At home in America, Italian food has become a staple of our meals. We love pizza and pasta, and there's many different restaurants that offer intepretations of Italy's famous dishes. But in the country of Italy, I have seen unique dishes that I have never tried at home! Additionally, I learned that each region of Italy, which divide the country like our states, has its own speciality dish. Food is very important to Italians, and I've been learning about their customs with each meal I have here!
The city that I live in--Bologna (buh-lo-nyuh)--located in the Emilia-Romagna region, is famous for its food. Many famous Italian dishes have been invented here. For example, there is a strong cultural belief that Bologna is where the pasta tortellini was created. If you haven't tried this shape of pasta before, it's like a ravioli with a small pocket that can be filled with cheese, meat or, as popular in Bologna, pumpkin! Tortellini is usually topped with butter and sage, tomato sauce or a creamy cheese sauce. I tried pumpkin tortellini at a local trattoria, a type of casual resturant. It came with cheese sauce which was perfect to balance the sweetness of the pumpkin filling.
You may also notice that the city of Bologna is similar to a word you might see in an American grocery store -baloney!
