Emilia Romagna, Il Fornaio's Festa Regionale

Map of Italy showing the region Emilia Romagna

PANE COMUNE Traditional crusty braided bread, compliments of the Bakers of Il Fornaio. Available for purchase at the Bakery counter.

TORTINO AL SALMONE Sliced salmon, potatoes, grilled fennel, cream and pecorino cheese baked in the wood-burning oven $6.95 Albana
INSALATA DUE TORRI Shiitake mushrooms, arugula, endive, cherry tomatoes, shaved parmesan, croutons, lemon-olive oil dressing $7.25 Albana

AGNOLOTTI DELL'OSTERIA DEI CAVALIERI   Housemade spinach pasta filled with rotisserie chicken, leeks, potato and ricotta; in a light sage-cream sauce $13.95    Albana
TRENETTE ALLA RIMINESE  Housemade thin pasta, shrimp, bay scallops, arugula, fresh tomatoes, shallots $15.95    Albana
ROTOLINO DI ZIA TERESA   Housemade pasta rolled with ricotta and provolone cheese, imported ham and spinach, baked with parmesan and bechamel in the wood-burning oven $12.95    Romeo
RISOTTO CON LA ZUCCA   Risotto with butternut squash, shrimp, zucchini, parmesan and balsamic reduction $14.95    Albana

PETTO DI POLLO ALLA MODENESE   Roasted chicken breast rolled with Parma prosciutto, fontina cheese and sage, served over a balsamic reduction; roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables $16.95    Romeo
BRANZINO CON FUNGHETTI   Seared seabass, mashed potatoes, grilled shiitake mushrooms; sangiovese-lemon reduction $19.95    Albana
FILETTO DI BUE ALLA PIACENTINA  Beef tenderloin, filone crouton, fried leeks, sauteed spinach and cipollata sauce $21.95    Romeo

CREMA COTTA AL CAPPUCCINO Espresso custard with whipped cream and chocolate coffee beans $5.95

Vini dalla Romagna

Albana di Romagna
Umberto Cesari, 2000
bottle $22.00 glass $5.75 1/2 glass $3.00

Albana (the name of both the wine and the grape) is believed to have been named after the daughter of a classic Roman Emperor. Our good friend Umberto Cesari produces this elegant, crisp and light-bodied dry white wine that has fresh flavors of citrus fruit, almonds and vanilla. A great match with Tortino al Salmone and Branzino con Fughetti.

Romeo Gutturnio
Castello DI Luzzano, 1997
bottle $35.00 glass $8.95 1/2 glass $4.50

This medium-bodied, full-flavored red wine is made from 60% Barbera and 40% Bonadra grapes and aged a minimum of one year in small oak casks. Well-balanced and full of aromas and flavors of dried fruit, tobacco and spice, it is a perfect complement to Rotolino DI Zia Teresa and Filetto DI Bue.

Gianluca Sarti
Chef-Partner of Il Fornaio

ianluca Sarti was born in Bologna, considered by some to be the culinary center of Italy. So it is not surprising that he developed a passion for food at a very young age. When Luca was fifteen he left home to pursue his dream of becoming a renown chef. “I loved to eat as a child. You can imagine, with all the food I was exposed to in this great region, that I would want to enter the culinary profession!”

Realizing that being a chef required more than a passion and flair for cooking, Luca enrolled in culinary school in Rimini to learn as much as he could. Hotel Le Tre Vaselle in Perugia gave Sarti his first job. This was his introduction to the excitement and activity of the kitchen. Luca was then offered a job at the Hotel Baglioni in Bologna. A curiosity for international foods led him to jobs in France and New Zealand before he returned to Italy as chef at La Lumiera in Bologna.

When asked by a friend in 1994 to come to Los Angeles to create an Italian menu for a new restaurant in Beverly Hills, Sarti jumped at the opportunity. Once in Beverly Hills he met Giuseppe Consarino, Managing Partner of IL Fornaio, who later asked him to be a sous-chef in the restaurant. His passion and skill quickly led him to his current position of Chef-Partner of IL Fornaio in Pasadena. He still returns to Italy to visit his family and eat meals in his brother’s restaurant in Bologna, Osteria dei Cavalieri.

Sarti explains why he feels so happy in charge of his own kitchen, “It is here that I can truly express myself as a chef. I respect the traditions of the regions of Italy, yet create new dishes that are unique to my vision. This menu of Emilia-Romagna takes advantage of the bounty of excellent ingredients we have, the reggiano-parmigiano, balsamic vinegar, prosciutto, but allows me to offer it to you in a way you may not have experienced before. Buon Appetito!”

milia-Romagna is arguably one of the finest culinary regions in all the world. The plain that runs the length of the region has some of the richest soil in Italy, creating abundant food resources. Emilia-Romagna leads Italy in the production of wheat and tomatoes; pigs and cows are raised in large quantities.

Perhaps no product from Emilia-Romagna is more famous than Parmesan cheese. Originally from the province of Reggio, it is now also produced in neighboring Parma, hence “Parmigiano Reggiano”, the true Italian name of this world-famous cheese. It is aged for at least one year and its authenticity and quality are regulated by the Italian government.

The province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna produces one of Italy’s most precious commodities: balsamic vinegar (aceto balsamico). Balsamic vinegar is made with as much care as wine and is strictly regulated.

Map of the Region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy

prosciutto and fontina cheese) gets its flavorful sauce by using a balsamic vinegar reduction.

The capital city of Bologna is believed by many to be the culinary capital of Italy. Bologna is legendary for its origination of tortellini, the pockets of pasta stuffed with the freshest meats and vegetables, that now are found in numerous regions in Italy, and around the world. Agnolotti dell’Osteria ai Cavalier (spinach pasta filled with rotisserie chicken, leeks, potato and ricotta in sage-cream) are a variation on the tortellini.

The name of Bologna has become part of the English language as “baloney”, a pale imitation of Bologna’s special sausage, mortadella. It is found in salumerie (delicatessens) around the world as well as an ingredient in pastas and meat dishes.
With all of Emilia-Romagna’s resources, it should come as no surprise that it is a region of hearty eaters. Buon Appetito!

Traditionally, the vinegar is aged progressively in twelve different casks, where it absorbs the qualities of each cask. Only casks made of oak, chestnut, mulberry and juniper may be used, and with each cask the vinegar becomes richer than its predecessor. After several years of blending, aging and moving from cask to cask, the vinegar is a dense dark brown, with a mixture of tart and sweet. The longer it is aged, the richer it becomes; some are aged as long as 50 to 70 years.

Petto DI Pollo Modenese (roasted chicken breast rolled with sage,

Coming December 3-16: the food, bread and wine of Lazio.

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