Datasheet

1110 THE ITALIAN WAY
Bertazzoni’s home is Guastalla, near
Parma in the region of Emilia-Romagna.
This is the Po Valley, the great fertile plain
at the heart of Italian agriculture once
known as ‘the bread basket of the Roman
Empire’. From here comes the food that
gives Italian cooking its distinctive and
delectable qualities so famed around
the world.
The fabulously rich soil generates superb
grains and grasslands, orchards and vegetables
– wheat for pasta, corn for polenta, rice for
risottos, peaches, pears, cherries, quince and of
course deep red flavorsome tomatoes.
From this land comes great butter and cheese,
pork, beef, veal, poultry and game, with fish
from the Mediterranean and porcini, nuts and
truffles from the foothills of the Apennines.
With traditional skills, these riches are turned
into classics such as Parmigiano Reggiano
(Parmesan cheese), prosciutto di Parma
(Parma ham) mortadella and other piquant
cured meats and salamis. The region’s vineyards
produce Lambrusco, Sangiovese – and
Trebbiano, which is also carefully aged into
the renowned balsamico di Modena (balsamic
vinegar).
Cooking is living
Mealtime in Emilia-Romagna becomes the
essential convivial occasion, the foil for
conversation and appreciation. Orchestrating
the delicious array of the region’s produce
creates living rituals and traditions, ever
reinterpreted to contemporary life.
The meal starts with antipasto, which may
feature anything from vegetables with
prosciutto or other cured meats to fruit such
as pears with Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.
Other popular appetisers are bruschetta, fried
bread with salami, and caprese (fresh buffalo
mozzarella with cherry tomatoes and basil).
The first course (primi) is usually pasta.
Cooks of the region are masters of fresh flat
pasta, cut into strips to make tagliatelle, left
whole to make lasagne or stuffed to make
classics such as tortellini, ravioli, cappelletti
and a host of other shapes and flavors. They
are accompanied by any amount of ragus,
from perfumed meat to the many vegetable
traditional creations. Alternatively there is the
risotto, made with special short-grained rice
with almost every flavor.
Land of riches
Right: The bountiful land
of Emilia-Romagna has
been producing food and
wine for many thousands
of years.
Parmigiano Reggiano,
world-famous classic
cheese of the region.