Although Bolognese cuisine is not very much different then that of Modena or any other city in Emilia-Romagna, but since it has a long and important part of Italian history, it deserves a text on its own.
The fame of Bolognese cuisine is not something new. It all started back in the Middle Ages with the foundation of the University of Bologna in 1088. Many of the students brought their own cooks that influenced the local culinary tradition based, in the large part, on fresh egg pasta.
Other ingredients and dishes largely eaten in Bologna we have come to know a bit better on a free walking tour with our guide, Ela. While taking us through the Quadrilatero shopping area she showed us various types of pasta, sauces, meat and sweets characteristic for the area.
Since the Italians are so proud and patronising of their history and tradition back in 1953 they founded the Italian Academy of Cuisine whose aim is to preserve the gastronomical heritage of Italy. Each year the Academy hosts a number of educational programs and they public monthly magazines and a restaurant guide.
https://www.accademiaitalianadellacucina.it/
The list, submitted to the The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Artisanship (Camera di Commercio, Industria, Agricoltura e Artigianato) includes some of the most famous Bolognese dishes that we had a chance to try at the Mercato di Mezzo food hall.
Ela took us to this old, once abandoned, three-storey pavilion building that houses all kinds of food stalls. Although late afternoon, the place was crowded. We barely found a place to sit down and actually we were very lucky as the place was closing down for a short break and we were the last that they served.
The only thing left for us to try at that point in Bologna were lasagne alla Bolognese and tagliatelle al ragù that we have washed down with good old Lambrusco wine.
According to the legend the thin strips of egg pasta 8 mm wide resembles the blond hair of Lucrezia Borgia and were invented on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Ferrara in 1487.
Ragù, the most famous Italian meat sauce first appeared on the tables of nobles in 1500. and it hasn’t come down yet. When did these two parts of the equation came together nobody knows, but since this is the best meat / pasta combination that world will ever get to see, maybe we don’t really have to care?
Among other recipes of the Bolognese cuisine, another great classic with ancient origins is lasagne verdi al ragù whose traces we can find in the 1st century Roman scripts.
This rich dish consists of several thin layers of 15 x 10 cm spinach pasta interspersed with the meat and bechamel sauce and sprinkled with parmigiano reggiano cheese.
The fame of lasagne has traveled way beyond Italian borders and became such a big part of contemporary consumers life, to that extend that even Garfields favorite dish is lasagne.
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NJUPANJE U BOLONJI
Iako se Bolonjska kuhinja ne razlikuje puno od modenske ili nekog drugog grada u okolici Emilie-Romagne, ali obzirom da ima dugu i važnu ulogu u talijanskoj povijesti, zaslužuje vlastiti tekst.
Slava olonjske kuhinje nije nešto novo. Sve je započelo još u srednjem vijeku utemeljenjem sveučilišta u Bolonji, 1088. Velik broj studenata dovela je svoje sluge i kuhare koji su utjecali na lokalnu kulinarsku tradiciju temeljenu većinom na svježoj tjestenini s jajima.
Neka druga jela i sastojke koja se na veliko jedu u Bolonji upoznali smo bolje za vrijeme naše hodajuće ture s Elom. Dok nas je vodila trgovačkim dijelom grada, Quadrilatero dijelom, Ela nam je pokazala i upozorila na razne vrste tjestenine, umaka, mesa i slastica karakterističnih za područje.
Obzirom da su Talijani ponosni i zaštitnički nastrojeni prema vlastitoj povijesti i tradiciji, 1953. utemeljena je Talijanska kulinarska akademija čiji je glavni cilj očuvanje gastro nasljeđa u Italiji. Svake godine akademija organizira brojne edukativne programe i objavljuje mjesečne časopise i restoranske vodiče.
https://www.accademiaitalianadellacucina.it/
Popis koji je sastavila Trgovačka komora (Camera di Commercio, Industria, Agricoltura e Artigianato) sadrži neka od napoznatijih bolonjskih jela koja smo imali prilike probati u Mercato di Mezzo.
Na Elin prijedlog posjetili smo ovu staru, nekad napuštenu zgradu, koja danas udomljuje razne odjeljke s gotovom hranom. Pravi raj za gurmane i odlično mjesto za druženje, što se vrlo brzo pokazalo negativnom stranom jer svi su bili tamo i jedva smo našli mjesto za sjesti. Iako je Mercato bio na zatvaranju prije drugog, večernjeg, otvaranja uspjeli smo ugrabiti zadnje porcije lasagna i tagliatella s raguom, jedine stvari koje još nismo probali.
Prema pričama, tanki rezanci tjestenine od jaja širine 8 mm nalikuju zlatnoj kosi Lukrecije Borgie i izmišljeni su za prigodu njenog vjenčanja s Vojvodom od Ferrare 1487.
Ragù, najpoznatiji talijanski mesni umak prvi put se pojavio na plemićkim stolovima 1500. godine i od tad nije sišao sa svoje pozicije 🙂 Nitko ne zna kad su se tagliatelle i ragù upoznali, ali hvala bogu da jesu jer se radi, vjerojatno, o najboljoj mesno-glutenskoj kombinaciji ikad.
Među ostalim klasicima bolonjske kuhinje nalazi se još jedan s antičkim korijenima. Prve pisane tragove zelenih lazanja možemo naći u tekstovima starih Rimljana, još tamo u 1. stoljeću prije nove ere.
Ovo bogato jelo sastoji se od nekoliko slojeva tjestenine veličine 15 x 10 cm koji se prelijevaju slojem mesa, bešamel umaka i parmigiano sira.
Dobar glas dobrih lazanja prešao je talijanske granice do te mjere da je jelo postalo sastavan dio suvremenog života. Mislim, i mačak Garfield ih jako voli 🙂
