There is the 'Filo di pasta kneaded with water of youth by the Chef's three hundred year old grandmother and seasoned with impalpable sauce' and there is the 'North Pole fish fillet in unobtainable berry sauce and grated tuber grown 200 meters below land'. And then there's the mortadella sandwich. That we eat above the earth, well planted with teeth in the bread.
It is the most delicious pink that there is. Thà we have learned to recognize a good mortadella and found that, with regards to this exclusively local salami, the only one that boasts the Igp certificate, ie the Typical Geographical Indication protected by the European Union, and the Mortadella Bologna.
The 24 October is the day dedicated to her. And right in the city of Bologna, for the occasion a wing of the museum it is tinged with mortadella. And of its unique, intense and slightly spicy aroma …
The date is not random. It was indeed the 24 October 1661 when Cardinal Farnese emanated the edict that regulated the production of mortadella. A historic day not just for this salami, but for the world gastronomy: it was in fact the first case in history to protect a culinary specialty. From the Disciplinary of thethe bresaola to that ofthe focaccia with cheese from Recco, from that of the piadina romagnola tothe same, obviously, of the Bologna mortadella, in the modern world the regulations that frame and protect food and preparations board and overflow. But here we are talking about over three and a half centuries ago!
To celebrate the second #MortadellaDay, the Consorzio di Tutela has decided to give to its protected nothing less than the entire wing of a museum, and precisely that of History which is located in Palazzo Pepoli in Bologna, city fulcrum of the celebrations. There you can immerse yourself in the tradition of this sausage with unique features, a product ad high nutritional level that the Consortium itself claims to be "a composition of noble proteins, minerals and unsaturated fats perfectly in line with the trends of modern nutritional science".
His recipe – stewed, not smoked – with pork meat originally pounded in a mortar – "Farcimen mortatum" – it was already praised by the Romans: two Roman stems depicting seven small pigs and a mortar are kept in memory in another museum in the capital of Emilia, the Civic Archaeological Museum.
Today the production disciplinary admits two versions: without pistachios, consumed mainly in the North, and with pistachios, a must in the South. In any case it is a caloric intake not at all disproportionate, equal to that of a spreadable cheese (288 kcal / 100 gr).
The discourse concerning pigs is different: to obtain Igp recognition at least a stage of production, processing or processing it must take place in a defined area, following a production process that conforms to a precise one Production regulations, in respect of the traditional recipe. This means that the pigs used may not necessarily be Italian. For this it is important to select among the producers of Mortadella Bologna those who guarantee the quality in breeding of the pigs in the first place.
THEthe Mortadella Consortium of Bologna carries out activities of contrast to imitations and the counterfeits of this ancient salami that, apart from the mythical sandwich, can be the protagonist of recipes lusty But in the end genuine. What to say for example of the Mortadella sushi with growth foam rather than la Baked steak stuffed with scamorza and mortadella. Or a beautiful one Mortadella Bologna Igp on peach and onion salad, as suggested by the gourmet recipe book on the Consortium's website.
Carola Traverso Saibante
September 2019
DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES OF SALT & PEPE
Maurizio Raviolo, Managing Director of Wagamama Italy, explains “the alignment always starts from London, where test kitchens, tests and combinations have been carried out, now that everything is tested we can bring the menu to our restaurants in Italy. In the list were already present many vegetarian dishes but to satisfy the tastes of all the vegan proposal could not miss. "