Where does Bolognese Come From? Bologna, of course!

Now that we're back from Italy and all settled in, we figured we'd give you another taste of Italy. This time, from Bologna. We went to Bologna after Florence, but we found Florence to be somewhat of a foodie bust. The food was good, but not great, likely due to the fact that it's clogged with tourists there.

Bologna on the other hand is a food lovers paradise. It seems to be a somewhat overlooked and underrated city - not even getting a page in Rick Steve's Italian tour book that we had used throughout the trip - but that turned out to be a plus as we had our most authentic meals in this city.

It's located just minutes away from places like Parma, Modena, and Emilio Reggiano, so delicious D.O.P. Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di Modena, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, and Parmigiano Reggiano are aplenty, and very affordable.

We had one of our best meals of the trip at a very old and well known place in Bologna called Osteria 15. Everything was so good, so fresh, and so delicious, and we ate so much that we were literally not hungry throughout most of the next day.

We started off with a sampler of cured meats, fried bread, and cheeses. A fresh, dry ricotta drizzled with a reduction of balsamic vinegar was one of the cheeses, and the other was this creamy, delicious cheese that unfortunately I've forgotten the name of, but is apparently a typical cheese of the region (anyone out there remember what that might be? Let us know in the comments!).

Fresh ricotta with balsamic reduction

Cured meats and that amazing cheese. Creamy and tangy and delicious!

We each then had a pasta, YiRan enjoyed handmade tortellini in an creamy artichoke sauce that had a divine flavor with a slightly sweet aftertaste. Bryan devoured gramigne with sausage which was also really good.

Tortellini with artichoke cream sauce

Gramigne con salsicce 

Then we got our secondi, prosciutto and arugula baked with tomino cheese. To say this was rich and heavenly would be an understatement.

Prosciutto with baked tomino cheese. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The next day we went out on an amazing day tour of food producers in the region and saw how parmigiano, balsamic and prosciutto were made, and learned all about the process and regulations governing what it takes to be real Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. This was a really outstanding day, which culminated with an amazing lunch out on the countryside. Anyone travelling to the region really must go on the tour - see more about it at the Italian Day's Food Experience website.

Our view while eating in Bologna's countryside

The first pasta - with vegetables grown in the garden nearby

The second pasta - with black truffle cream sauce and chopped walnuts

The secondi - white cow with balsamic and parmigiano, with a side of crisped potatoes and peperonata

Finally we feasted at Ristorante al Sangiovese where we had the traditional tagliatelle bolognese as well as a special of the house, this maccheroni with a tomato pesto and prosciutto. The tagliatelle bolognese was just the perfect incarnation of bolognese - light and simple, delicious, delicate flavor, nicely al dente pasta. The tomato pesto was sharp, tangy, and slightly sweet.

Maccheroni with tomato pesto and prosciutto

Tagliatelle bolognese

Finally, we should share a word about our accommodations in Bologna. We stayed at the Antica Residenza d'Azeglio bed and breakfast, and our host Roberto really redefined hospitality for us. We were greeted with a nice bottle of lambrusco, and a bottle of prosecco, provided with sparkling and still water throughout our stay, and sent on our way with a bagful of small paninis with prosciutto and salami. Anyone travelling to Bologna should try to stay here - it's a beautiful place, comfortable room, and incredible service for a very good price.

Anyway - hopefully that whets your appetite for some delicious prosciutto and parmigiano with lambrusco tonight and puts Bologna on your itinerary for your next visit to Italy. Next up this week we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming :)

Ciao!