Category Archives: Food blog

In Bologna Easter Monday is only in San Luca

The Bolognese tradition’s wants that during in Easter Monday, people will do the so-called walk in San Luca or the neighboring hills. It starts from the arcades of Meloncello, to get up on top of the Basilica, a salute to the Madonna and then everyone to celebrate in the green with a delicious picnic.

It’s a custom spontaneous that has always existed here in Bologna and that is handed down from family to family; not to lose our roots and to make known at guests and children the Bolognese Hollywood.

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Garganelli & Sausage

Garganelli are a form of egg pasta, very similar to the classic penne. Its origin has twofold story: some dates the invention of Garganello 1400 in the kitchens of Caterina Sforza; and who in 1700 in Romagna, the luxury of eating tortellini was for a few, so peasants invented this type of pasta, which absorbs the sauce just as a “stuffed pasta”. After all, the origins of egg pasta are humble. But the “legend” that I prefer to narrate, tells of a good cook, of the kitchens of Cardinal Bentivoglio, intents on making cappelletti/tortellini. While she was preparing them, a domestic animal ate a good portion of them. Alarmed by what had happened, and not to throw away the square of egg pasta that she had prepared, a fantastic idea come to her in a flash: roll them on a thin wooden torch and later “to scratch” them on a combs structure. Thus were born the garganelli, whose name comes from the dialect “garganel” or gullet, the tracheal part of the chicken. Hence the use of season with sausage, meat sauce or with ham and peas.

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Bologna “La Grassa”

Every Italian city that respects has its nickname. Bologna has three: “la dotta” (learned), “la rossa” (red) and “la grassa” (fat). Dotta for its historic university, Rossa for its red roofs and facades of “red bolognese” color, Grassa for its numerous specialty food. If you think at Palazzo della Mercanzia were filed over 24 recipes (the best known) choosen and selected by the Academy of Italian Cooking; we remember tortellini, tagliatelle, ragù (meat sauce) and lasagna.

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When Flour met Egg

Frequently some people ask me the question “What can we taste of typical here in Bologna?” The answer, as you can imagine, is not one, are so many! The reading today, will probably be the “mother” of all future readings that I will propose. The intent is to tell you about the dishes that have made the history of Emilia-Romagna and, especially, are in the heart of Bolognesi people. First to speak of our specialties, there is a tale to tell: it all started like this..

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