THE REVIVAL OF HISTORICAL FOOD OF EUROPE AND BENEFITS FOR HEALTHYB DIETS OF POPULATION

1. MEETING IN REGGIO EMILIA 10 – 13 October 2011 THE REVIVAL OF HISTORICAL FOOD OF EUROPE AND BENEFITS FOR HEALTHYB DIETS OF POPULATION

2. THE LOCATION OFREGGIO EMILIA PROVINCE IN ITALY

3. THE LOCATION OF REGGIO EMILIA PROVINCE IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA

4. REGGIO EMILIA PROVINCE AND ITS MUNICIPALITIES

5. THE COAT OF ARMS OF REGGIO EMILIA PROVINCE

6. The city of the Italian FlagEmilia has always been a centre of political life with an innate political vocation and this has led it to play a central role in the creation of the national Italian identity: the Tricolore, the Italian Flag, was created here on January 7th, 1797. It was first proclaimed the national flag at Reggio Emilia during a founding session of the Cispadane Republic.

7. Emilia is a place where the food is outstanding: the famous first courses from Reggio Emilia, the hams and salamis, the sparkling wine, traditional balsamic vinegar, the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (but also the desserts and the quick bites and snacks at the bakers’) show why this province belongs to Italy’s world-famous “food valley”. • The culinary heritage of Emilia-Romagna goes back thousands of years, and the specialities found only in Reggio Emilia include dishes that are still unknown to the general public, such as the mutton raised in the hills between Carpineti and Baiso or genuine pecorino cheese from the Apennines, made with the milk of local breeds of sheep or the ancient tradition of chestnutand polenta: basic foodstuffs that played an important role in the past in the mountains. The excellent food

8. Excellent “first courses” A meal in and around Reggio is a feast from the "antipasto" through to dessert, but the local chefs have always reserved their creativity for the first course, in a multitude of different traditions, from peasant food to dishes enjoyed by the rich, and a few reminders of the great banquets during the Renaissance. • Reggio is on the borderland for the King of first courses,  cappellettiin stock, which is a distant relation to what is served west of here, around Parma. Travelling east, to Modena and Bologna, capelletti have a cousin called tortellini but these are slightly different, although they share the same shape, which was compared to the bellybutton of Venus. Cappelletti from Reggio are at their best in a dish of superb stock. • Another first course includes tortelli: made with pumpkin, with their unusual sweet-savoury contrast; with greens, where the filling is made with chard and spinach; with potatoes, made in the mountains, served with meat sauce. Tortelli are also made: with radicchio, asparagus or nettle fillings. • Other dishes include baked  lasagna ,made of layers of plain or spinach egg pasta, béchamel sauce, meat sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Bomba di riso, savoury rice with pigeon meat (a speciality of the areas of Reggio, Piacenza and Parma) and home-made  tagliatelle that might be served with porcini (mushroom) sauce in the mountains.

9. CAPPELLETTI • Cappelletti are the most representative dish you can eat at Reggio Emilia. They are eaten on special occasion. • there are lots of different versions in the Reggio Emilia area: every housewife used to have her own recipe, passed down from mother to daughter (for example, some versions call for mortadella instead of ham or  veal instead of pork). Even the size of the cappelletti varies.  • Tradition demands they are cooked in  stock, which has to be excellent.   • A curious custom, which is not so popular nowadays, is to dilute the stock and cappelletti, served in a cup, with a little, good-quality red lambrusco (called bevr in veinin dialect) RECIPE FOR CAPPELLETTI REGGIANI • Filling for  4 people: 300 g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 200 g lean pork, 200 g ham 100 g chicken breast, 50 g butter, 1 egg, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. • Instructions: Finely chop the pork and chicken and mix with the butter; cook together for 15 minutes. Add the ham and continue cooking for a few minutes. Leave the mixture to cool and then add the cheese and eggs. Mix until smooth. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

10. Pumpkin Tortelli • Most people from the province of Reggio Emilia reserve pumpkin tortelli (tortellidizucca) for special occasions; even the poorest of the poor were always able to enjoy them, unlike cappelletti which were once eaten only by the rich.  • Pumpkins were grown everywhere and were cheap. There are some local variations, such as the version made at Mantua. They can be rather sweet and their unusual taste may not appeal to everyone. RECIPE FOR TORTELLI DI ZUCCA • Filling for  4 people: 800 g butternut squash, 100 g amaretti biscuits (optional), one egg, 80 g grated ParmigianoReggiano cheese, salt and grated nutmeg. If the filling is too soft, add some dry, oven roasted breadcrumbs. • Instructions: Remove the seeds from the pumpkin, slice it and roast the slices in the oven until soft. Remove the skin and pass the pulp through a sieve. Mix the pumpkin, egg, ParmigianoReggiano cheese and the crushed amaretti biscuits (these contrast the sweetness of the pumpkin, but are not included in the traditional recipe). Add salt and nutmeg to taste. • They are cooked and served like green tortelli: with melted butter and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

11. Traditional green Tortelli • In centuries past, country folks had to rely on what they were able to grow themselves in their vegetable plots and on the animals they reared themselves to put food on the table. Even food for special occasions, like tortelli, made use of greens, or chard, spinach or other vegetables as their main ingredients. Nowadays, tortelli are made with fillings made of pumpkin, nettles, asparagus, local walnuts, truffles, together with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. • Ricotta cheese is not always included in local recipes for tortelli, but is an essential ingredient in the traditional recipe from the Parma area. The recipe below comes from the Enza Valley, and has an influence from Parma.   RECIPE FOR GREEN TORTELLI • Filling for 6 people: 1 - 1.5 kg greens (chard with some spinach, if you like), 400 g ricotta, 1 - 2 eggs, 150 g butter, 100 - 150 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (you can even use part mature pecorino - part parmesan), nutmeg, salt and pepper • Instructions: Squeeze the boiled greens to eliminate most of the water and then chop finely on a chopping board. Mix the ricotta and the greens together, add the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, butter, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and compact; add some breadcrumbs, if necessary. Some people fry some pork fat, oil, parsley and garlic together to enhance the flavour of the greens and dry them out. Tortelli with greens are usually served with sage and butter sauce.

12. Tortelli with potato • Potato tortelli are still a favourite of people in the mountains, where last century the farmers relied on chestnuts and potatoes after grazing for their survival.   RECIPE FOR TORTELLI WITH POTATO FILLING • Filling for 6 people: 2 kg potatoes, 100 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (you can even use part mature pecorino – part parmesan), 100 g minced pork fat (or butter), 1 egg, olive oil, fresh rosemary, 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, salt, nutmeg • Instructions: Melt the pork fat in a small pan with the finely chopped rosemary and garlic, add a few drops of olive oil and cook until the garlic turns a golden colour. Boil the potatoes and mash them until they are very smooth; add the garlic and rosemary mixture, salt, nutmeg, Parmigiano Reggiano and the egg. Mix together until the ingredients are blended in properly; the mixture should be quite firm. Potato tortelli are usually served with bolognaise or mushroom sauce.  

13. Pig breeding traditions • The link between the food in Reggio and pig farming goes back to the Celts and the Romans. Today, pig rearing at Reggio Emilia is highly developed making Reggio one of the capitals of Italian pig breeding. Such a heritage means there’s a lot of pork on the table here. • There are many different types of excellent preserved meats and salamis : mortadellas, local salamis, cooked hams and pork ciccioli(a by-product made when the boiled pork fat is pressed) • Some restaurants serve a selection of boiled meats in a special trolley, including zampetto, tongue, zampone, cotechino and head, eaten with a selection of special sauces. • Town fêtes often have a stand making gnocco fritto. a rectangle of pastry that puffs up when it is fried in boiling lard, and served with local hams and salamis.

14. Wine traditions • Lambruscoisthe most popular wine in Reggio. It is a naturally sparkling red wine – a rarity in the world of wine. Its special nature is part of the local cuisine, requiring a wine that helps wash down its full flavours.

15. Traditional balsamic vinegar from Reggio Emilia • A monk called Donizone, a biographer who lived at the time of Countess Matilda in the 12th century wrote of a laudatum acetumwhich was taken from Canossa and presented to the Emperor in a silver casket. • The history of balsamic vinegar at Reggio (and the better known vinegar from Modena) is documented right back to the Renaissance, when the richer families at first and then the middle classes started the custom of keeping a set of special barrels for making their own vinegar at home by leaving boiled local grape must to age. • The end result requires a very long period of aging in a set of barrels made in increasingly smaller sizes and of various types of wood, topping up the level of vinegar on a regular basis and changing barrel every year. The result is a dark brown, viscose liquid with a penetrating aroma and a sweet and sour flavour. The price of traditional balsamic vinegar reflects how rare it is and it is sold in little, 100 cc flasks with special, colour-coded labels (crimson, silver and gold, in order of age). By law, balsamic can only be called “stravecchio” (extra mature) after it has aged for twenty-five years in the barrel. It should be used in small amounts. Balsamic vinegar is a perfect companion for anything. It goes well with salads but also boiled meat or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or in  drops over ice cream.

16. The kingofcheese • This cheese deserves its reputation as the best cheese in the world and has an illustrious heritage that goes back hundreds of years. • Tradition says it was first “invented” over seven hundred years ago in the Enza Valley, an area between Parma and Reggio. This led to its name of Parmigiano, or Parmesan. • Parmigiano-Reggiano is a protein-rich, hard, semi-fat cheese made with boiled milk and left to mature slowly. The large wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano (each one weighs around 30 kg) are made in dairies according to a traditional method and technique; the cheese is left to age for about two years. • It is mainly used for grating over food, especially pasta and soups or it can be served as slivers for a quick snack, with drops of traditional balsamic vinegar. • There is also an extra special version of Parmigiano-Reggiano, made with the milk of an old breed of red cow, called the Rossa Reggiana, that has generally been replaced nowadays by more productive Friesian cows.

17. The province of Reggio can also offer a taste of some excellent traditional desserts. Brescello, a town on the banks of the river Po, is traditionally the place of Spongata cakes made to the original 15th century recipe. Spongata cake is made at Christmas and has a hard filling made of honey, walnuts, pine nuts, sultanas and different spices. At Christmas, the local families also have sweet tortellini, either baked or fried, and with a filling made of chestnuts, jam, coffee, walnuts and sugar. For Mardi Gras, tradition wants intrigoni, the local version of the strips of sweet short crust pastry fried in hot oil that are eaten all over the country. a typical dessert from the area is zuppa inglese, a cold dessert, made with layers of creamy egg custard, chocolate flavoured custard and sponge fingers dipped in liqueur (usually Alchermes, a scarlet red Italian liqueur). The best known cakes include ciambella reggiana (dry cake shaped in a ring), la torta di riso (rice cake), la torta nera (chocolate cake) and the very filling torta in cantina, which was traditionally made in the mountains. Sweetness in all shapes and sizes

18. The bread shops of Reggio At Reggio, the bakeries not only sell bread. For a quick and tasty snack you can have: • gnocco, a sort of flat, savoury bread that is brushed with lard on top, • erbazzone (or scarpazzone). The locals from Reggio are particularly proud of this speciality. It is a savoury pie with a filling made of spinach or chard, spring onions, lard and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, between two layers of soft, thin pastry. The version from the mountains, called scarpazzone di montagna also puts cooked rice and milk in the filling. • chizze, pastry parcels filled with Parmigia­no-Reggiano cheese that are excellent as a snack. These fried savouries are probably a mark of the influence of its Jewish community.  Made with the same mixture as gnocco fritto, chizze are folded in two and filled like tortelli before being topped with slivers of Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese and fried in plenty of boiling hot pork fat or oil.

19. Chestnuts: a local treasure with a story • Countess Matilda of Canossa first had the idea that lead the locals to grow chestnuts: her subjects needed a sure source of sustenance. With the aid and skill of the local monks, the trees were planted out in special areas according to a farming strategy called the "Matildic layout“. Each "biolcareggiana" (a local land measurement of 2,922 square metres) housed about 30 trees. The leaves were gathered to use as winter bedding and food for the animals. The trees also provided chestnut wood for cabinetmakers and for making tools. • The chestnut harvest is celebrated during the autumn. Traditionally, the food eaten in the mountains makes use of chestnuts; from simple boiled chestnuts (called balush or ballotte) to more sophisticated recipes like the classic tortellini eaten at Christmas. The principal use of chestnuts in the mountains is to make flourfor a special type of polenta.

20. Polenta Polenta is eaten by farmers in the Apennines. It may be fried, poured out onto a board and eaten alone or accompanied by ricotta, cheese or sausages. It is made simply by cooking corn meal in water; traditionally, it is cooked in a huge copper pan and stirred with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Polenta can also be served soft and eaten by the spoonful with a sauce. This is called stiadapolenta, served on a wooden board with a meat sauce or with mushrooms and parmesan cheese. The meal is a true social occasion for family and friends gathered around the table, as each person serves himself from the board.

21. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! • HAVE A GOOD TIME IN ITALY!