Italian food is one of the most stereotyped food in the world. When we say we are making Italian food, we are making pasta with either tomatoe sauce, alfredo, or if we are feeling fancy maybe pesto or scampi. There is so much more to Italian food than this though. Each region has its specialties, like Rome and Carbonara, the Riviera and Focaccia, Naples and pizza, Sicily and Cannoli, and so much more. While I might be biased in saying this, Emilia-Romagna has the best specialties in Italy. Ever wonder where parmesan and prosciutto come from… Emila-Romagna! While I would love to tell you about all the amazing food I ate in Italy, I spent most of my time in Emilia-Romagna and feel that I can really speak to what you should eat here. I am still no expert, but these are my recommendations for what to try when visiting my favorite region of Italy!
Parmesan and Local Cheeses
My favorite thing about Emilia-Romagna is its amazing selection of meat and cheeses. You can not visit the region without having some parmigiano-reggiano from the city of Parma in the western part of the region. This is the most authentic version of parmesan you will find anywhere as it comes comes cut from the rounds and you can either grate it to add on top or mix into meals or there is a special tool that allows you to break the wedge into pieces. You can eat these pieces on their own with some local wine or meats. It not only tastes unreal, but because of its special granulating process it has the perfect grainy and dry texture. Beyond parmesan, Emilia-Romagna has many great local cheeses. My favorite was this semi soft cheese pictured. I ate it with everything! What made it so good? It was produced locally and organically which provides so much flavor!
Gnocco Fritto
Gnocco Fritto is a fried thin bread from the region. The best thing I can compare it to is fry bread except it is much thinner and for this reason has a pocket inside. This pocket can be stuffed with meat and cheese or they can go on top. I was told the best way to eat it is with coppa and fresh tomato and I do have to say, it is pretty amazing! Coppa is just one of the many salume from the region. It is my favorite. It is similar to proscuitto di parma, but It is not quite as sticky and is a bit more tender. It also has a slightly different flavor that I think makes it more delicious to eat on its own. They also come from different parts of the pig since coppa comes from the neck or shoulder and prosciutto the hind leg. You have to try either one or both in Emilia-Romagna.
Balsamic Vinegar
Now what would Emilia-Romagna be without Balsamic Vinegar? Balsamic comes from Modena, which was the closest city to where I was staying, so it was a big deal. Its made from grapes that are cooked and then fermented for a certain number of years. The farm I stayed at produces their own balsamic vinegar using their grapes. What I learned from trying their balsamic is that it is actually not made as liquidly as it is when we buy it in stores at home. The balsamic in stores is mixed with something else, but real balsamic is a bit thicker and goes a long way. This makes it great for mixing with olive oil to dress a salad and other vegetables. I loves it like this, but of course there are many other ways balsamic is incorporated into other cuisines in Italy. You have to give it a try because the flavor is so much more deeper than what we get at home.
Tortelloni
This is one of my favorite things to talk about from Emilia-Romagna because I learned that there is a sister (or maybe its better to say brother) to tortellini called tortelloni! What is the difference? Tortellini is much smaller and it is often served in soup like tortellini al brodo. It’s filling is also usually meat based using local delicacies like mortadella or prosciutto. Tortelloni is a bit bigger, more like a dumpling, and is either fried in butter with herbs and other flavors, or served with sauce. Its filling is more similar to what we think of as tortellini in the US, ricotta and spinach. You can try either one when visiting the region, but I have to say, I ate a lot more tortelloni then tortellini and there must be a reason for that? Maybe the locals prefer the fried cheese dumplings as well?
Crescentine/Tigelle
This is one I did not get a picture of, so I am going to try my hardest to describe it and then you will have to look up pictures. Crescentine comes from the Modena and Bologna area of the region. I would describe them as being a mix between english muffins and arepas. They have a crusty outside and a soft inside. They are a small flat bread that is cut into two and filled with one or more of the regions amazing meat and cheeses. These depend on the time of year as there are meats that are considered winter meats so in the summertime it is more common to use cheese. They can compared to the Gnocco Fritto I talked about before as that is a type of crescentine that is fried to be more pillowy. Both are great and have to be on your list of foods to try in Emilia-Romagna.
Ragú
I had to rely on AI imagining for this one because I never took a picture of Ragú as well, but I promise it does look better than this. Ragú is an Italian meat sauce that consists of a local meat, for me it was wild boar, broth or wine, and vegetables like carrots and celery. The interesting thing about sauce in Italy is that it is much thicker than sauce in the United States, so I feel like calling Ragú a sauce is a bit misleading. I think it is maybe more like a stew. It is often served with pasta like the Ragú that comes from Bologna, Bolognese sauce. On the farm we ate it on top of polenta. I love polenta and I think it is a great alternative to pasta when you want to try something different. Whether you are trying in on a farm with wild boar and pollenta or in Bologna with beef and pasta, Ragú is something you can’t come to Emilia-Romagna without trying.
Zucchini Flowers
One thing I learned pretty quickly on the farm is to save the zucchini flowers. They do not get discard when picking the vegetable. In Italy is very common to eat the zucchini flower. I was a little hesitant about this at first because it sounded strange to me but now I am constantly thinking about the taste and texture of fried zucchini flowers. While there are many ways to prepare them, I liked them fried in olive oil with a little bit of batter. They are also good served in a pancake form thats mostly egg and ricotta. Each region of Italy has their own way of preparing them as they can also be stuffed, but personally I am completely ok with how I experienced them in Emilia- Romagna.
Locally Grown Vegetables
On a similar note to zucchini flowers, there are many different ways you can experience the vegetables grown in the region. While many of the vegetables are similar to those we eat and grow in the United States, you will find that they may prepare them differently here in Italy. Growing up in Minnesota, we ate zucchini as a noodle or used it to make bread. We hardly ate in on its own, but I discovered cooked with garlic and onion in olive oil that zucchini is actually delicious. The cool thing about Italy is that cooking is very simple and when you have fresh vegetables, that is all you need to make them taste good. Suddenly green beans, peas, and tomatoes were all delicious on their own. They also have unique ways to cook them that is different from our gross and soggy steamed vegetables at home. Bread crumbs, parmesan, and ricotta dress up any vegetable to make them amazing! My point in saying all of this is don’t expect to get vegetables in Italy that are just a side you struggle through to say you had your vegetables for the day. They are actually cooked to taste good and to be just as gourmet as the rest of the meal.
Sweets and Desserts
I will advocate any day for how amazing desserts and sweet are in Italy! There were Americans I had talked to in Italy that complain about the dessert and how they are not sweet enough, but man, I like it that way! I hate desserts that are really sweet which is part of the reason I just haven’t had the same sweets cravings since returning home. I can’t do the cake and cupcakes mounded with that really sugary fake frosting. I can no longer eat ice cream without my stomach throwing a fit. I have come to the conclusion that its because nothing with beat Italian desserts. I never ever felt horrible after eating them, even the gelato! Besides gelato, my Italian sweets recommendations include those pictured above, Tiramisu and Amaretti Cookies which are on the left side of the plate. These are both Italian classics you can’t go to Italy without trying. There are also many other great sweet treats like Cantucci, but they aren’t quite Emilia-Romagna specific. The region doesn’t really matter though. Indulge yourself in all the sweet treats you can in Italy, because they are unlike anything else in the world.
Local Wines
Now you may think about Tuscany as being the wine region of Italy, but let me tell you, Emilia-Romagna has just as great of wines! There are many vineyards all growing different varieties of local grapes. If you have the chance, you should definitely tour a vineyard and do a wine tasting. Here you will learn all about the production of wine in the area. And I don’t just mean Emilia-Romagna when I say the area. When it comes to wine, this goes by cities, towns, and villages. Some of my favorites when I was staying an hour south of Modena included Lambrusco Graspaross di Castelvetro, Lambrusco di Sorbara, and Trebbiano. The Lambruscos are a sparking red wine while the Trebbiano is a light white wine. They all are very refreshing and perfect for a summer in Italy.
This is my list of all the amazing foods you have to try in Emilia-Romagna. Of course there is so much more amazing Italian food that I would love to someday talk about once I have spend more time in Italy, but for now I will leave you with the region that has some of the most well known foods. If you are interested in learning more about Emilia-Romagna, Farms in Italy, or just Italy in general, please check out my Italy page.
The Journal of Wanderlust 