
to daughter for many generations.
My mother often cooked sweet
“strozzapreti” on Saturdays
for lunch: quite a special dish,
cooked as a reward for the week
just gone by.
“
Sent by: Maria Piretti - Cesena
Bianco dei Colli bolognesi
Soups
Bassotti
Egg pasta as prepared in the Upper Savio (an area of Romagna
also known as Romagna-Tuscany).
This dish originates in Romagna, where families still prepare it,
and has for this reason been declared a ‘typical dish’.
It is a kind of “tagliolini” (egg pastry cut into thin strips), firstly
scalded in the broth, then laid in a baking tin, previously greased
with suet and sprinkled with breadcrumbs, seasoned with Pecorino
cheese and again covered in broth. The baking tin, located on
the fireplace trivet, was placed on the embers, which were also
put on the lid, until the broth was soaked up by the “tagliolini”,
which appeared au gratin. At this stage, beaten eggs and a ladle
of broth could optionally be added, extending the cooking
for a few more minutes, until a distinctive golden crust had formed.
Nowadays, the “basotti” are prepared with chicken and beef broth,
using the oven.
Ingredients: 4 eggs, 400 g of flour, grated Pecorino cheese or Grana
cheese, breadcrumbs, suet or butter. Serves 4.
“
29
In the old days it rarely appeared
on the table, e.g. when
the pig was slain,
and its soup scrap-bones
(tail, trotter, etc.) were used
to prepare the broth.
“
For the dough: Work 1 egg and 100 g of flour per person into
a dough, then roll it out and cut it into thin “tagliolini”.
Meanwhile, prepare a chicken or beef broth (the original recipe
requested a broth made with tail, trotter and other pig’s scrap-bones
for this dish). Grease with suet (or butter) a suitable baking tin,
sprinkling it with breadcrumbs. Cover the bottom with a first layer
of “tagliolini”, season with a little suet and sprinkle with grated
cheese, then repeat the procedure to arrange other layers.
Ladle the broth into the baking tin, until the ingredients are covered
and place in the oven. During the baking process, the pastry absorbs
the broth and becomes soaked. Bake until a golden crust has formed
and the broth has completely evaporated.
Dish up piping hot in large squares.
Sent by: Giuliano Marcuccini - Bagno di Romagna (FC)
Malvasia dei Colli Piacentini
Consommè with Bignolini Baked
with Parmesan and Truffle of the Hills
It is a typical soup of the Bolognese hills, enriched with truffle and
reinvented by a famous chef from Bologna, Renato Atti.
It is served in small tureens as a starter.
30
Ingredients for the dough: 80 g of flour, 80 g of butter, 3 eggs,
130 g of water, salt. For the filling: 100 g of grated Parmesan, a few
slices of truffle, béchamel, broth. For the broth: 1 hen, celery, carrot,
onion to taste, salt.
For the dough: Bring the salted and buttered water to a boil,
then pour all the flour at the same time and stir quickly.
Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool,
then add the eggs one by one, kneading the dough constantly
and leave to rise for a while. To make the “bignolini”, work
the dough into many small balls, line them up in a non-sticking
baking tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° for around 10
minutes. Mix the béchamel, the Parmesan, the truffle and fill
the “bignolini” choux with this mixture. Place them in a tureen
and ladle the scalding chicken broth over them.
Substitutions: replace the truffle with Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
of Modena.
“
Back in the summer of 1979,
I worked in a well-known
restaurant in the centre
of Bologna, “Don Chisciotte”,
where the Chef Master
Renato Atti used to prepare
dishes that today only survive
within one’s memory.
I hand down those memories
with great passion, for the sake
of culture, like the Master
has done to me.
“
Sent by: Giacono Tabellini - Bologna
Sauvignon del Bosco Eliceo
Malfatti Steam-Boat Style
It is a frugal dish traditionally cooked by peasants in the Emilia
and Romagna areas. In the countryside around Bologna, this spinach
gnocchi dish was served in an earthenware tureen, with rabbit
chasseur and baked potatoes.
Ingredients : 3 eggs, 350 g of flour, 150 g of fresh bacon, 1 small
onion, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp. of tomato purée. Serves 6.
31
For the dough: Prepare a mixture with the onion and bacon, fry
slowly on a low heat, add water and the tomato purée.
Allow to simmer for at least an hour. In the meanwhile, put the flour
on the pasteboard, make a well, then add the eggs and a pinch
of salt and work into a very firm dough: cut it in large slices
and air dry. Once dried, mince them with a knife or a crescentshaped mincing knife, reducing them into bits half the size of a grain
of rice and sieve them, thus obtaining the “malfattini”.
Alternatively, you can leave the dough whole and grate it directly.
Add as much water to the onion and bacon mixture as it is required
to obtain a broth (mad), adjust salt and cook the “malfattini” in it,
serving piping hot.
Substitutions: In the old days the dough was made using water and
flour only, without eggs, to save time.
Sent by: Federica Fabbri - Bologna
Pinot Bianco dei Colli bolognesi
Chestnut and Beans Soup
As made in the Upper Savio Valley. Typical dish of the Romagnolo
Apennine, where chestnuts have been grown for centuries.
For the population of the area, chestnuts were one of the chief
staples up to not many decades ago.
32
Ingredients: 1 kg of dried chestnuts, 300 g of kidney-beans, 400 g
of potatoes, 50 g of bacon, 1 onion, rosemary and laurel leaves,
1/2 tbsp. of tomato purée, salt and pepper. Serves 6-8.
For the dough: In a saucepan, leave to fry slowly on a low heat
the chopped onion and the herbs, then blend in the ground bacon,
the beans, previously boiled, and the purée.
Leave to flavour, then mix in the potatoes, chestnuts, salt
and pepper, add water to cover and allow to simmer for over
an hour, until the chestnuts become soft enough.
Serve in earthenware cups.
Substitutions: the mixture can be liquidised with the food blender,
selecting some beans and chestnuts to keep whole, to be added
to the purée.
Sent by: Valeria Portolani - San Piero in Bagno (FC)
Barbera dei Colli bolognesi
Soup with Paganelli
This is a frugal recipe, traditionally cooked by the seafarers
of Viserba in the Rimini area.
Ingredients: 2 and 1/2 l of water, 500 g of gobies, a handful of
parsley, 4 garlic cloves, 7 tbsp. of oil, 1 and 1/2 stock cube, 1 tbsp.
of tomato purée, cooking salt and pepper to taste, 250 g
of home-made “quadrettini” pasta (small, flat, square-shaped
pasta). Serves 6.
For the dough: Clean the gobies removing the guts and the fins,
but keeping the heads. Cut the heads, wash them, place them
in water enriched with a pinch of cooking salt and allow to simmer
for 10 minutes. Afterwards, remove and discard them.
Add the gobies and boil them up to 5 minutes, on a low heat
to prevent breaking.
Then gently remove the fish with a ladle, without breaking it,
and allow to cool on a plate. Once the fish is cooled, separate
the meat from the fishbone. Place the meat back in the water
and mash, using the finest mould. An excellent, quite thick broth
will be obtained and any bones will be crushed. Fry the garlic cloves,
pressed but not chopped in oil on a low heat. When the garlic
is slightly golden, blend in the washed and chopped parsley, taking
care not to fry it too much, stir well and pour in the broth.
At this point, add the stock cube and the tomato purée, adjust
the salt, bring to the boil, then drop the “quadrettini” and cook
covered on a medium heat. Once cooking is complete, sprinkle
with fresh pepper to taste and remove garlic cloves.
Allow to stand in the pot for at least 10 minutes.
“
33
The goby is a very bony fish
and nowadays is mainly bought
to feed cats, who like it very much
because of its very tasty meat,
particularly suited to an excellent
fish soup. It is not very popular
anymore and you will certainly
not find it at the restaurant.
“
Sent by: Lea Bernabei - Rimini
Albana secco di Romagna
Minestra imbottita
This is a winter first course, served in broth, typical of that area
of Romagna encompassing Ravenna, Bagnacavallo and Alfonsine,
where I was born. It is served piping hot in a pretty large tureen.
34
Ingredients for the pastry: 300 g of flour, 3 eggs. For the filling:
200 g of Raviggiolo cheese, typical white creamy cheese, which
is only produced in the Romagnolo Apennine (or as a substitute,
a cheese similar to “robiola” or fresh mixed “ricotta” cheese can
be used), 100 g of grated Parmesan, 1 whole egg, 1 pinch of salt,
1 pinch of nutmeg. The filling can be flavoured with a little grated
lemon zest. Serves 6.
For the dough: for the pastry, put the flour on the pasteboard and
make a well; then add the eggs in the middle of the well and mix in
the flour, using a fork at first, until a smooth and firm dough is
obtained. Divide it in two halves and roll out with the rolling-pin
into two identical quite thin layers. For the filling, in a pot blend the
“Raviggiolo” cheese, the Parmesan, the egg, the salt, a pinch of
nutmeg and of grated lemon zest. Mix the ingredients well until a
soft dough is obtained. Leave it to rise. I even prepare it the
previous day and then store it in a container with a lid, in the fridge,
until it is used. Spread the filling with a spatula or a knife’s blade on
the surface of one of the two pastry layers that you have prepared.
Cover with the other pastry layer and press slightly, in order to make
the two surfaces stick together. Carry out this operation carefully
and gently, in order to prevent the filling from coming out. Cut the
dough with the serrated pastry cutter into strips 1,5 cm wide, then
cut the strips again in order to obtain small squares of 1,5 cm per
side. Once this operation is complete, leave the pastry to dry. Make
sure that the pastry doesn’t stick. To that end, my advice is to lay it
on clean and floured cloths. Previously prepare a good meat broth,
where you will cook the “stuffed pasta”. When the small squares
float to surface, the “minestra” will be ready. Serve piping hot,
sprinkling it with grated Parmesan to taste.
Sent by: Claudia Tavalazzi - Bologna
“
I nostalgically recall those Sunday
mornings, in the winter,
when my kitchen’s window panes
were clouded by the steam
and the house was flooded with
the aroma of the broth simmering
in the pot. The Sunday soup
that would usually accompany
the boiled meat was “Stuffed Pasta
Soup” or “Passatelli”.
The boiled meat was served
with potatoes with parsley
and scallion. The broth, more
or less diluted with vegetables,
tomatoes, would last up to
the first days of the week, while
the boiled meat leftovers were
turned into meatballs.
“
Pagadebit di Romagna
Old-time Minestrone Soup
Ingredients for the dough: 400 g of flour, 4 eggs.
For the minestrone: 300 g of dried beans, 300 g of potatoes,
50 g of minced lard (or bacon), 1 chopped onion, 30 g of diced
bacon, 1 tbsp. of tomato purée thinned in warm water, grated
Parmesan to taste, salt.
For the dough: Soak the beans adding a little baking soda on
the previous night. In a saucepan, sauté the onion and lard, stirring
constantly with a wooden spoon; when the onion is browned,
add the tomato purée, stir, then blend in the beans and the potatoes
(peeled and cut into dices), add approx. 2 l of water, salt and allow
to simmer uncovered for a couple of hours. In the meanwhile,
work the eggs and the flour into a dough on the pasteboard;
with a rolling-pin, roll out into a thin pastry layer, which you will roll
and finely cut in order to obtain small tagliatelle (noodles).
Cook the small tagliatelle in the bean broth, then pour into
a tureen and serve with grated Parmesan.
“
35
History has it that minestrone
was a soup much enjoyed by
the Maestro Giuseppe Verdi.
“
Sent by: Pietro Campaldini - Porretta Terme (BO)
Lambrusco
Quadrucci with Asparagus Tips
and Casatella di Romagna Cheese
Small pasta square recipe of Cesena.
Ingredients: 200 g egg “quadrucci”, 80 g of Casatella cheese,
1 tbsp. of pulped tomatoes, asparagus tips, vegetal broth, garlic,
onion, butter, salt, pepper and dry white wine.
36
For the dough: Brown the garlic and onion in the butter, then
add the chopped asparagus tips and cook for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with wine, leave to evaporate and add the tomato purée.
Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the hot broth, bring to
a boil and drop the “quadrucci”. When cooking is complete,
add the Casatella cheese and serve.
Sent by: Lisa Maraldi - Cesena
Albana secco di Romagna
Krìnofel
This dish was probably introduced by the Austrians and dates back
to the days of Maria Luigia, duchess of Parma. Its quick spreading
to the surroundings of Parma, up to the Fifties, is probably due to
its simplicity, as it is dish prepared with the few ingredients that
could be found, yet very nutritious.
Ingredients: 1 kg of butter, ideally from the dairy’s (if still available),
3 eggs, 170 g of semolina, Parmesan, free-range hen broth, nutmeg
and salt. Serves 8/10.
For the dough: Oil the butter in the tureen, then add the eggs, salt
and nutmeg, and gradually the semolina and the grated Parmesan,
in order to obtain a firm poultice. With the aid of a spoon, blend
in the scalding hen broth.
Sent by: Mario Schianchi - Panocchia (PR)
“
37
I presume that the name in dialect
does not exist, I discovered
this recipe in an old yellowed
notebook, with a black cover,
written by my mother (born
in 1916) and we tried it out
in our farmhouse cuisine. I think
we used to make it on Sundays,
during the cold season,
when I was a little boy.
“
Lambrusco Grasparossa
di Castelvetro
Imperial Soup
It originated in the Faenza area.
Ingredients: 30 g of semolina, 20 g of grated Parmesan, 20 g short
of butter, 1 pinch of nutmeg, 1 egg, salt, pepper to taste, meat
broth, ideally capon’s. Serves 1.
38
For the dough: Melt the butter, then incorporate the semolina
and all the other ingredients. Pour the mixture into a greased baking
tin to form a layer 1 cm thick and bake in the oven on a medium
heat for about 15 minutes. Make sure that the surface does not
become brown. When it is cool, cut into small squares.
Half an hour before serving, ladle the hot broth over it.
Sent by: Nadia Tassani - Villafranca (FC)
“
A cousin of my mother’s used
to make this dish during
the vintage, because it could
be prepared beforehand.
I used to like it very much,
and still do.
“
Malvasia dei Colli di parma
Second Courses
Lamb Stew with Fennel
Upper Savio Valley.
Serve with big crusts of toasted bread and red wine.
Ingredients: 800 g of an adult lamb thigh cut into little cubes, 500 g
of fennel, 100 g of onion, 2 slices of garlic, 1 glass of dry white
wine, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, flour as much as needed
Serves 4.
40
For the dough: Add salt and pepper to the meat and then cover it
slightly with flour. Brown it in oil and moisten it with wine.
In the meanwhile, cut the fennel into thin slices, stew it in oil along
with the chopped onion and garlic. Then add the meat, cover
with water or broth and let it cook for about one hour, stirring
it occasionally.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm with big crusts of
toasted bread.
Sent by: Alfredo Venturi - San Piero in Bagno (FC)
Sangiovese del Faentino
Sweet-and-sour Rabbit
Ingredients: 1 rabbit cut into pieces, _ of a glass of balsamic vinegar,
a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar, salt
and pepper to taste, garlic and rosemary to taste, warm water.
For the dough: Sear the pieces of rabbit in the already warm
saucepan, then moisten it with balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with sugar,
add salt and pepper. Add garlic and rosemary and a drizzle of oil,
pour a big glass of warm water over it and cover with the lid.
Cook the rabbit for about two hours on a low heat. It will be ready
when the meat comes easily off the bone and the liquid
is completely absorbed. If needed, add other water during cooking.
41
Sent by: Debora Mazzoli - Medicina (BO)
Merlot dei Colli bolognesi
Rabbit in Pork-roast
It is popular in the outskirts and the countryside of the Cesena area.
It is served with a side dish of French fries, aubergine
and tomatoes, cooked in the oven or au gratin, boiled beets, etc...
The wine will be red in wintertime, sparkling white in the summer.
42
Ingredients: 1 whole rabbit, better if it is big but not from intensive
breeding and 4 months’ old, 1 kg of lean beef or calf meat,
or milled loin of pork, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, wild fennel,
thin slices of bacon (optional), oil and lard. Serves 6/7.
For the dough: Bone the rabbit starting from the hind legs, or ask
your butcher to do it; the bones will have to be kept, in order
to add them to the meat roll while cooking so as to enrich its taste.
During this operation, the rabbit will have to be kept as whole as
possible, without cutting it in half. It will have to be laid down on
a cutting board, dressed with salt and pepper and with wild fennel
(two whole little branches) mainly, adding garlic and rosemary
to taste. If you like, you can cover the whole dish with some
thin slices of bacon and with the rabbit liver, finely minced.
Spread the minced meat and roll the rabbit meat on itself, forming
a roll that you will then fasten with a cooking string.
Grease the pan with oil or suet and lay down the roll, cover it
with 2 or 3 tomatoes and put it in the oven at 180°, making sure
to turn the meat from time to time. After about two hours
he rabbit should be cooked. Let it cool off, cut it in slices of
the thickness you like and serve it.
Sent by: Sara Civinelli - Cesena
“
My grandmother (born in 1920)
was taught this recipe by
the “Ciafi”, who was a cook
here and there in Cesena.
Initially he had his butcher bone
the rabbits, then my grandmother
and now also my mother
learnt to do it by themselves.
It is a lengthy job, it takes time
and patience, and maybe this is
the reason why a lot of women
do not cook this dish anymore.
My grandmother would use
the rabbits she raised herself.
They were unbeatable!
“
Thigh of Mutton in Aromatised Crust
This recipe is prepared in the foothills of the Cesena area.
This dish has to be served warm with a side dish of potatoes
and tomatoes baked in the oven and served with a good red wine.
Ingredients: 1 boneless mutton thigh, 1 kg of flour, 25 g of brewer’s
yeast, half a litre of lukewarm water, 120 cl of olive oil, minced
parsley, 1 egg yolk, salt, pepper, garlic as needed. Serves 12.
43
For the dough: Season the thigh with salt, pepper, garlic,
roll it up on itself and tighten it with cooking string.
Put it in a pre-heated oven and let it cook. In the meanwhile,
prepare bread dough with the flour, the brewer’s yeast dissolved
in the lukewarm water, the oil, the minced parsley and the salt.
Once it is almost completely cooked, take the thigh out of the oven,
let it cool off and wrap it in the pastry rolled out into a not too
thin sheet. Brush the outside with the egg yolk and put it in
the oven until the crust turns a golden colour.
Sent by: Erika Maraldi - Cesena
Cabernet Sauvignon
dei Colli bolognesi
Stewed Chops
This is a typical recipe of the countryside of Faenza from the 1930’s,
it was offered by the sharecropper to the seasonal farmers, during
the harvest of the fruit, the vintage and the harvest.
It was served with stewed peas.
44
Ingredients: 500 g of pork loin, breadcrumbs as much as needed,
nutmeg, 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons of tomato purée as needed,
seed oil and grated Parmesan cheese.
For the dough: Cut the pork loin in thin slices, roll them in the
beaten eggs, the bread, the nutmeg and the salt, then fry them
in a frying pan. Arrange the fried chops in a wide pan,
in which you have poured seed oil, and cover them with water
mixed with the tomato purée. Let it simmer for about half an hour,
making sure that they do not stick; in the end the water should
be completely absorbed. Before turning the heat off, sprinkle
with grated Parmesan cheese.
Sent by: Rosanna Bonafede - Bologna
“
It is a peasants’ dish which
is reminiscent of Romagna.
In the countryside the “zdore”
(housewives from Romagna)
would prepare big pans
of them, and the stewed chops
would be usually served warm
on the rural tables in the big
and hot farm yards, but they
were also enjoyed cold by
the farmers who would eat
them during the middle-morning
“break”, that is, around ten
o’clock, since they would start
working
in the fields at sunrise.
“
Pheasant Mazzolano Style
This is a recipe of Mazzolano, 3 km from Riolo Terme, direction
Imola.
Ingredients: 1 pheasant, 1 stem of celery, 1 carrot, 1 onion, salt,
pepper, dry Albana wine, broth, flour, 50 g of butter. Serves 8.
For the dough: Marinate the pheasant with chopped herbs
and the white wine during the entire night. Dry it and then brown
it in a pan with butter, the next day. Pour half a litre of the wine
over it, add salt and pepper, cover it and let it cook on a low heat.
In the meanwhile, cook the thoroughly minced pheasant entrails.
Sieve them, mix them with a little bit of flour and add them to
the pheasant which is being cooked. After about 35-40 minutes
the pheasant should be ready. Serve it cut into pieces,
covered with its own sauce.
“
45
It was very easy to accidentally
catch a pheasant.
They were everywhere, even close
to the barn. And when they let
themselves be caught (like you
would catch chickens), my mother
would cook them in this way.
“
Sent by: Giuliana Montalti - Riolo Terme (RA)
Liver of an Adult Lamb with Balsamic
Vinegar
Recipe from Modena. Serve warm with big crusts of bread flavoured
with garlic.
46
Ingredients: 700 g of the liver of adult lambs, 200 g of small
tomatoes, 1 onion, white dry wine, balsamic vinegar, 100 g
of butter, olive oil, salt and pepper. Serves 4.
For the dough: Cut the liver into small cubes of about 1 cm
and brown them slightly in oil. Cut the onion into thin slices
and let it brown in the butter. Add the small tomatoes cut into
pieces and allow to cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the liver and moisten it with wine.
Let it evaporate and add salt and pepper to taste.
Moisten with the balsamic vinegar and let it cook for another 10
minutes. Serve hot.
Sent by: Stefano Pavanello - Cesena
Codfish Pancakes
Province of Modena.
Ingredients : 400 g of soaked codfish, 200 g of flour, 1 egg,
100 g of suet, salt, pepper. Serves 4.
For the dough: Peel the codfish and take out the bones,
then mince it. Prepare a batter with flour, egg, water, salt and
pepper. Mix the codfish with the batter. Fry big spoonfuls of it
in the boiling suet.
47
Sent by: Alessia Giovannini - Serramazzoni (MO)
Hotel and Catering School of Serramazzoni.
Bacon and peas
A recipe from Piacenza and its province.
In reality, this is a single dish, very nutritious.
Ingredients: 500 g of fresh or canned peas, 500 g of Piacenza bacon
cut into small pieces, tomato sauce or peeled tomatoes, onion,
butter, salt. Serves 4.
48
For the dough: Brown the onion with the butter, add 100 g
of minced bacon and fry for 5 minutes; add the peeled tomatoes
(or sauce), cook for another few minutes and add the remaining
bacon cut into pieces. Eventually, pour the peas into the pan,
moistening them often with spoonfuls of water and complete
the cooking. Serve piping hot.
Sent by: Daniela Tansini - Piacenza
“
This is a typical dish of
the harvest and threshing times
of our countryside.
“
Bonarda frizzante
dei Colli piacentini
Chestnut Flour “Polenta”
with Bacon and Sausage,
served with Raviggiolo Cheese
Upper Savio Valley.
Ingredients: 1 litre of water, 800 g of chestnut flour, salt, 300 g
of pork bacon, 300 g of sausages.
For the dough: Boil the chestnut flour in water and salt for 20
minutes, without stirring. Afterwards, stir vigorously until a thin
mush without lumps is obtained. Cook for another 10 minutes
and keep stirring. Pour onto a cutting board. In the meanwhile,
you will have fried the 1 cm diced bacon and the crumbed sausage
on a low heat. Pour this mixture onto the polenta to season it.
Cut the polenta with a thread and serve it with Raviggiolo cheese.
“
49
My memories take me back
to winter evenings, where
the snow was falling outside,
the fireplace was warm
and my grandmother was
telling me stories.
“
Sent by: Melita Teverini - Bagno di Romagna (FC)
Lambrusco
Stew with Pig’s Tails and Ears
Lower Modena area. It is an single course, to be relished in the cold
winter days. A little glass of Nocino liqueur tastes good afterwards.
Ingredients: 1 kg of pig’s ear and tail, 1 clove of garlic, 1 stem
of celery, 1 onion, 1 pinch of salt and pepper, 2 cloves,
1 small piece of cinnamon, 300 g of potatoes. Serves 4.
50
For the dough: Burn the hair off the pigskin with a flame, or remove
it with a razor blade or a knife. Cut the meat into small pieces
and wash it well. Boil the meat for some minutes and then discard
the water. Put the meat, the garlic, the celery and the onion coarsely
chopped, the salt and the pepper, the cinnamon and the cloves
in a saucepan, ideally earthenware, and then add a large quantity
of water and let it cook slowly. During the last 10 minutes of
cooking, add the peeled potatoes cut into big pieces.
“
During the period when the pigs
were slaughtered, some parts of
the pig were available which
were not used for sausages
or other forms of meat
preservation.
Therefore this stew was made
once or twice in winter.
“
Sent by: Rosina Verrini - Carpi (MO)
Lambrusco Salamino
S. Croce
Vegetables and Side Dishes
Potato Croquettes
Recipe of the Modena area. The croquettes must be served warm
on a big plate along with other fried bites, like the typical sweet
fried cream (together they form the traditional “mixed fried bites
of the Modena area”) or as a side dish for chops and together
with French fries and salad.
52
Ingredients: 300 g of flour, 300 g of boiled potatoes, 30 g of
brewer’s yeast, 1 egg, salt to taste, one tablespoon of butter
and if needed a little bit of milk.
For the dough: Knead all the ingredients on the cutting board,
then use the dough to make little rolls, like potato dumplings,
and cut them into many small pieces. Let them rise covered
with a cloth, then fry them in boiling hot seed oil.
Cut the obtained croquettes in half and stuff them with raw ham.
Sent by: Giuliana Zarri - Modena
“
On all festivities (Christmas,
birthdays, Easter, family
ceremonies, engagements,
when the grandparents would
come from the province and from
Bologna, etc...) my mother would
make sure these tasty things
were present on a well laid table.
They were also very nice to see,
small little balls, small cubes,
small dumpling forms, with
a good and fragrant smell.
“
Pinot Grigio dei Colli piacentini
Small Sweet Semolina Pancakes
Typical dish of the plains of Bologna at the border between Bologna
and Modena. It is presented in the shape of small diamond bricks
with a crispy surface and a soft inside, dusted with sugar.
Its original purpose was to be a side dish for a second course
with a free-range spring chicken, cut into small pieces and well
browned; the kids liked to eat it on its own as a dessert.
Ingredients: 1 litre of milk, 150 g of semolina, 5-6 tablespoons
of sugar, the whole peel of 1 lemon, 3 eggs, bread crumbs
as much as needed, powdered sugar to taste, oil for frying.
Serves 6-8.
For the dough: Start boiling the milk after adding the lemon zest to
it. When it boils, add the sugar until it is melted, then take the pan
off the heat and sprinkle the semolina over it and keep stirring. Put
the pan back on the heat and stir until it becomes creamy. Roll the
cream out on a wooden cutting board, greased with a little oil, until
it is about 1.5 cm thick; flatten the surface with wet hands, to
prevent getting burnt. When the cream is very cold, cut it into
pieces in the shape of diamonds. Beat the three eggs in a bowl and
dip each diamond first in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Fry
the “little bricks” in oil, making sure that they turn a golden colour
without getting too brown. Dry them on absorbing paper and dust
them with icing sugar.
Sent by: Sandra Forni - Bologna
“
53
Typical of the big festivity days,
in particular on Thanksgiving
Sunday, a religious annual feast
which the countryside parishes
celebrate in Autumn to give
thanks for the harvest.
It is a quite easy dish (nowadays
the difficulty is mainly in getting
hold of a free-range spring chicken
to go with it), but it is definitely
connected to the festive
environment.
Even though the ingredients
are very common, none of
my family members would
think of preparing it on a normal
day; it is equal to a “present”
on a birthday’s lunch.
“
Serve the same wine used
for the main dish
Baked Potatoes with Truffles
It is cooked in the area of the Emilian Apennine, the Upper Rhine
Valley. It is an single dish, which can be followed by a tasty salad. It
is better to prepare it in late autumn and in winter, when fresh
truffles can be found.
54
Ingredients: 1.5 kg of potatoes, preferably of the same size, 100 g
of sliced Mortadella ham, 150 g of grated Parmesan cheese, 2
mozzarellas, a little milk, butter, oil to grease the pan, salt, three
small truffles of about 2 cm across. Serves 6.
For the dough: Boil the potatoes, peel them and let them cool off.
Slice them and layer them in a pan greased with oil, add salt, add
some small pieces of butter and cover with some mozzarella slices, a
sliced truffle and a little milk now and then (about 3 tablespoons).
Cover with slices of Mortadella ham. Start arranging the layers
again, until the ingredients are all used up. Put the pan in a preheated oven, at 220°, for about 40 minutes, until the surface turns a
golden colour. Attention: do not lay the Mortadella ham and the
truffle slices on the last layer, otherwise they will dry out and lose
their fragrance.
Substitutions: if the truffle is not available, replace it with a little
grated nutmeg, the taste changes, but the dish will still be very
tasty.
Sent by: Maurizia Zanolini - Marzabotto (BO)
“
This dish reminds me of my
mother in law: she would make it
in the evenings in autumn,
when somebody gave her
“do o tri baluteini ed tartofla”
(two or three pieces of truffle).
This was also the occasion
to gather her sons, daughters,
with their wives and husbands
and grandchildren in her house,
and her little house would fill
with truffle fragrance, voices
and cheerfulness.
This is a party dish!
“
Riesling Italico dei Colli bolognesi
Tomatoes into… an Omelette
It is popular in the countryside of Forlì and it is considered a
complete dish, pretty much a single dish, this omelette, which is not
very solid, will appear in a beautiful red colour, lined with the golden
colour of the egg. Nowadays, it could go with seasonal fruit or an
exotic fruit salad.
Ingredients: 1.5 kg of ripe tomatoes, 2 or 3 eggs, oil, butter, salt to
taste. Serves 4.
For the dough: Pick some ripe and whole tomatoes, dip them in
boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes, peel them and take the seeds out,
then chop them. At this point, pour a little oil and some butter, add
the chopped tomatoes and add a little salt in a pan and cook for 10
or 15 minutes. Pour the beaten eggs into the pan and make an
omelette, leaving it soft. In order to do so, take the pan off the heat
when the egg is not too cooked yet.
Substitutions: if you prefer a lighter dish, eliminate the butter and
use only extra-virgin oil. If you like, you can add some very fresh
basil leaves to the tomatoes when they are almost completely
cooked.
Sent by: Natalia Fagioli - Cesena
“
55
It would reach the peasant’s table
directly from the pan in which
it had been cooked. Everybody
would then take a serving.
It was a breakfast dish
(7/8 o’ clock) for when
the farmers would come home
after 2 or 3 hours of work, but it
could also be eaten in the evening,
when they would come back
for dinner, tired and hungry.
“
Grandmother Pia Gervasi’s
Spinach Pie
The recipe originated in Forcelli, a grange in the countryside of the
Lower Valley of the stream Samoggia, in the territory of the
San Giovanni municipality in Persiceto, municipality of Bologna.
56
Ingredients for the béchamel: 50 g of butter, 500 g of fresh whole
milk, 100 g of soft-wheat white flour. For the mixture: 1 kg of well
washed and blanched, ideally steamed, fresh spinach, 6 fresh eggs,
100 g of butter, 200 g of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 pinch of salt,
1 pinch of nutmeg. Serves 6.
For the dough: Blanch the spinach and let it drain well. As soon as it
cools off, press it with your hands, cut it horizontally and vertically,
in order to prevent the stems from remaining whole and fraying.
Sieve the flour in a tin pan to prevent lumps from forming, add the
cold milk and the butter which has been melted in a little milk.
Cook on low heat and in a bain-marie, continuously stirring the
mixture. When the mixture is sufficiently creamy, take it off the
heat. Make sure it does not boil. Melt the butter in a cooking mould
and grease the sides richly until it forms a film, to ensure that the pie
does not stick to the sides while cooking. Mix and blend well the
spinach, the eggs, the cheese and the melted butter left at the
bottom of the mould in a bowl. Finally, pour everything into the
same mould, heat the oven at 180°, cover it with aluminium foil or
baking paper and bake it for about 45 minutes in a bain-marie.
Since the cooking times change from oven to oven, it is advised to
do the “toothpick test”: if it comes out dry from the pie, it is ready.
It is superb if eaten hot, just taken out of the oven. It goes well with
boiled or roasted meat.
“
When, on Sundays, it was
expected to find a pan of good
broth, made with various kinds of
beef meat, a quarter of a freerange chicken, which was then
destined
to mother’s plate, the fragrances of
celery, carrots and onion
and possibly half a potato
to absorb the excessive grease,
the festive part of the table
would be the upturned pie,
still steaming hot and always
perfectly cooked.
“
Substitutions: the pie can also be served bordered by balls of ricotta
cheese or of tortellini filling, in which case it will be a complete
second course.
Sent by: Anna Pia Bertocchi - Bologna
Serve the same wine used
for the main dish
Desserts
Cantarelle
The dish I am suggesting owes its name from “Cantareli” or
“Cantarelle” (little songs), they are pieces of bakery which are never
lacking at the feasts in Romagna (for example the “Festa Dè Borg”).
The “cantarelle” biscuits must be served hot and dusted with sugar.
58
Ingredients: 500 g of water, 250 g of cornmeal, 250 g of white
flour, 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 1 pinch of salt,
bicarbonate of soda, icing sugar for sprinkling.
For the dough: Pour the water, a pinch of salt and of bicarbonate,
the oil and the cornmeal in a pan and, while stirring well to avoid
lumps, dust it with the white flour until you get a dense but rather
fluid batter. With a small ladle pour the mixture in a warmed pan
and form small rounds of about 10 cm across, which will be
browned on both sides. When cooking is complete, lay the rounds
on a serving plate and season them with extra-virgin olive oil and
dust them with sugar.
Substitutions: the “Cantarelle” are also delicious if you spread jam
or honey over them.
Sent by: Cristina Geri - Rimini
Albana dolce
Gisella Cream
It was the dessert of the countryside of the Reggio Emilia area; it is
better to prepare it the day before and let it stand in the fridge. Take
it out of the fridge a little time before serving.
Ingredients: 500 g of milk, 150 g of sugar, 50 g of flour, 3 egg
yolks, sponge cake or lady fingers or cookies of the “pavesini” kind
(they are similar to small lady fingers), soaked with coffee (about 3
cups) enriched with Marsala, or another liqueur of your choice, to
line the mould.
59
For the dough: Prepare the cream by mixing together the yolks, the
sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and the flour. Add the remainder of the
milk, boiled separately, to the compound, and let the cream thicken
on a medium heat. Line a mould with the cookies soaked with
coffee and alternate cream and cookies until all ingredients are used
up.
Substitutions: dust cocoa on the cream layers.
Sent by: Edvige Bartolini - Bologna
Malvasia Passita dei Colli piacentini
Milk Portuguese Fashion
It originated in the area of Faenza.
Ingredients: 1 litre of milk, 1 vanilla stick, 5 coffee beans, 3 whole
eggs plus 5 yolks, 2 tablespoons of powdered cocoa, 1 bag of
vanilla sugar, 4 tablespoons of sugar. For the caramel: 200 g of
sugar.
60
For the dough: Let the milk boil with the vanilla stick and the coffee
beans, until it reduces to half of the original quantity. Mix all the
other ingredients in another bowl and blend them into the milk,
after removing the coffee beans. Prepare the caramel, by placing the
mould on the heat with 200 g of sugar. As soon as the sugar is
caramelised, pour the milk and the egg compound over it. Cover
and boil it at a medium temperature in a bain-marie in the oven. To
check if it is well cooked, insert a toothpick in the cream, if it comes
out dry it means that the dessert is ready. Uncover it before the
cooking is complete in order to have the surface turn a golden
colour. Let it cool off well before turning the dessert upside down on
the serving plate.
Sent by: Nadia Tassani - Villafranca (FC)
“
It is a very old recipe of
my grandmother’s, who would
prepare it on very important
occasions, or when a person
was ill, since it is a very
nourishing dessert.
“
Mandorlotti
Very popular in Gatteo, Sala di Cesenatico, Gambettola, they are
small almond based, pastries to be served with sweet white wine.
Ingredients: 500 g of flour, 1 kg of sugar, 700 g of almonds, 8-9
egg whites.
For the dough: Coarsely chop the almonds, beat the egg whites to a
firm froth and then mix the ingredients. Distribute the mixture with
a teaspoon on the pan covered with baking paper, leaving some
space between the little heaps, since they will grow in size while
cooking. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 200° for about 15/20
minutes, or even more, as long as the dough stays soft. The hardest
part is to decide when it is the right time to take them out of the
oven, but experience will teach you. They keep well in a glass jar or
in the freezer. However, they become too hard if left in the open air.
Sent by: Sara Civinelli - Cesena
“
61
Everybody knows and eats them
in the area of Gatteo, even if
they are not always home-made
but they are rather bought at
the bakery shops that keep baking
them. The youth might have lost
the feeling of the “mandorlotti”
being traditional cookies,
but older people remember them
as the feast cookies, which, still
in the 1950s, were served
at weddings, confirmations
and communions, bringing
gladness. All this at times where
the parties were held at home
and mothers, grandmothers
and aunts were all recruited
for cooking.
“
Albana dolce
Christmas Bread
Recipe of the Modena area. It is a sizeable bread of a black shiny
colour, which is served in rectangular pieces which are a little bigger
than cookies. They are served on their own, or rather, together with
the typical “amaretti” (almond macaroons) and with rectangles of
“spongata” (sponge cake) dusted with vanilla sugar.
62
Ingredients: 1 kg flour, 500 g of sugar, 250 g of honey, 500 g of
raisins to be soaked in liqueur (cognac or Sassolino), 500 g of
various candied fruit, cut into small pieces, 150 g of powdered
cocoa, 100 g of melted butter, 5 whole eggs, 2 kg of jam, including
the cooked pumpkin (1.5 kg of jam and half a kg of cooked
pumpkin), 10 g of ammonia, topping chocolate cut into pieces as
much as one likes, 250 g of candied red and green cherries and
almonds to garnish.
For the dough: Mix the sugar with the eggs and the soft butter,
then add the flour, the honey, the milk, the liqueur, the jam, the
cooked pumpkin, the raisins with the liqueur in which they are
soaked, the powdered cocoa, the pieces of chocolate and the cut
candied fruit. Knead everything well and for a long time, then add
the baking powder and ammonia. Keep kneading the dough until it
feels soft, then pour it into various moulds and garnish with the
small red cherries and the almonds. This dessert is prepared in the
afternoon and then it is taken to the bakery shop the next morning
to be baked. It is delicious.
“
According to our family tradition,
every year, on the 8th of December,
women would all come together
to prepare this Christmas bread,
which will then be eaten
from Christmas to Epiphany.
In fact, this bread will keep well
for a long time.
“
Sent by: Anna Cavazzuti - Maranello (MO)
Serve with a sweet liqueur
based on citrus
Raviole with Jam and Chestnut Filling
Recipe of the Bologna Apennine
Ingredients for the dough: 500 g of flour, 250 g of sugar, 50 g of
soft butter, 3 eggs, 1 pinch of salt, the grated zest of half a lemon, 1
teaspoon of bicarbonate, milk if needed. For the filling: plum jam,
boiled dry chestnuts mashed with a fork. Makes 15/20 “raviole”.
For the dough: Make the dough with the above-said ingredients,
then roll it out with the rolling-pin and, with a cup, cut out some
rounds, which will then be filled with the jam mixed with the
mashed chestnuts. Fold the rounds in the shape of a half moon,
sticking the sides to each other with the fork tines, lay them on a
baking pan covered with baking paper and cook them in a preheated oven at 180° for about 10/15 minutes.
“
63
This is a Sunday or a major
festivity dessert, it ensures
the preservation of the taste
and household economy.
“
Substitutions: the sugar can be replaced with 3 tablespoons of
honey and the bicarbonate by half a bag of baking powder.
Sent by: Carmen Ferrari - Vidiciatico (BO)
Montuni del Reno
Grandmother’s salami
A recipe from Piacenza. This dessert is served cold (it is better to
prepare it a couple of days before it is eaten), cut into circles and
served on a long serving plate. It can be garnished with whipping
cream and thin chocolate flakes.
64
Ingredients: 2 egg yolks, 150 g of sugar, 100 g of butter, 100 g of
dark chocolate, 200 g of “amaretti” or dry cookies, 1 small glass of
Marsala wine. Serves 4.
For the dough: Make the sabayon with the egg yolks, the sugar and
the small glass of marsala. Add the chocolate melted in a bainmarie, the coarsely chopped “amaretti” and the butter, also melted
in a bain-marie. Roll out the compound on a baking paper, shaping
it like a salami. Put it in the fridge until it is served.
“
This typical dessert of
the tradition of Piacenza,
which was handed down to me
by my grandmother, was
and is still prepared on the occasion
of Christmas parties.
“
Sent by: Maria Bolledi - Piacenza
Gutturnio chinato
Savòr Compote
It is served as a little runny compote. It is served at the end of a
complete and lavish lunch. It magically effaces the strong flavours of
previously swallowed foods, giving this delicate and pleasant
“savór” (taste). It has also a digestive effect.
Ingredients: 4 apples, 4 pears, 2 quinces, 1.5 litres of the sweetest
grapes you can find. Quantities for 10 people (everybody takes only
a little quantity, just what needed to serve its purpose); keep the
bowl in the fridge if there is a leftover.
For the dough: Peel the fruit and take out the cores. Cut them into
big pieces. Use a big pan; the contents should occupy half of it. On
a low heat, boil the pieces of fruit in the must and put the lid on the
pan for the first 45 minutes. When it is lively boiling, take off the lid
to allow evaporation. If needed, skim off the scum. When the
consistency and the appearance are of a rather runny compound (it
is eaten with a spoon and served in a little bowl, so there should be
no liquid) turn off the heat. Put it immediately in a jar for preserves
with watertight top, turn the jar upside down until it is completely
cooled off.
Sent by: Rita Tagliati - Ferrara
“
65
The preparation of the “savór”
is one of the customs
accompanying the vintage.
Part of the must is taken away
from the wine-destination
and is used to prepare this fruit
compote. The jar with “savór”
is kept in the basement or in
a cool storeroom, to be opened only
on special occasions, namely,
at the end of important lunches
as a refined complement.
It is a compound that breaks
with the more popular “sapa”,
which is simply cooked must.
“
Sweet Potato Cake
Area of Ferrara. It is an oven cake, which goes well with a sweet
dessert wine. It is a typical autumn cake for the first cold periods of
the year. It is not so popular because sweet potatoes can only be
found for a limited time.
66
Ingredients: 1 kg of sweet potatoes, 3 eggs, 200 g of sugar, _ of
anisette liqueur, 150 g of almonds, 50g of powdered sugar, 20 g of
butter (to grease the pan), 20/30 g of breadcrumbs. Serves 6.
For the dough: Wash the sweet potatoes well and then boil them;
let them cool off a little and then peel and mash them. Add the
sugar, the yolks, the anisette liqueur and half of the quantity of the
chopped and a little roasted almonds. Mix the compound well and
then add the egg whites, beaten to a firm froth. Grease the pan well
with butter and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over it. They must stick
evenly to the butter, in order to prevent the cake from sticking to
the pan. Pour the dough in it, sprinkle the remainder of the chopped
almonds and a little refined sugar and then cook it in a pre-heated
oven at 180°. After about 30-35 minutes (it should look slightly
golden brown), remove from the oven and dust it with icing sugar.
“
It reminds me of my childhood,
in the 1940s, when my
nan prepared it during
the town festival.
“
Sent by: Anna Maria Colombari - Sabbioncello San Pietro (FE)
Albana dolce
Grandmother Albertina’s
Christmas cake
In Bologna, it was the cake of Christmas holidays. It is served at the
end of the meal, cut into small diamond shapes.
Ingredients: 250 g of ricotta cheese, 75 g of sugar, 75 g of almonds,
2 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, vanilla extract, red candied cherries to
garnish (optional). Serves 6.
For the dough: Peel the almonds and chop them very finely, then
mix them with the egg white and sieve them.
Also sieve the ricotta cheese and mix it with the almonds, the sugar
and, at last, with the separately beaten eggs. Grease a rectangular
pan with butter and dust it with flour, then pour in the compound
until it is half a finger high. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 150° and
cover it with a buttered oil-paper sheet, since the beauty of this
cake is that it is white-cooked.
Substitutions: before putting it in the oven, garnish the cake with
the candied cherries.
“
67
On a Christmas during World
War II, you could not find
the rice to prepare the typical rice
cake from Bologna.
An old butcher on San Felice street
proposed this recipe to
my grandmother Alberta,
who kept making it for many
years without forgetting
the instance in which
she was told about it.
“
Sent by: Edvige Bartolini - Bologna
Pignoletto Passito
Rice Cake
Traditional cake (this recipe is popular in the Anzola Emilia (BO)
Municipality): after it had been cooked, it was moistened with an
appropriate liqueur and it was left to stand for at least one day.
68
Ingredients: 1 litre of fresh milk, 100 g of rice (fine), 100 g of
almonds, 70 g of candied cedar, 250 g of sugar, 50 g of vanilla
sugar, 5 eggs, the zest of a lemon, icing sugar and liqueur to
moisten the cake. Composition of the liqueur: drupe, Sassolino
liqueur, rum, cognac, bitter almonds in equal parts for 1 litre.
For the dough: Cook the rice in the milk with the lemon zest, which
will have to be removed afterwards. Let it stand for some hours
(preferably for a whole night). Add the eggs, the sugar, the chopped
almonds and cedar and pour them into a greased pan. Cook in the
oven on a very low heat for about 50/60 minutes. Moisten with the
indicated liqueur.
Sent by: Sonia Monteventi - Monte San Pietro (BO)
“
As little girls, our mothers would
send us to the grocery’s to
buy “what was needed to make
a litre of rice cake”: there was
no need for a list of ingredients
and in this way the task was made
easier for us.
We girls loved to go and felt
“grown up”.
“
Malvasia Passita
Cake in The Basement
This cake requires a lot of time, preparation must be started on a
Tuesday in order to eat it on a Sunday.
Ingredients Ring-shaped cake dough: 500 g of flour, 60 g of butter,
100 g of sugar, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt, milk as much as needed and
a small bag of baking powder. For the cream: 200 g of soft butter,
200 g of sugar, 3 eggs, 100 g of bitter chocolate, 1 glass of milk, 2
small glasses of liqueur, ideally Sassolino wine, the whole content of
coffee of 1 espresso coffee machine.
For the dough: For the ring-shaped cake, blend all the ingredients
into the milk, until you get a rather firm dough, and bake it in the
oven in a buttered round mould. Leave the cake to stand for at least
two days, in order to become harder, so that it can be cut into very
thin slices about 0.5 cm thick without crumbling.
On Thursday you will make the cream. First of all, make the coffee
and let it cool off without adding sugar. On the heat, melt the cocoa
with the milk until it boils, then let it cool off. Start working the
butter with the powdered sugar in a very big tureen with high rims
until it is well whipped, add the egg yolks one by one, keep mixing,
add the coffee in drops (this requires a lot of time…), then gradually
add the milk with the chocolate, the Sassolino wine and lastly the
egg whites beaten to a firm froth. In this way a compound which is
creamy and slightly runny will be obtained.
Cut the ring-shaped cake into slices. Line the round mould (for
example the one in which the cake was cooked) with oil-paper and
start making layers with the cake and the cream. Cover everything
with the oil-paper and press it down with a weight. Let the cake
stand in a fresh place (not in the fridge), possibly in the basement,
for at least two days. It is served as a spoon dessert.
Sent by: Fioranna Magnanini - Reggio Emilia
“
69
At the times when there were still
typists in the Town Hall !
Hours and hours would go by
typing on the keyboard,
so when there was a break
everybody would go and get
a coffee, both young married
women and mature ladies:
those moments were gladdened
by one’s experiences, secrets
and pieces of advice.
In the Human Resources Copy
Office there was the “Nera”,
with many experiences to tell.
The hours spent together were so
many, the sheets of used carbon
paper were so many that, amongst
the numerous “decisions”, she also
wrote out the recipe of
the “Cake in the basement” for
me, a cake she brought on
birthdays
we celebrated together,
on festivities or just because
she cared for us.
“
Cagnina di Romagna
Peppina’s Cake
A chocolate cake originating from the lower Modena area, it owes
its name to the person who handed it down. It is served dusted with
icing sugar.
70
Ingredients: 300 g of almonds with peel, 300 g of sugar, 6 eggs,
1 concentrated espresso cup of coffee, 200 g of dark chocolate,
150 g of butter, 2 tablespoons of milk, 1 teaspoon of baking
powder, icing sugar as much as needed.
For the dough: Roast the almonds with the peel and chop them
finely. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave, along
with the butter, the coffee and the milk. Whip two whole eggs and
two yolks with the sugar. Pour the chopped almonds, the chocolate
compound and the eggs beaten with the sugar in a bowl, then stir
well.
Add the egg whites, beaten to a firm froth and the baking powder.
Line a baking tin with baking paper, pour the compound in it and
cook in a pre-heated oven at 180° for about 25 minutes. When it is
cooked, remove the cake from the mould, let it cool off and serve it
covered with icing sugar.
“
During the first years of
the century at least,
the chocolate cake was the cake
of big occasions.
“
Substitutions: instead of icing sugar, you could cover the cake with
glacé icing, made by melting the dark chocolate with a little cream
and by spreading the compound on the cake.
Sent by: Paola Balducchi - Modena
Gutturnio Chinato
Christmas Tortelli Baked
in the Oven or Fried.
A filled pastry recipe of Modena and Reggio areas. These are
Christmas cookies stuffed with custard or jam or with Christmas
pesto.
Ingredients for the dough: 500 g of flour, 150 g of sugar, 50 g of
butter, 1 small bag of baking powder, 2 eggs, 1 small glass of
Sassolino liqueur. For the custard: 6 level tablespoons of flour,
6 heaped tablespoons of sugar, 6 yolks, half a litre of milk, lemon
zest or vanilla.
71
For the dough: Make the dough by mixing all the ingredients on the
working area. Blend the sugar into the yolks, add the flour and
slowly pour the milk in a casserole pan, to make the custard, stirring
continuously. Put the custard on the stove on a moderate heat, and
always stirring, let it thicken. Flavour with vanilla or with the lemon
zest to taste. At this point you can prepare the “tortelli”, by using
the appropriate moulds, and bake them in the oven, placing them
on a buttered plate sprinkled with breadcrumbs, or fry two or three
“tortelli” at the time in boiling oil. Serve dusted with plenty of icing
sugar.
Substitutions: alternatively, the “tortelli” can be stuffed with sour
cherry jam or with Christmas pesto. The “pesto” is prepared by
mixing the plum jam together with the sour cherry jam, the pine
nuts, the cookies, the sultana raisins, the sweet cocoa, the Sassolino
liqueur, the coffee powder and the mustard. Each pesto sauce would
taste differently, according to the taste of the lady of the house
Sent by: Maria Rita Vivi - Sassuolo (MO)
Pignoletto Spumante
Recipe index
72
BREADS
SOUPS
AND FLAT BREADS
Onion Gnocco
Gnocco ingrassato
Flaked Gnocco
Ricotta Bread
Grilled Piada
6
7
8
9
10
STARTERS
Canapés with hop buds pâté
Small Sea Snails
Raviggiolo Cheese
Zucchini Tart
Tortelli On The Slab
12
13
14
15
16
Bassotti
Consommè with Bignolini,
baked with Parmesan and Truffle of the Hills
Malfatti Steam-Boat Style
Chestnut and Beans Soup
Soup with Paganelli
Minestra Imbottita
Old-time Minestrone Soup
Quadrucci with Asparagus Tips
and Casatella di Romagna Cheese
Krìnofel
Imperial Soup
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
SECOND COURSES
PASTA COURSES
Cappellacci with Ricotta Cheese
Lasagne with chestnuts
Lasagne with Savoy Cabbage
Lunghetti with Cinnamon
Wheat Flour Migliaccio
Pancotto with Grana Cheese
Domed Macaroni Pie Ferrara Style
Polenta, rocket and Squacquerone Cheese
Risotto with Vartis
Cinnamon Flavoured Sweet Strozzapreti
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Adult Lamb Stew with Fennel
Sweet-and-sour Rabbit
Rabbit in Pork-roast
Thigh of Mutton in Aromatised Crust
Stewed Chops
Pheasant Mazzolano Style
Liver of an Adult Lamb with Balsamic Vinegar
Codfish Pancakes
Bacon and peas
Chestnut Flour “Polenta”
with Bacon and Sausage
Stew with Pig’s Tails and Ears
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
VEGETABLES
AND
SIDE DISHES
Potato Croquettes
Small Sweet Semolina Pancakes
Baked Potatoes with Truffles
Tomatoes into… an Omelette
Grandmother Pia Gervasi’s Spinach Pie
73
52
53
54
55
56
DESSERTS
Cantarelle
Gisella Cream
Milk Portuguese Fashion
Mandorlotti
Christmas Bread
Raviole with Jam and Chestnut Filling
Grandmother’s salami
Savòr Compote
Sweet Potato Cake
Grandmother Albertina’s Christmas cake
Rice Cake
Cake in The Basement
Peppina’s Cake
Christmas Tortelli Baked in the Oven or Fried
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
Tourist Information Service
74
Co-ordinated by the Tourist Service and Tourist Quality Areas of the
Region in collaboration with local organisations, the Tourist Information
Service offers an overview of possibilities, places to visit and events
in Emilia Romagna.
This is the only system of its kind in terms of the volume of infomation
available, the size of the area convered and for te organisational
model used.
There are nineteen local editorial offices which are co-ordinated
at a regional level and which work independently to promote the areas
for which they are responsabile via the local web sites. In particular,
the fact that the local editorial offices share common regulations
and information models, ensures a certain level of quality regarding
the updatong of of information, completeness and reliabilit.
www.emilaromagnaturismo.it
Local editorial offices
75
•
•
•
•
•
Appennino bolognese • Appennino modenese • Appennino reggiano
Area imolese • Bagno di Romagna • Bologna • Cervia • Cesenatico e dintorni
Ferrara • Modena • Parma e Salsomaggiore Terme • Piacenza • Ravenna
Reggio Emilia • Rimini • Rimini Riviera • Romagna D’Este • Terre di Faenza
Turismo forlivese
The wine and the flavour routes of Emilia Romagna
76
Strada dei vini e dei sapori dei Colli Piacentini
Via San Siro, 27 - 29100 Piacenza
www.stradadeicollipiacentini.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori Città Castelli Ciliegi
Via N. Tavoni, 20 - 41058 Vignola (MO)
www.cittacastelliciliegi.it
Strada del Culatello di Zibello
Piazza Garibaldi, 34 - 43010 Zibello (PR)
www.stradadelculatello.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori dei Colli di Imola
Via Boccaccio, 27 - 40026 Imola (BO)
www.stradaviniesapori.it
Strada del Prosciutto e dei vini dei colli di Parma
Piazza Rivasi, 3a - 43022 Montechiarugolo (PR)
www.stradadelprosciutto.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori Provincia di Ferrara
Castello Estense - 44100 Ferrara
www.stradaviniesaporiferrara.it
Strada del Fungo Porcino di Borgotaro
Piazza XI Febbraio, 7 - 43043 Borgo Val di Taro (PR)
www.stradadelfungo.it
Strada del Sangiovese e dei sapori delle Colline
di Faenza
Corso Matteotti, 40 - 48025 Riolo Terme (RA)
www.stradadelsangiovese.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori delle Corti Reggiane
Piazza della Vittoria, 1 - 42100 Reggio Emilia
www.stradavinicortireggiane.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori Colline di Scandiano
e Canossa
Via Roma, 11 - 42100 Reggio Emilia
www.stradaviniesapori.re.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori della Pianura Modenese
via S. Manicardi, 41 - 41012 Carpi (MO)
www.terrepiane.net
Strada dei vini e dei sapori dei Colli di Forlì
e Cesena
Piazza Morgagni, 9 - 47100 Forlì
www.stradavinisaporifc.it
Strada dei vini e dei sapori dei Colli di Rimini
Piazzale Bornaccini, 1 - 47900 Rimini
www.stradadeivinidirimini.it
Credits
Emilia Romagna I Tasting the Tradition
The publication is edited by the Tourist Authority of Regione Emilia Romagna
Tourism information and online tourism services
Project co-ordinator I Stefania Sani
Regional Editorial Office
www.emiliaromagnaturismo.it
Editorial co-ordinator I Maria Antonietta Altamura I Francesco Galli I Elia Milena Tosi
Graphic design I Francesco Galli
Translations I Jens Christensen
Print I Tipografia CASMA (Bologna)
May 2007

Terra da fotografare - Emilia Romagna Tourism

Transcription

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