For me, mortadella defines Bologna. This cooked salami, made from an assortment of mashed pork cuts studded with fat, is not just delicious but also super versatile. It’s served as is, thinly sliced or cubed and spiked with a toothpick, whipped into a spuma (mousse), roasted, grilled, poached in broth, ground into meatballs, folded into tortellini fillings (see page 178), and in countless other ways, including in Strichetti con Mortadella e Panna (see facing page).
Beyond its flavors and omnipresence, what I love most about Bologna’s iconic salami is its mythology. Ask any bolognese person and he or she will tell you it has been made in Emilia-Romagna for thousands of years, since Etruscan times. I learned pretty early on that it pays to be skeptical of Italian claims like this. The fact is, a lot of what is eaten in Italy today is either modern (Renaissance or newer) or vaguely similar to something made in the Middle Ages or antiquity. Yet, I guarantee, if you ask a salami maker, deli owner, or home cook about mortadella, they will detail its ancient origins as pure fact.
What we do know is how mortadella is made today and how it is defined by law. The process is implied by its name: mortare means to smash or pulverize, as with a mortar and pestle. The mashed pork is mixed with cubes of pork fat, stuffed into casings, and slowly baked in dry-air ovens to produce a delicate flavor and velvety texture.
Mortadella di Bologna is protected by an IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) seal, which means the area in and methods with which it is made are defined by official law. IGP rules are quite a bit looser than the DOP regulations that protect prosciutto di Parma (see page 250); while the latter are made in a very small area around Parma, mortadella di Bologna IGP can be made in Emilia-Romagna and seven other regions, including Lombardy, Veneto, Le Marche, Piedmont, Tuscany, Lazio, and Trentino. The IGP also stipulates the salami must be made from a ground paste of whole pork muscles with the addition of at least 15 percent fat cubes cut from around the pork neck and collar. Flavorings may include black peppercorns or whole shelled pistachios. Mortadella lovers have—and are passionate about—their preferences. Once Maestra Alessandra received a delivery of mortadella studded with pistachios and she berated the purveyor so intensely I’m sure he never made that mistake again!