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Flavors of Italy: discovering Emilia Romagna, home of lasagna, tortellini and ragù

Italians are a people of artists and brilliant minds, navigators and men of letters, but they are also world famous for their cuisine. People often speak of "Italian cuisine," but the more correct reality is that the Italian cuisine is more properly regional.

Each individual area of the peninsula has its own culinary traditions, often jealously guarded from generation to generation. In this sense, Emilia Romagna is one of the areas of Italy whose cuisine is best known internationally.

Lasagne, tortellini, desserts and more, here is a dive into the wonders of the cuisine of Emilia Romagna.

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Flavors of Italy: discovering Emilia Romagna, home of lasagna, tortellini and ragù
Italians are a people of artists and brilliant minds, navigators and men of letters, but they are also world famous for their cuisine. People often speak of "Italian cuisine," but the more correct reality is that the Italian cuisine is more properly regional. Each individual area of the peninsula has its own culinary traditions, often jealously guarded from generation to generation. In this sense, Emilia Romagna is one of the areas of Italy whose cuisine is best known internationally. Lasagne, tortellini, desserts and more, here is a dive into the wonders of Emilia Romagna.
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Erbazzone
You should not be confused by the appearances of cooking shows or starred restaurants: Italian cuisine is a cuisine of the poor, of tradition, of foods that are eaten with friends in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The erbazzone is a perfect example. Typical of Reggio Emilia, it is basically a savory pie made with puff pastry, and filled with a mixture usually consisting of boiled beets, shallots, onion, garlic and lots of Parmigiano Reggiano (a type of cheese). Sometimes cubes of bacon can also be added.
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Tortellini
Tortellini are the typical food of the area of Modena. Famous all over the world, here we are only talking about the traditional recipe. This dish is held in such high esteem that the recipe for the filling was deposited, in 1974, at the Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato e Agricoltura of Bologna. Inside a 6/10 mm dough of flour and eggs, there is a filling prepared with pork loin, ham, mortadella of Bologna, Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs and nutmeg. According to tradition, tortellini are eaten strictly in meat broth (beef, capon or chicken).
Di Lungoleno, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75114839
Cappelletti
For non-Italians it is always very confusing the difference between tortellini and cappelletti. There are basically three differences. First, cappelletti are also eaten dry, with various sauces that can range from cream, to meat sauce, to classic butter and sage. Secondly, they have a thicker dough, are larger, and have a slightly different shape due to the different way they are closed. The other difference is obviously the filling, which can be any kind of meat, from chicken to beef to veal to pork. There are also various versions, called tortelloni, stuffed either with ricotta and spinach or pumpkin.
Di Nico Tranquilli - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22032808
Cake Barozzi
The Barozzi cake is a dessert that originated in the second half of the 1800s in Vignola, a small town near Modena. The originality of the recipe consists of a skillful proportion of peanuts, almonds, cocoa and coffee, although the exact quantities and precise method of preparation remain to this day a secret jealously guarded by the heirs of Eugenio Gollini, the creator of the recipe. It remains, however, one of the most typical desserts in Emilian homes, albeit with some variations to taste.
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Tigelle
As we said at the beginning, tigelle are the emblem of the poor cuisine of Emilia-Romagna. The piadina, or crescentina, is a type of bread typical of the Modena Apennines. The dough is made from type 0 flour, type 00 flour, milk, yeast, oil and salt. What results is a very soft disc of bread, which is heated in the oven until it becomes crispy. Then cut in half, it is filled with various sliced meats and soft cheeses. It is also possible to use pork lard, but also hazelnut cream and peanut butter if you are in the mood for something sweet. On a trip to Emilia-Romagna, this is a must
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Ragu bolognese
Called in the world "bolognese sauce", in Italy it is called ragù and, according to tradition, there are two types, from Bologna or from Naples. It is very common abroad to see it as a condiment for spaghetti (horror for any self-respecting Italian), and over time the original recipe has undergone many variations. The base is still ground minced beef (you can make a mixture with sausage or even bacon sometimes) that you cook for a few minutes with oil, celery, carrot and onion until it browns nicely, without letting it burn. Next, in the same large pot, add tomato puree, a knob of butter, a glass of red wine, salt and pepper and tablespoon of vegetable stock and then simmer for at least a couple of hours until the puree dries out slightly.
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Lasagne
Lasagne is one of the best known and internationally appreciated dishes. It consists of rough-cut sheets of egg pasta, blanched in hot water and arranged in layers. In the middle, in Emilia Romagna they put a mixture of ragù alla bolognese (seen above), béchamel sauce and parmesan cheese (a type of cheese typical of the area). They are then baked in the oven until they are golden brown on the surface, making them very crispy to the touch. In the Bologna area, written evidence of lasagne can be found as early as 1200. According to tradition, in the Emilian area, lasagne is green (since spinach is added to the dough), but nowadays this little touch is unfortunately being lost. In other parts of Italy, lasagne has a different filling.
Di Jessica Spengler from Brighton, United Kingdom - Torta fritta and salumi, CC BY 2.0, https://comm
Gnocco fritto
Here we return to the so-called "cucina povera" of tradition, since this is indeed a very poor but extremely tasty dish, eaten in the taverns of Emilia but now widespread throughout the territory. In addition, it is good to remember that within the same territory emiliano-romagnolo, recipes for gnocco fritto can vary. Around Modena, the dough consists of "00" wheat flour, pork lard, carbonated water and salt. After that, the dough should be rested and allowed to get air in it so that it will puff up while cooking in the pan. They are a very greasy dish, and are often enjoyed together with cold cuts and soft cheeses, just like tigella.
By Lasagnolo9 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93116670
Piadina romagnola
Like tigelle and gnocco fried, piadina is also one of the poorest foods in the kitchen modenese but most appreciated in the world. The basic dough consists of wheat flour, lard or olive oil, baking soda or yeast, salt and water, which is traditionally baked on a round earthenware slab. A typical food of summers at the seaside, often wandering around the seaside area Adriatico romagnolo one comes across cute little vans street food that prepare piadina on the spot, filled then typically with cooked ham and fontina, but which can be eaten with many other ingredients.
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