{"id":41865,"date":"2018-07-13T07:50:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T06:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelemiliaromagna.it\/what-to-eat-modena\/"},"modified":"2021-08-31T11:29:13","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T10:29:13","slug":"what-to-eat-modena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelemiliaromagna.it\/en\/what-to-eat-modena\/","title":{"rendered":"What to eat in Modena"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the heart of Emilia there’s a city with a rich gastronomic tradition, home to unique recipes that smell like home. We’re talking about Modena and in this article, for our heading What to eat, we take you on a journey through the dishes not to be missed when you’re in the area. <\/p>\n

Crescentine (commonly known as Tigelle)<\/h3>\n


\nLet’s start with one of the most identifying breads of the Modena area: the crescentine<\/em>, more commonly known as tigelle<\/em>; if you are in the Modena area pay attention to how you call them, because your innkeeper may turn his nose up! Perhaps not everyone knows that, in fact, tigelle<\/em>\u00a0are actually the round terracotta plates that were once used to cook the dough.
\nThe dough of the crescentine<\/em> is made of flour, yeast, olive oil, milk and little else and, once cooked, they should be stuffed with local cured meats and cheeses (prosciutto, pancetta, salame, stracchino, pecorino…), but they can also be appreciated with stewed meat, such as chicken “alla cacciatora”<\/em>; lastly, who is curious to experience the real local tradition should try at least one boiling crescentina<\/em> filled with lard (cunza<\/em> in dialect) and abundant grated Parmigiano Reggiano: it will appeal to your\u00a0taste! <\/p>\n

Gnocco fritto<\/h3>\n


\nWith a dough similar to the one of crescentine<\/em>, gnocco fritto<\/em> (fried bread) is also prepared. In this case the dough, instead of being subdivided into little balls, is rolled out, cut into squares or lozenges and fried a few pieces at a time in boiling seed oil; the size of gnocco<\/em> pieces varies from kitchen to kitchen, but in any case the result is a piece of swollen paradise, soft inside and friable on the surface, to be tasted stuffed with local cured meats and cheeses. The Modena tradition, which has the concept of “throw nothing away” in its DNA, wants the remaining gnocco<\/em> pieces to be eaten the next morning soaked in hot milk: a real goodness, proof is in the pudding! <\/p>\n

Borlenghi<\/h3>\n


\nLike the two previous recipes, the borlengo<\/em> is another typical dish of Modena’s mountain tradition, and the stand that prepares them is a requisite in every Apennine’s food festival. The dough of borlengo<\/em> is made of flour, water, milk and eggs, blended to create a mixture of almost sticky consistency, which is why the dough is traditionally called colla<\/em> (glue). A ladle of this glue is then poured on a copper pan of about 50 cm of diameter, previously greased with pork rind, spread with a rapid circular motion (similar to what it is made to prepare cr\u00eapes) and cooked in high heat for about a minute. As soon as it is ready, borlengo<\/em> is stuffed with lard and a generous spoon of grated Parmigiano Reggiano – just as it is for crescentine<\/em> – folded in 4 and served with a good glass of Lambrusco.
\n
\n