Tagliatelle with lemon and prosciutto. Home recipe

The lemon tagliatelle I know originally started out as tagliatelle with prosciutto. Later, they became tagliatelle with lemon and prosciutto, and, more often than not, just with lemon and without prosciutto. I’ll share with you the recipe I know, which some people from Bologna call alla Romagnola, a home-style dish widespread in Bologna…

ByMonica16 July 20260Comments

COURSES INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Sausage and bean stew. Home cooking and January’s recipes

I started the year cooking hearty dishes, perfect for the season. Like sausage and bean stew with Grandma Sara's special touch: a few pieces of fresh pork belly, which makes the sausage sweeter during cooking and adds great flavor to the sauce. Home cooking and casalinghitudine I was in first grade when, at the end of…

ByMonica20 January 20260Comments

Bologna Food Chocolate Christmas COURSES Desserts INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES

Chocolate block dessert (Dolce mattone), without eggs and baking

At home, it was called chocolate block dessert. However, I only discovered as an adult that in Emilia-Romagna, this dessert is more commonly known as Dolce Mattone (literally, Cake brick). It requires very simple ingredients. It has the aroma and flavor of old-fashioned desserts, the kind our grandmothers used to make. Although in this case,…

ByMonica16 December 20250Comments

Appetizers COURSES Main Course RECIPES

Tortelli alla lastra. Traditional stuffed pie from Romagna

Tortelli alla lastra and bartolacci are the same thing. The term bartolaccio refers to tortelli alla lastra from the village of Tredozio, a town in the Romagna Apennines, part of the area known as Romagna-Toscana. Every year, this town holds a festival dedicated to bartolaccio. Compared to the tortelli alla lastra, common in Romagna and Tuscany,…

ByMonica27 November 20250Comments

Breads and Pizza Breakfast and Merenda COURSES Desserts OCCASIONS RECIPES

Sweet piadina of Romagna and ricotta cream

Sweet piadina is a happy childhood memory. In my childhood home, it was mainly made during the cold months and, rather than a snack, it was a simple Sunday evening treat, often accompanied by traditional piadina, baked potatoes, and mixed grilled meats. And sweet piadina with ricotta cream and a sprinkling of bitter cocoa to end…

ByMonica23 October 20250Comments

COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS RECIPES Sauces and Pâté

Celery ragù, a Romagna recipe for vegetable ragù

My husband comes into the kitchen exclaiming, "What a wonderful smell of old-fashioned ragù." And he's right, because celery ragù, or vegetable ragù, is a forgotten recipe from Romagna that is well worth rediscovering. The recipe belongs to the peasant repertoire of sughi finti (fake sauces), where the adjective indicated the absence of an ingredient you…

ByMonica19 September 20250Comments

COURSES First Course RECIPES

Dry passatelli with vegetable sauce. A local tradition and my family recipe

Dry passatelli, or passatelli asciutti, is a lesser-known variation of the more famous broth version, a holiday staple in Romagna made using recycled ingredients. However, I've decided to share the recipe here on the blog for two reasons. First, it is part of my life and one of the flavors of the Via Emilia, and I…

ByMonica2 July 20250Comments

Bologna Food COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES Savoury Cakes

Herb pie of Bologna (Torta d’herbe) and Italian cuisine

The Bologna herb pie is one of the many possible recipe versions with peasant origins, widespread throughout Italy. The most famous version in Emilia-Romagna is the erbazzone pie. This is one of those recipes that, without the need for many words, proves that Italian cuisine exists and is thriving despite its many critics, including famous ones. In…

ByMonica27 March 20250Comments

Cakes and Cookies COURSES RECIPES

Sweet tortelloni from Bologna. A Carnival recipe

Sweet tortelloni, usually fried, is a specialty of the Bologna Carnival. On the other hand, Carnival means fried food. Each city has its own mask and a handful of fried treats. Castagnole is probably the most widespread and versatile Italian Carnival sweets. Zeppole and chiacchiere belong mainly to the Southern Italian tradition, while frittelle (fritters) are more…

ByMonica19 February 20250Comments

COURSES INGREDIENTS Legumes RECIPES Soups

Giugetti pasta in bean stock. Cucina povera of Romagna

Giugetti is an identity dish of the cucina povera of Romagna. Known as giugetti, giogetti, or patacucci, they belong to the large family of maltagliati and manfrigoli. They are small squares of sfoglia matta (eggless) cooked in a brodo matto (meatless broth) . This forgotten dish was typical winter eating in the second half of the 19th…

ByMonica28 January 20250Comments