The Piadina - A Romagna Special Sandwich

 It seems there's no end of yummy sandwiches around the world. A special sandwich of the Romagna area of Emilia-Romagna is the Piadina flat-bread sandwich.

I was lucky enough to enjoy a Piadina lunch with two friends on a sunny afternoon at Mr. Dante restaurant on the Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna.

My sandwich had piadina bread, prosciutto, the unique Emillia-Romagna squacquerone fresh cheese, and arugula. I accompanied it with a glass of Albana Secca Emilia-Romagna DOCG white wine.

The squacquerone has a texture like yoghurt. It's nice, but not exciting. However, it worked perfectly with the prosciutto and arugula.

The sandwich and wine cost a total of about $17.05.

Enjoying lunch with two great friends made the experience even more special.

I had originally chosen a restaurant that had one of the very best ratings in Ravenna. Fortunately, it was closed when we got there. It was on a side street with little atmosphere.

Mr. Dante restaurant is undoubtedly named after Dante Alighieri, the iconic Italian poet, writer, and philosopher, who spent his final days in Ravenna.

The Foods & Wines of Emilia-Romagna

     I recently visited the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna for the first time. Prior to preparing for the visit, I knew very little about the area except its reputation for prosciutto, parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar. I learned that it is a culinary paradise and also has nice wines.

    Below is a list of the foods and wines that I tried.  The list is intended to give you a sense of the culinary richness of the area.

 I really enjoyed most of them. The few that didn't turn me on were the very popular Cotoletta Alla Bolognese - Bolognese Veal Cutlet, Lasagna Sfoglia alla Bolognese, Squacquerone - a very fresh cheese with a yoghurt-like consistency, and Zuppa Inglese (English Soup) - a dessert. Perhaps I should have tried the cutlet and the lasagna at a second restaurant, but there were just too many foods to try.

    I plan to do postings about some of the meals in which I enjoyed these foods.

    I was surprised by the wines. Prior to this trip, the only wine type I knew about from the region was Lambrusco, a red wine that I find too sweet. I had many very pleasant reds, mostly Sangioveses, and a few whites and dessert wines.

    While I was there, I stayed in the capital of Bologna, but made day trips by train to Modena, Parma, Ravenna, and Padua (which is in the Veneto Region). I was joined by two friends. On the day trips, I tried local food and wine specialties - like the Piadina sandwich of Ravenna or wine from the Hills of Parma.

Foods & Wines Consumed

Balsamic Vinegar - Tour & Tasting at Villa San Donnino near Modena

- Tradizionale Extravecchio – aged 25 years

- Tradizionale Affinato – aged 12 years

- Nerone dressing – aged 6 years

- Bianco white dressing

- Jelly

Cheeses

- Grana Padana

- Parmiggiano Reggiano

- Pecorino

- Pecorino from Pienza

- Riviera

- Squacquerone

Prosciutto & Salumi (cured meats)

- Coppa di Parma IGP "Ferrari Cavalier Bruno"

- Culatello di Zibello DOP "Podere Cadassa" - Parma

- Leporati Parma prosciutto -  aged 28 months

- Mortadella

- Prosciutto

- Salame Felino IGP "Gran Riserva Cavalier Bruto Umberto Boschi" - Parma

- Salami

Breads

- Crescentina rolls

- Tigelle

- Torta fritta – Fried hollow bread – a Parma specialty

Appetizers

- Tortino di Parmigiana ai Porcini -  parmesan flan with porcini mushrooms

- Tortino di Verdure con Crema di Parmigiano Reggiano 24 mesi - vegetable flan in a fondue of 24-month-old parmesan cheese 

- Tortino di Zucchine au Fonduta di Parmigiano Reggiano 24 mesi e Glassa di Alceto Balsamico di Modena - mini zucchini flan with a fondue of 24-month aged Parmesan cheese

Pastas – Primi Piatti (There are primi piatti other than pastas, but I didn’t have any.)

- Anolini in brodo di manzo e cappone - Anolini pasta in beef & capon broth with parmesan cheese

- Balanzoni in crema di Parmigiano con Granella di Pistacchio - Balanzoni pasta in parmesan cream sauce with chopped pistacchios

- Cappellacci alla carbona  con guanciale croccante -  cheese & egg ravioli with crispy bacon

- Gramigna alla Salsiccia – Gramigna pasta with sausage

- Lasagna Sfoglia alla Bolognese

- Passatelli in Brodo - hand-made passatelli pasta in broth

- Passatelli with prosciutto

- Tagliatelle al Ragu

- Tagliatelle con salsiccia brasata al sangiovese e squacquerone -  tagliatelle with sausage braised in sangiovese & squacquerone

- Tortellini alla crema di Parmigiano -  meat-filled tortellini with parmesan cream sauce

- Tortellini alla moda di Bologna con burro e julienne di prosciutto di Parma - Bologna-style tortellini with butter and Parma ham julienne

- Tortellini in brodo di Capone - Home-made tortellini in capon broth with parmesan cheese to sprinkle

- Tortellini tradizionali, crema di zafferano e prosciutto di Parma croccante - tortellini with a saffron cream sauce and crispy Parma ham

-Tortelloni (not tortellini) ripieni di zucca alla Crema di Parmigiano - tortelloni filled with butternut squash in parmesan cream sauce

- Tortelloni di Zucca con funghi porcini e olio di tartufo  -  butternut squash-filled Tortelloni with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil

Main Dishes – Secondi Piatti

- Cotolette alla Bolognese – Bologna veal cutlet

Sandwiches

- Crescentina sandwich - fried bread with grilled porchetta ham and potato croquette, caramelized onions, & hand melted provolone cheese

- Piadina with Parma ham, squacquerone, and arugula – a Ravenna specialty made with Piadina bread

Side Dishes – Contorni

- Cicoria Saltata in Padella - Sauteed chicory

- Friggione - traditional bologna dish of stewed onions and tomatoes. Incredible!

Desserts

- Gelato con Amarena -  gelato with black cherries

- Semifreddo al Pistacchio con Caramello Salato - Pistacchio semifreddo

- Tenerina di Cioccolato -  a local type of chocolate cake with a sweet mascarpone cheese

- Torta di Riso - chocolate rice cake

- Tortino di Cioccolato fondente -  a dark chocolate flan

- Zabaglione & Sbrisolona 

- Zuppa Inglese

Wine

- Albana Secca Emilia-Romagna DOCG white

- Anino Pignoletto

- Ca' Grande Sangiovese Superiore

- Cavariol Colli Bolognesi Bologna Rosso

- Finitum Cantine Zuffa Colli d'Imola Sangiovese Superiore

- La Furha del Basino Sangiovese Superiore

- Passerino (dessert wine)

- Mastalsò Romagna DOC Sangiovese Superiore

- Monte dei Vigni (Mountain of Vines), a Colli di Parma (Parma Hills) red - 75% Sangiovese and 25% Bonarda grapes

- Rubicaia Romagna Sangiovese

- Santodeno Sangiovese Appassimento

- Tenuta la Viola, il Columbarone Sangiovese Superiore from Emilia-Romagna

- Tenuta Nasano Sancaberlot (Sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, merlot)

- Torre Ca Bianca Colli Bolognesi Rosso

- Umberto Cesari Moma Sangiovese - Cabernet Sauvignon from nearby Castel San Pietro Terme

- Vittorio Romagna Sangiovese Superiore

After-Dinner Drinks

- Limoncello

- Nocino – a nut liqueur