m-m-m-m-m-Mortadella! (by Sally Ashton)

Apologies: the following post may contain information repugnant to Orthodox or vegetarian readers.*

Comments received after my Not Blogging from Bologna post showed appreciation for porticoes and curiosity about the connection of Bologna to the American lunchmeat made popular by lil' Oscar and his wiener whistle. This is my kind of crowd. Let porticoes speak for themselves all arched and redundant; I'll speak for Mortadella di Bologna.

The city of Bologna is part of the Emilia-Rogmagna region of Italy that consists of such cities as Parma, Reggio nell' Emilia, Modena...anything ringing a bell here? Food! Yes food such as Parmesan, Prosciutto di Parma, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Reggiano. Emilia-Romagna boasts a distinctive food heritage, as each region of Italy does. Kind of like New York bagels and San Francisco sourdough bread. Kind of, except Italian recipes and traditions stretch back to medieval times and are rooted in families, kingdoms and politics. Their sense of regional pride runs deep and fierce.

Bologna lies in the middle of the region. It is revered as both the center of learning, "La Dotta," as I mentioned in the earlier post, and as Fat City. Well actually it's referred to as "La Grassa," a term which means The Plentiful or more commonly, The Fat: city of good eats. There are historical and geographical reasons for this, but go read your own travel book for that. Suffice to say, if you controlled the Emilia-Romagna, you could feed a Roman legion and rule the known world.

Let me also clarify: the modern Bolognese people eat fat but they aren't fat. Not that I could see.

So this is Mortadella di Bologna, although it could be sliced thinner. At least that's how it was served to me. The look of fat squares, let's call them lardon, gave me pause, but once I tried it as one does in Rome...oh my. It's made of finely ground pork seasoned with peppercorns, shelled pistachios, wine, coriander and anise. The recipe follows strict guidelines in order to be called Mortadella di Bologna. One is a 7 to 3 ratio of pork to fat. Ideally, the meat is sliced to order, never more than you'd use for a meal. The Italians are quick to point out that compared to the pre-sliced, packaged, over-processed stuff we're used to, their product is a health food. Amen!

The last thing I will note is how to eat it. Mortadella slices are usually served on platter. Take a bakery-made breadstick and wind a slice around the end the way you might wrap spaghetti around a fork. A Mortadella lollipop! Also works well with prosciutto. Of course this will go into a poem...

And for my vegetarian friends, Bologna is the home of Tortellini! But don't get me started.

-Sally Ashton

Comments

[Marge]

Thanks for the lovely words, Sally. Time for lunch!

[Stacey]

The Italians really do know how to eat. I've never had Mortadella because the fat turns me off but I find your statement that it's a health food compelling. . .