Products and cuisine of Emilia Romagna

Not just Parma: today we bring you an excerpt from the Made in Italy website, specifically an overview of the best Emilian products for all foreigners who are curious and passionate about good food.

When foreigners think of luxury Italian foods, they often associate them with the cuisine of Emilia Romagna .
This land of abundance is known for its tasty produce. Bright green asparagus is served with Parmigiano Reggiano and melted butter. Sweet chestnuts, known as Marrone di Castel Rio, come from Emilia Romagna, as do porcini mushrooms. Local shallots and olive oil pressed from local olives are prized for their quality. Pasta is the region's favorite dish.

While polenta, rice and gnocchi are the staples of Emilian cuisine, fresh egg pasta is becoming increasingly popular. Tagliatelle are a favorite in many areas, thanks to their shape, and are served with ragù, although other areas commonly think otherwise.

Bologna specialties include lasagne verdi, a type of layered pasta made from spinach, flavored layers of pasta, ragù, and béchamel. Gramigna, a type of curly pasta, is also native to Bologna. The pasta is mixed with ragù, broth, cheese, and white truffle if available, covered with a crust, and baked to make tortellini pasticcio.

Parma is famous for its tagliatelle with sauce made with sautéed chicken livers, beaten egg yolk and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Emilian recipes also include tortellini , or tortelloni filled with ricotta and vegetables, served with melted butter.

Parma and Piacenza are the two homelands of anolini. This pocket-sized dough is filled with meat, herbs and vegetables, served in chicken broth topped with a generous sprinkling of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
In Piacenza, they eat pisarei e fasò . These dumplings are served with red borlotti beans and tomato sauce plus locally produced Parmigiano Reggiano.

In Ferrara, cappellacci are stuffed with pumpkin. Cappelletti from Reggio Emilia are stuffed with minced meat, breadcrumbs, eggs and grated cheese. In Romagna, they serve gnocchi, also called cappelletti, but the filling is pork breast and turkey with cheese and aromatic herbs. Served in broth or with pork ragù.

Romagna is famous for garganelli, a pasta dish with cherry tomatoes, basciamella, chicken livers, veal, ham and aromatic herbs. Passatelli is also made in Romagna. The dough is made of bone marrow, grated parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs in raw eggs and comes out of the mold in the shape of small spaghetti. It is both cooked and served in meat broth.

While pasta is undoubtedly the favorite dish in Emilia Romagna cuisine, bread is also highly appreciated. Freshly baked bread known as coppiette can be found everywhere. Local focaccia can be bought in all areas. Piadina romagnola , or piada with cheese, vegetables or ham in the dough is cooked on special griddles. Focaccia is called spianata or torta salata unless it is stuffed with sausages as they do in Bologna, where they call it crescentina .

Emilian bakers prepare borlengo , semi-transparent sheets of dough flavored with garlic, rosemary and sausages and served with Parmesan. These toppings are also used for tigelle, a "palm-shaped" bread similar to an English muffin.

Erbazzone is a baked or fried pie, filled with vegetables, sausages, garlic and onion. If baked in a crust it is called scarpazzone. This baked product is typical of Reggio Emilia.

In this region many types of fritters are eaten, sometimes filled with sausage, ham or pork cracklings; traditionally fried in lard but now usually cooked in oil. Some examples are the burtleina of Piacenza, the torta fritta of Parma, the gnocco fritto of Modena and the chizza of Reggio Emilia. The famous fritto misto of Bologna offers a selection of fried meat and vegetables. Pasticci fritti or cassoni include raisins and spinach in their dough.

The cuisine of Emilia Romagna often benefits from the renowned quality of cured pork. The taste of Parma Ham is incomparable. Even more valuable is Culatello di Zibello , a tender cut from the pig's hind leg. The piece of meat is difficult to remove and prevents the rest of the leg from being used for prosciutto, fetching a high price.

Bologna is famous for mortadella , a cold cut made from ground pork, slices of pork fat with a few pistachios. Zampone di Modena is eaten with lentils to celebrate New Year's Eve and good luck.

Capocollo and coppa piacentina come from Piacenza, as do pancetta and piacentina. Pork morsels are mixed with spices and red wine to create salama da sugo from Ferrara. Sweet salami Gentile is produced throughout Emilia.

In addition to the Romagnola cattle breed, rabbit, game and poultry are eaten. Wild duck is stewed in white wine and spiced herbs and served with risotto. Stuffed or roast capon is stuffed with veal flavored with Marsala wine and prosciutto. Other traditional meats include pork, lamb and mutton. Prosciutto and fresh fruit are served for a pleasant aperitif.

Cesenatico is known for having one of the most delicate brodetti, or fish soups, in the Adriatic. Eel is served roasted, grilled, or cooked in a tomato, onion, and garlic sauce, such as anguilla alla comacchiese.

Emilia is well known for Parmigiano Reggiano, but Grana Padano and Provolone Valpadana are also of excellent quality. Young cheeses are used, compared to sweet and mature ones, to be grated and to develop a more appealing flavor. Ravaggiolo and Squaqquerone are creamy spiced cheeses used in cooking.

With so many hearty dishes, it is fitting that Emilia Romagna desserts are based on fresh fruit. Melons, stone fruits, berries and pears are particularly popular. Chestnuts are also among the desserts of this region.

But not all desserts are fruit. Emilia-Romagna sweet recipes include pastries, baked biscuits, pastries and tarts. Some of the favorite cakes are the Ferrara apple pie, the Certosino from Bologna, a flavored cake. Modena boasts the Sbriciolata with a lemon aftertaste. The Gialetti from Romagna, made with corn flour and not wheat, are a perfect example of their biscuits. The piada dei morti is a sweet unleavened bread with raisins and walnuts.