The name of Bologna “the fat”, as well as Bologna “the learned”, for its famous University, the oldest in Europe, has kept unchanged over the centuries.
The handmade egg pasta and the pork produce are the cutting edge of theBolognese food tradiction
If we combine the two specialities, we get the main first dish of Bologna: the famous Tortellini.
We start with tortellini, small squares of home-made egg pasta stuffed with a filling of mortadella, prosciutto (ham), eggs, nutmeg, Parmigianocheese, pork loin.
Then tortelloni, bundles of pasta, typically shaped as a hat with a puff, filled with ricotta cheese flavoured with garlic and parsley, eggs and Parmigiano cheese; or Lasagne, pasta stuffed with ragù, bechamel sauce andParmigiano cheese and tagliatelle, thin strips of home-made egg pasta, with a ham sauce or ragù alla Bolognese (Bolognese sauce) with meat.
The sausage and salami tradiction: unrivalled saisages and salamis, the ham and, for many, the famous mortadella, already popular during the Roman Period.
Among the typical second coursese, cotoletta alla Bolognese (Bolognese cutlet), with ham, Parmigiano cheese and truffle from the Tuscan-Emilian Appennine.
Above all, the bolliti misti – (boiled mixed meat: beef, hen, veal tonge,cotechino sausage, zampone, or stuffed pig trotter, veal head) as well as the fritto misto alla Bolognese – the Bolognese mixed fried vegetables, fruit nd cream.
The repertory of cakes is also exiting, with torta degli addobbi, litterally, celebration cake, based on rice and chopped almonds; the typical Christmas cake certosino or panspeziale ; Carnival sfrappole, pinza, raviole of Saint Joseph, toghether with the traditional zuppa inglese, or trifle… the Bolognese way.
