Reception also passes through food. And so, to make the feast of the patron San Petronio a celebration that is truly for everyone, the archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, decided to propose, on the occasion of Friday lunch in Piazza Maggiore, an alternative version of the tortellino, together to the traditional one, it is clear, as specified by the same archbishop who explains that "next to the quintals of tortellini conforming to the deposited recipe, even a few kilograms without pork (in the filling) should be prepared for those who cannot eat them for different reasons".

The tortellino of the controversy

A filling that, instead of a mixture of pork loin, ham and mortadella, with Parmesan cheese, eggs and nutmeg (this is the recipe filed in the Chamber of Commerce), is done with the chicken meat, ricotta, egg and parmesan. The "tortellino dell'accoglienza", with the traditional hand-rolled egg pasta, but with white meat, was born to be enjoyed even by those who, for religious reasons, cannot eat pork But it is also a light version, as the archbishop always explains, more suitable also for the diet of the elderly. To prepare it, the team of the association of the sfogline, which will sell it (fresh or cooked) from 11 onwards.

The scandal and the fake news

But there are already those who cry out to heresy. Matteo Salvini, the political leader of the League, first in a rally, and then on Facebook, said: "But we're kidding. Oriana Fallaci was right. The problem is some Italians who forget their roots, deny our history, from tortellino to crucifix. But do I have to defend faith and values? I who am a sinner . And again: «The Bolognese have rightly risen: mothers, dads, grandmothers, grandparents, parish priests, nuns. One can eat the salad, as far as I'm concerned, though deny our history, in the name of a misunderstood respect, it is simply madness … .

His loyal Lucia Borgonzoni, a candidate of the League in Emilia Romagna, echoes him and he has just gotten out of a gaffe just on the region that is applying to govern having claimed that it borders on Trentino-Alto Adige. The candidate of the League says: «Tortellini are also distorted, just to wink at Islam, what a shame. This for some is integration, for me it is an offense to our traditions that has nothing to do with integration . And increases the dose: "It was enough to make tortelloni if ​​they wanted to be more Islam friendly, but then they wouldn't have had a bit of controversy to show and they wouldn't have offended the culture of an entire city".

The Diocese of Bologna, however, does not collect: «Some controversies and exploitations are not acceptable even during the electoral campaign. It is surprising that one fake news is used to confuse, "writes the Curia, and" that a normal rule of reception and respect for the guests to be interpreted as an offense against tradition ".

Historical notes on Bolognese tortellini

In truth i Bolognese tortellini born with a chicken filling, is without the pig. A chef of great luster, Francesco Leonardi, who was a personal cook of Catherine II of Russia, reports within her work The modern Apicius this recipe: «Pounded in the mortajo of the roasted chicken breast, add me well cleaned beef marrow, grated Parmesan, a piece of butter, salt, nutmeg, fine cinnamon, and two raw egg yolks. Only 1871 we have evidence of a first recipe that puts the pork in the filling: i Cappelletti alla bolognese. For a long time, in fact, cappelletto and tortellino were synonymous. The recipe is found in the book The wise cook, that is, the art of pleasing the tastes of Italians, with local and foreign foods: a work that also contains all that is necessary to know how to order and serve a lunch, and the best methods for making jams, rosolios, liqueurs and ice creams. Here it is: «Take equal parts of the cooked chicken breast, both boiled and roasted, and of the lean lean in the arista, equally cooked already; mince this meat minutely on the cutting board; then place the beaten in a pan, add one or more eggs, depending on the amount of meat you have used, a little ricotta, grated Parmesan in abundance, and spices, including a bit of nutmeg ". Here is the first appearance, therefore, of the pig (pork loin), but in coexistence with the traditional chicken. Then we get to 1891 when a book has been published that has made school, which has "dictated" the rules for many Italian chefs and housewives. We are talking about The science of cooking and the art of eating well of Pellegrino Artusi. But in many cookbooks the pork and chicken pair will still stand, as in The talisman of happiness (1927) of Ada Boni, and, to arrive almost to our days, in 1967 in Italian regional recipes of Anna Gosetti.

The alternative tortellini

In Italian cuisine already exist "non-traditional" tortellini, because if it is right to respect and eat traditional dishes, it is also pleasant to discover new flavors, the result of combinations never before thought. We must never forget, in fact, that there was a time when what is tradition for us today was then a novelty. Because cooking is also experimentation, as the great chefs teach us. And often successful recipes are born of errors (think of the tarte tatin).
Here are some examples of alternative versions: spring tortellini (stuffing: sausage 100 g – veal 100 g – chopped onion and carrot, in all 50 g – grated parmesan – salt – pepper); tortellini with pigeon meat (stuffing: one pigeon, already plucked, clean and free of giblets, about 350 g – cured ham 50 g – grated parmesan 35 g a little more to season – celery – carrot – onion – 2 egg yolks – butter – nutmeg – salt) ; vegetarian tortellini (filling: ricotta 300 g – flour 00 g 250 – radicchio of Treviso g 240 – durum wheat flour 80 g – grated parmesan 40 g – rosemary – extra virgin olive oil – salt – pepper); Tortellini in Capon Broth (for the filling and the broth: a capon – porcini g 350 – grated parmesan – garlic – parsley – celery – carrot – onion – olive oil – salt – black peppercorns).
Below the traditional recipe and other delicious variations.