Traditional, regional Italian cuisine, that’s what we’re passionate about. We want to encourage increased popularity tf the wonderful cuisine that has formed the staple diet in some areas of Italy for centuries. Therefore, our products are sourced direct from artisan producers in Italy and are made to traditional regional recipes using home made or local produce. Each area has its own specialities and here we look at what makes the Emilia-Romagna region the gastronomic centre of Italy.

The people of Emilia-Romagna eat more, care more and talk more about food than anywhere else in Italy. The region is the largest producer of pasta and preserved tomatoes. But Emilia-Romagna is best known for three items: Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham), Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese), the most essential ingredient in Italian cooking, and, of course, egg pasta.

Parma Ham

Hams can only be branded with the ducal crown of Parma if they are from a particular variety of pig raised in Northern Italy and fed on controlled foods. The hams are salted and left for a few weeks in a very cool atmosphere while much of their liquid drains away; then they are washed and allowed to dry out and mature for ten to twelve months. Only just enough salt to draw out the water and prevent fermentation is used, so the hams are slightly salty.

Parmesan Cheese

Parmesan cheese originates from Parma and Reggio nell’Emilia, who for years battled over the name of the cheese. The dispute was finally settled with the official, double-barrelled Parmigiano-Reggiano. The production method has not changed for centuries. The cheese is made from a mixture of morning and evening milk from cows fed on fresh green grass and clover between mid-April and November. The milk produced during the remainder of the year is used to make vernengo, a paler cheese of slightly lesser quality. The cheese can be eaten after a year when it is nuovo. For its traditional role, parmesan is grated over pasta, soups and rice. Its special quality is that it melts without producing threads. In order to take on a more piquant flavour, the Parmesan must wait another year to become vecchio, or old, and a further year to become stravecchio. Grated Parmesan is used so much in Italy that it has been called the vice as well as the backbone of Italian cooking.

Egg pasta

Emilia-Romagna is the land of fresh egg pasta. Filled pasta is a world in itself, with different shapes and an astonishing variety of fillings. Many filled pastas are served in broth, with meat sauce or simply with melted butter. Fresh cream had been used frequently as a pasta sauce in recent years but purists believe it deadens the delicate flavours. Favourite vegetables include spinach, beet greens; Swiss chard, cardoons, cabbage, courgettes, pumpkin and potatoes; a usual way of preparing them is alla parmigiana, baked with Parmesan.

Truffle country

Emilia-Romagna is mushroom and white truffle country and in season their perf ume pervades many dishes. Dried mushrooms, which have a stronger flavour than fresh ones, are used for sauces throughout the year. Often the mushrooms are eaten raw, marinaded with oil and lemon juice and sometimes sprinkled with truffle shavings, grilled, fried with garlic and parsley or stewed with tomatoes or wine. Porcini mushrooms and the egg-shaped ovoli (Caesar’s mushrooms), are local favourites.
There is a whole world of cured meats and salamis to be discovered. For examp le, Bologna is known for mortadella. Zampone, stuffed pig’s trotters and cotechino, a strongly flavoured boiling sausage, are specialities of Modena. Ferrara is known for salame da sugo made with ground pork, liver and tongue, enriched with spices and red wine. It was thought to have aphrodisiac qualities and it is still served at wedding parties today.

Modena magic

Modena is famous for amaretti; for cherries in alcohol; and most famously for aceto balsamico, balsamic vinegar. In the past, balsamic vinegar was made at home by wealthy families and it took at least twelve years to produce a good vinegar. This vinegar is dark and dense in appearance with a mellow, sweet-sour flavour which is achieved by using Trebbiano grapes and traditional methods of producing the vinegar. From Parma’s Parmesan cheese and Prosciutto ham, to Modena’s cherries and balsamic vinegar, to the meat sauces and pasta of Bologna, the Emilia-Romagna region boasts a cuisine famous for excellence throughout the world.

Festival Calendar

• May/June: Balsamica festival in Modena in honour of balsamic vinegar.
• July: Festival of Mountain Parmesan in Pellegrino Parmese (four days)
• August: Feast of Parmigiano reggiano in Casina dedicated to Parmesan cheese.
• September/October: Wine festivals throughout the region.

Pumpkin Risotto — a traditional regional recipe

(Pumpkin could be replaced with Porcini Mushrooms (i.e. 400g Porcini Preparati) which would make a delicious wild mushroom risotto as served in Emilia Romagna region).

Ingredients for 10 portions:

• 430g Pumpkin Sauce
• 22g Buon Brodo (makes 1ltr Veg. Stock)
• 1kg Vialone Nano Rice
• 2 Onions Finely Chopped
• 60 ml La Nonna Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 150g Walnut Sauce
• Salt & Pepper
• 100g Five Cheese Sauce
• 2 Glasses Dry White Wine
• 100g Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1. Gently fry the onions until golden, add the rice to toast slightly.
2. Add a little wine and then slowly add the vegetable stock, a little at a time as the rice absorbs the liquid... Half way through cooking, when the rice is still slightly hard, add the pumpkin sauce, walnut sauce and the 5 cheese sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add the remainder of the wine.
4. Slowly finish cooking the risotto until well amalgamated and al dente.
5. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano stir and leave to rest for a few minutes then serve.
6. You can trickle a little extra virgin olive oil on the portion of risotto that you are serving.

Note: When preparing in advance, remove from heat and refrigerate whilst rice is slightly hard. When ready to use, heat with the remainder of the stock and serve at once. This allows you to serve a risotto in 5 minutes with excellent results, rather than keeping the customer waiting.