Easy Italian Recipes

Class Gastronomy

The region made up of Emilia, which spreads across the Po River valley to the west, and Romagna, which extends eastward to the Adriatic coast, is among Italy's most famous gastronomic centers. This is the home of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, aged balsamic vinegar, and sweet prosciutto di Parma. The rich, sophisticated cuisine of the capital, Bologna, has given the city the nickname la grassa, "the fat one." Pork, veal, milk, cream, butter, and cheese are the hallmarks of the region's cooking, along with fresh eggand-flour pasta, hand-rolled with a long pin and cut into tagliatelle (the loca) name for fettuccine), layered in sheets as lasagne, or stuffed and folded to make tortellini. Cured meats and sausages are the pride of Emilia-Romagna, from salami and coppa to the famed mortadella of Bologna, from which boloney gets its name, and the stars of many antipasti platters. Along the Adriatic coast, fish and shellfish are featured in brodetto, the richly flavored loca) seafood stew, or simply grilled with olive oil and herbs. Among the EmiliaRomagna's best-known wines is Lambrusco, a young, delicately effervescent red made in the frizzante style, which goes well with the salumi and other rich, hearty foods of the region.

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parmigiano-Reggiano starts with milk from grass-fed cows, which is heated in copper vats with natural whey and rennet to coagulate the curds. The whey from this process was traditionally fed to pigs raised to make prosciutto di Parma, adding to the famed ham's distinctive flavor. Formed into giant wheels, the cheese is aged for twelve to thirty-six months. Look for the words Parmigiano-Reggiano stenciled on the rind. The cheese is ideai for grating and is excellent served in chunks as part of a cheese course.

Balsamic Vinegar

A world-renowned specialty of Modena, dark, sweet balsamic vinegar varies in quality and price. True aceto balsamico tradizionale di modena is something else altogether. Thick, syrupy, and complex, it is aged in successively smaller barrels made from a variety of woods as it evaporates and thickens in open-air lofts. It must be at least twelve years old, and is often aged for twenty-five years or more. In Emilia-Romagna, it is used sparingly as a table condiment to anoint everything from meats, fish, and salad greens to chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano and strawberries.

Regional Specialties

Mortadella large sausages, often weighing thirty pounds (15 kg) or more, made from puréed pork, studded with bits of pork fat

Prosciutto di parma world-famous air-cured ham of Parma

Culatello among the most prized of all salumi, delicate, pink culatello is made by salting and air curing a tender section of the pig's hind leg Piadina a griddled flatbread that is folded over prosciutto or other fillings

Gnocco fritto fried dough puff served as an antipasto, often with sliced salumi

Tagliaiene alla bolognese me segnature pasta of the region paired with its famous meat and tomato sauce, which is often enriched with milk or cream

Tortellini stuffed pasta generally eaten in brodo (in broth) or al burro (with butter and Parmesan)

Zampone and cotechino a specialty of Modena, zampone is a pig's trotter stuffed with ground pork and traditionally eaten with lentils on New Year's Eve; the same filling is also made into cotechino, a sausage

Grana padano a hard grating cheese similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano

Photo: Wedges of Parmigiano-Reggiano and bottles of syrupy, aged balsamic vinegar, both famous products of the Emilia-Romagna region, are now common in kitchens around the world.