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The Piadina or piada, the most classical of Romagna's specialities, is the starting point of a long journey among Romagna's food and wines.
Originally it was poor peasant food: its simple dough induced greater satiety, and therefore represented a good alternative to bread, if not to the main lunch. During the years the composition of the dough has been slightly changed, even in accordance with the culture and tradition of each town, becoming one of the typical dishes of the traditional Romagna cuisine and gaining international fame. |
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You can also sip Romagna wines like Sangiovese, Albana, Trebbiano or the famous Cagnina, a sweet red wine mainly appreciated by the fair sex.
Also worth tasting are the soups, that is all first courses, in broth or dry, strictly hand-made: true “objects of desire”, at times filled with cheese, greens, pumpkin, fish, ricotta.
They are obtained from a hand-made mixture of eggs and flour, rolled out with a rolling pin until it becomes a soft round pastry, golden, thin, without cracks and slightly rough to ensure optimum absorption of sauces; there is also a green version, used for baked lasagne; in this case the dough is enriched with spinach or nettle. The pastry is cut into different shapes depending on the pasta one wishes to prepare (rhombs, lozenges, small discs, rectangles, small strips, etc.), creating unique first courses: tagliatelle, cappelletti, ravioli, tortelli, tagliolini, pappardelle, maltagliati, garganelli, seasoned in a variety of ways, with tens of sauces and gravies, made with agricultural and sea products, superbly enhancing their tastiness. This long list of objects of desire also includes two other soups: the strozzapreti (“priest chokers”), whose name well reveals the anarchic character of people living in Romagna small strips of pastry made with water, flour and salt and then rounded with hands, and the passatelli: eggs, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, a pinch of nutmeg and lemon peel, kneaded with a special tool; traditionally they are tasted in meat broth (better if obtained by boiling a capon) just like the cappelletti, but they are delicious with fish broth as well.
Choosing is not easy, when you are faced with such a menu, even because chefs blend with great skill tradition and new trends.
Coming to the richness and variety of the characteristic second courses, you can follow three different “itineraries": valley, earth and sea.
Many habits of the valley cuisine have remained unchanged and people keep preparing as dictated by tradition true delicacies like frogs and the eel, celebrating its triumph in the delta valleys.
A true star in gastronomy, the eel is used in many different recipes, each tastier than the last: grilled, marinated, in fish broth, "a becco d’asino" or with savoys, or even with a fine risotto.
Not to be missed is also the risotto with coot meat, another dish typical of the valley. |
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The earth itinerary includes superior, genuine meats used to prepare the renowned mixed grills, a true speciality of the regional cuisine, like the Romagna's mutton and lamb, the white bullock of the central Apennines (that has recently achieved the Igp mark) and the dark Romagna swine.
Meats, always tender and high-quality, are gently placed on the burning coals along with fresh salami, sausages and bacon, releasing an aroma irresistible for the taste buds of every gourmet. Mixed grills prepared in this area are so rich that they remind the banquets painted by Arcimboldo, when meats celebrated their triumph on the tables of rich people and bread was used as a support.
Even fish grills are no joke: almost all fish types captured in the Adriatic Sea are suitable to be grilled: mullets, brills, angler fishes, squills, soles, crustaceans – used to sweeten taste – and heaps of kebabs of calamari, crayfishes and small cuttlefishes. The most classical of grilled dishes is the “rustida” made of mackerels, sardines and pilchards, the so-called "pesce azzurro", cheap and delicious, quite common in this sea.
You can also taste the fine recipes that include the “sweet” salt of Cervia, protecting and enhancing the taste of basses, brills, sardines and prawns. Other traditional dishes are cuttlefishes with peas, stewed cuttlefishes, fried calamari, whitebait and "paranza" (a mix of small fried fishes), soups with mussels, clams and tellins, and stewed snails.
The sea food itinerary, finally, includes the fish "brodetto", a strong-tasting soup traditionally prepared by sailors on boats, with a dense tomato sauce, vinegar and black pepper; however there are quite a few local variants, some very tasty and other finer: savoury fish soups to be accompanied with toasted bread, seasoned with high-quality oil and garlic. |
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