Potepanje po Italiji – inspiracija za ustvarjanje Silvestrskega menuja / Visiting Italy and finding our New Year’s dinner inspiration

Pred božičem sva se z dragim odpravila na potovanje v Italijo. Že poleti sva del dopusta preživela pri naših zahodnih sosedih, na njihovem severu, za kratek zimski oddih pa sva se odpravila v “kulinarično prestolnico” Italije Bologno¹ in v njeno okolico (dežela se imenuje Emilija-Romanja (ital. Emilia-Romagna)). Ogledala sva si Ferraro, Bologno, Republiko San Marino, Rimini in Modeno. Nisva mogla mimo njihove kulinarike in tako prišla do ideje, da bova za najine goste na Silvestrovo poskusila poustvariti okuse, s katerimi sva se srečala na potovanju.

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Before Christmas I went on a trip to Italy with my boyfriend. This past summer we have spent some time in the northern part of Italy so this time we have decided to visit the »culinary capital« of Italy Bologna¹ with its surroundings (the region is called Emilia-Romagna). We visited different places, including Ferrara, Bologna, Republic of San Marino, Rimini and Modena.

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Izlet je bil vizualno malo okrnjen zaradi goste megle, ki prebivalce Padske nižine spremlja v tem letnem obdobju, ni pa bil kulinarično in zgodovinsko nič manj zanimiv. To je območje², kjer pridelujejo parmezan (ital. Parmigiano-Reggiano), katerega ime je geografsko zaščiteno, znan pa je tudi balzamični kis in njihove piadine ali ploščati kruh, ki ga običajno postrežejo obloženega s sirom. Na sploh je kulinarika dobra in najin gostitelj nama je povedal, da v sami Bologni težko najdeš slabo restavracijo. Ne le zaradi tradicionalno dobre hrane, ampak tudi zaradi konkurenčnosti med gostinskimi obrati. Slabim hitro zmanjka prometa in so jih lastniki nato primorani zapreti.

Ko sva poskušala tradicionalne lokalne specialitete, nisva mogla mimo mortadele in tortelinov, jedi, ki imata korenine ravno v teh krajih. Mortadele (ital. mortadella) v Bologni in okolici ne najdemo z dodatkom oliv, ampak z črnim poprom in/ali pistacijami. Je značilna mesnina Bologne. Strežejo jo na vsakem koraku. V sendvičih v trgovinah in “panini (sendvič) in tramezzini (topel sendvič) placih”, na ploščah kot del narezka, pri aperitivu³ in kot predjed v restavracijah. Ni trgovine z živili, kjer ne bi imeli obešene vsaj ene mortadele v kosu. Z njo polnijo tudi torteline (ital. tortellini). Masi dodajo še parmezan, jajce in začimbe. Tortelini izvirajo iz mesteca Castelfranco Emilia, ki leži med Bologno in Modeno. Torteline strežejo kot glavno jed za malico, seveda pa jih ne postrežejo “suhih”. Vedno je zraven omaka: ragu alla bolognese ali, kot jo mi poznamo, bolonjska omaka. Na to vsujejo še kupček parmezana in “ta-da” kosilo je nared.

Tamkajšnja kulinarika naju je tako zelo navdušila, da sva si jo vzela za osnovo pri pripravi novoletne večerje za najine prijatelje.

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SILVESTRSKA VEČERJA:
za 10 oseb
Galerija slik

APERITIV: Koktajl s penino

V novoletnem duhu smo začeli z enostavnim koktajlom s penino. V Bologni pogosto za aperitiv pijejo Aperol Spritz, mi pa smo začeli malo drugače. Jagodam granatnega jabolka sva dodala sok granatnega jabolka in ribeza ter dodala penino. To sva postregla v flavtastih kozarcih za penino. Poleg pijače sva postregla še slano pecivo iz listnatega testa.

HLADNA PREDJED: Kruhki obloženi z mortadelo

Mortadelo sva kupila v Bologni. En kruhek je bil namazan s sirnim namazom, nanj je bila dana rukola in mortadela. Drugi pa je bil pokapan z oljem gorčičnih semen, dodana je bila rukola, mortadela in parmezan. Na krožniku so bile tudi domače olive, ki sta jih prinesla prijatelja. Poleg smo postregli rebulo od Kmetije Zgonik iz Branika.

 

TOPLA PREDJED: Tortelini polnjeni z bučo hokaido

Poleg tega, da v Bologni strežejo torteline polnjene z mortadelo in parmezanom, najdemo tudi take polnjene z bučo. Ta predjed je od mene zahtevala, da sem se prvič lotila ustvarjanja tortelinov. Zamesila sem testo za testenine, ga z napravo za valjanje testenin zvaljala na najtanjšo debelino, nato pa oblikovala z bučnim nadevom polnjene torteline. V nadev sva dodala pečeno bučo, parmezan, muškatni orešček, sol, poper in rumenjak. Postregla sva jih popečene na maslu s timijanom in jim po vrhu potresla malo naribane gorgonzole. Prav take so nama postregli v eni izmed restavracij, kjer sva si privoščila večerjo v Bologni. Poleg smo pili belo vino, tokrat sauvingnon (Kmetija Zgonik).

 

GLAVNA JED: Jagnječje stegno v omaki s timijanovim pire krompirjem

Jagnječje stegno sva kupila pri mesarju. S kostjo je tehtal približno 1,8 kg. Ker pa sva v zadnjem hipu izvedela, da se nam bosta pridružila še dva gosta (število se je povečalo iz 8 na 10), sva odhitela v trgovino in jedi dodala še en kos govedine (bočnik). Jed zahteva daljšo pripravo, da je meso res dobro, sočno in mehko. Zraven sva dodala pire krompir, ki ni jed, ki prihaja iz Italije. Je pa enostaven za pripravo, če moraš postreči deset lačnih ust. Da je bil okus malo drugačen, sem ga začinila s timijanom. Tako je bolje povezal jed z rdečim mesom v omaki. Poleg smo si privoščili rdeče vino (domač refošk), ki smo ga dali prezračiti v dekanter⁴.

SLADICA: Šarlota z vročimi višnjami

Za sladico sva pripravila šarloto po receptu družinske prijateljice. Višnjevo rulado za sladico sem pripravila že dva dni pred večerjo, da sva jo potem lahko narezano zložila v skledo in jo prelila s jajčno-vinsko kremo, ki spominja na italijansko kremo zabaione. Šarloto je dobro pripravljati pozimi, ko je mraz in ni preplaha, da se nam bo, ko jo bomo iz sklede obrnili na krožnik, razlezla in ponesrečila. Nama je za prvič uspela popolno in ko sem jo uspela brez težav obrnit na krožnik, sem od veselja kar vzkliknila. Postregla sva jo z vročimi višnjami, ki osvežijo okus sladkega vina, ki je v kremi. Poleg smo pili domač sladki muškat.

V Italijo se bom z veseljem še vrnila. Izlete tja obožujem za to, ker niso stresni. Ljudje so prijazni in gostoljubni, kava je dobra, da kulinarike sploh ne omenjam. Super je, ko lahko odideš na potovanje in prideš nazaj z navdihom za ustvarjanje. Še bolje pa je potem, ko lahko to deliš z drugimi. Tudi ob posebnih priložnostih kot je Silvestrovo. Ob prehodu v novo leto tako vsem želim, da bo leto 2015 uspešno in srečno, predvsem pa polno navdihov in čudovitih majhnih stvari, ki vam bodo dneve napolnili z veseljem.

1. Bologna je največje mesto in prestolnica regije Emilija-Romanija. Po prebivalstvu je sedmo največje mesto v Italiji. V srednjem veku je bilo v mestu znano kot mesto stolpov. Postavljenih več kot 100 stolpov, zdaj jih stoji še 20. Bologna je prav tako mesto, ki je znano po arkadah. Vse skupaj je v mestu približno 45 km arkad, pod katerimi se lahko sprehajajo pešci. Najdaljši sklop arkad vodi do cerkve na vrhu hriba (Santuario della Beata Vergine di San Luca), ki se nahaja malo ven iz centra Bologne. Tako lahko celotno pot (malo manj kot 5 km) prehodite pod streho. Bologna je izjemno zgodovinsko zanimivo mesto, med drugim tudi dom prve univerze. Ni preveč turistična, a zelo prijazna do pešcev. Naslednjič bom tja odšla v poletnem času. Imam občutek, da bodo arkade nudile prijetno senco za tavanje po mestu ali pa zaščito pred dežjem. Definitivno mesto, obisk katerega priporočam vsem.

2. Parmezan (ital. Parmigiano-Reggiano) je sir, ki ga pridelujejo na območju Parme, Reggio-Emilije, Bologne (zahodno od reke Ren), Modeni, Mantovi (južno od reke Pad). Ime je geografsko zaščiteno.

3. Aperitivo je italijanski happy hour. Trend je, da preden se odpraviš ven na večerjo, se s prijatelji dobiš v baru, kjer strežejo aperitivo. Ob plačilu pijače si lahko neomejeno postrežemo z hrano iz bara. Seveda je pijača malo dražja, ampak nabor hrane je ceni primeren. Od različnih sendvičev, narezkov, pic, slanih rolad, itd.

4. Dekantiranje vina je postopek, ko vino pretočimo v kristalno stekleno posodo značilne oblike (dekanter). To počnemo za to, da ločimo vino od usedline in da dosežemo zračenje vin, ki še niso dosegla svojega vrha. Predvsem za rdeča vina.

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Visiting Italy and finding New Year’s dinner inspiration

Before Christmas I went on a trip to Italy with my boyfriend. This past summer we have spent some time in the northern part of Italy so this time we have decided to visit the »culinary capital« of Italy Bologna¹ with its surroundings (the region is called Emilia-Romagna). We visited different places, including Ferrara, Bologna, Republic of San Marino, Rimini and Modena.
Throughout the whole trip there wasn’t practically any sunshine due to the fog that is a typical phenomenon for the valley of the river Po this time of the year. But thou the weather wasn’t nice, the trip wasn’t in any way less interesting. We love the history of the region and also their culinary traditions. In this region they produce parmesan cheese (it. Parmigiano-Reggiano), which name is protected by designation of origin². This is also the home of the famous balsamic vinegar and the Italian flat bread called piadina. Generally the cuisine here is really good. Our host told us that in Bologna it is hard to find a bad restaurant, but not only because of the traditionally delicious foods, but also because of the competitiveness between the restaurants. The bad ones quickly run out of guests and then the owners are forced to shut them down.

We tried different local specialties such as mortadella and tortellini. Both dishes have roots in this part of the world. In Bologna you can find mortadella in any store. Typically here mortadella has added black pepper, myrtle berries and pistachios. It is a traditional dish of Bologna and they serve it on every corner. You can find it in local food stores, places where they sell panini and tramezzini (sandwiches), while drinking aperitivo³or on a cold plate with other meaty delights as a cold appetizer. They even fill tortellini with mortadella. To that they add some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, eggs and some spices. Tortellini come from a town called Castelfranco Emilia that lies between Bologna and Modena. They serve them in a beef soup, as a main dish for a quick lunch, as a warm appetizer and in this case they cover them in ragu alla Bolognese. They sprinkle a good measure of parmesan cheese over it and »voila« – lunch is served.

Their dishes got us inspired to create something new in the kitchen and so we took the idea and created a lovely New Year’s dinner for our friends.

NEW YEAR’S DINNER MENU:
10 portions
Photo gallery

 

APERITIVO: Cocktail with sparkling wine

In the true New Year’s spirit we started off with a simple cocktail made with sparkling vine. As an apertitivo in Bologna they often drink Aperol Spritz but we started a bit differently. We added the juice of the pomegranate to the pomegranate seeds, topped it off with sparkling wine and served it in flute shape champagne glasses. With it we served some snacks made out of salty butter-dough.

COLD APPETIZER: Sandwiches with mortadella

For the cold appetizer we served sandwiches with mortadella that we brought back from our trip. One of the sandwiches had a cream cheese base, and was topped off by rucola and mortadella. The other one was sprinkled with some mustard seed oil, topped with rucola, mortadella and parmesan cheese. We drank some Slovenian white wine with it called Rebula.

WARM APPETIZER: Tortellini filled with hokaido pumpking filling

Beside the mortadella filled tortellini, they also serve tortellini filled with pumpkin in Bologna. It was my first time creating tortellini at home. I made the dough for pasta, rolled it out with the pasta machine and then shaped the pumpkin filled tortellini. We added parmesan, nutmeg, salt, pepper and an egg yolk to the pumpkin (that we backed before in the oven). We served them sautéed in butter with a little sprinkle of gorgonzola cheese on top. A glass of white sauvingnon wine went good with this dish.

MAIN DISH: Lamb shank with thyme mashed potatoes.

We had quite a lot of work with our main dish. We wanted to cook lamb shanks in a sauce and first we had to create a beef stew. Because we had two more guests confirming their arrival late, we went and bought some beef meet too, and add it to the lamb shanks. We served mashed potatoes with thyme with the meat and a glass of local red wine called refošk.

DESSERT: Sharlote cake with hot cherrie sauce

We prepared Sharlota cake for the desert. The recipe was given to us by our family friend. I made the rolled cake with cherrie jam two days before so we had enough time to cool it and cut in in pieces. We laid the pieces in the plastic bowl and covered them with an egg-wine cream similar to Italian zabaione. We had a glass of sweet muskat wine with the dessert and it was quite perfect.

I will gladly return to Italy. I love visiting Italy because the trips there are never stressful. People are kind, the coffee is good and also their food is amazing. It’s is great that you can go on a trip and come back with so much inspiration for creating new things and then sharing them with our friends. Even on a special occasion such as New Year’s Eve. In the Year 2015 and wish everyone to have a successful and happy year, let it be full of inspiration and let the small things fill your life with joy.

1. Bologna is the biggest city and the capital of the region Emilia-Romagna. It’s the seventh biggest city by population in Italy. In the middle ages the city was known as the city of towers. Inside the city walls there were more than a hundred towers, only 20 of them are still standing. The city is also famous for their porticoes. In the city there are around 45 km of porticoes under which pedestrians can easily walk. Bologna is an amazing and historically interesting city. It is the home of the first University. There isn’t many tourists and it is a very pedestrian friendly city. My next visit there will be in the summer time. I can imagine that the porticoes offer a nice shade from the hot sun. I most definitely recommend visiting this lovely city to anyone.

2. Parmigiano-Reggiano is the cheese that is produced in the Provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Bologna (only the area to the west of the river Reno), Modena (all in Emilia-Romagna), and Mantova (in Lombardia, but only the area to the south of river Po), Italy.

3. Aperitivo is an “Italian happy hour”. It is a trend that before you go out for dinner you meet up with your friends in a bar where they serve aperitivo. You buy a drink (usually you pay a euro or two more) and you can eat the food that they serve in the open food bar. They serve different dishes, from panini to pica, mortadella, prosciutto, cheeses,…