Emilia Romagna, Il Fornaio's Festa Regionale

Map of Italy showing the region Emilia Romagna

DINNER MENU NOVEMBER 4-17, 2002

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

POLPETTINE DELLA NONNA VINCENZA Soft polenta with hand-ground pork, beef and veal meatballs; tomato sauce and parmesan $6.95 Sangiovese

INSALATA DUE TORRI Arugula, endive, shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, shaved parmesan, croutons, lemon-olive oil dressing $7.25 Pignoletto

VELLUTATA ROMAGNOLA Soup of champignon mushrooms, caramelized onions, potatoes and shaved parmesan in vegetable stock $5.50 Pignoletto or Sangiovese

AGNOLOTTI DELL’OSTERIA DEI CAVALIERI Fresh spinach pasta filled with rotisserie chicken, leeks, potato and ricotta; in a light sage-cream sauce $13.50 Pignoletto

TRENETTE ALLA RIMINESE Fresh thin pasta, shrimp, bay scallops, arugula, tomatoes, shallots $15.95 Pignoletto

ROTOLINO DI ZIA TERESA Fresh pasta rolled with ricotta and provolone cheeses, prosciutto and spinach; baked with parmesan and bechamel in the wood-burning oven $12.95 Sangiovese

RISOTTO CON LA ZUCCA Risotto with butternut squash, shrimp, zucchini and 20-year old balsamic vinegar $14.95 Pignoletto

PETTO DI POLLO ALLA MODENESE Roasted chicken breast rolled with
prosciutto di Parma, fontina cheese and sage, served over a balsamic reduction; butternut squash and spinach terrine, mashed potatoes $15.95 Sangiovese

BRANZINO CON FUNGHETTI Seared halibut, grilled shiitake mushrooms and mashed potatoes; sangiovese-lemon reduction $19.95 Pignoletto

FILETTO DI BUE ALLA PIACENTINA Beef tenderloin, filone crouton, sauteed spinach and cipollata sauce $20.50 Sangiovese

CREMA COTTA AL CAPPUCCINO Espresso custard with whipped cream and chocolate coffee beans $5.50

Vini dalla Romagna

Pignoletto
Azienda Agricola Vallona, 2001
1/2 glass $4 glass $7.75 bottle $30

Produced from a blend of 90% Pignoletto and 10% Riesling, this unique, dry white wine is elegant, crisp and light-bodied with fresh flavors of citrus fruit, almonds and vanilla. A great match with Insalata due Torri and Branzino con Funghetti.

Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva
Umberto Cesari, 1998
1/2 glass $3.25 glass $6.50 bottle $25

This medium-bodied, full-flavored red wine is produced by a dear friend of ours and one of Emilia-Romagna’s premier winemakers, Umberto Cesari. The wine is made from 100% sangiovese grapes, the primary grape variety used in Chianti. Well-balanced and full of ripe berry fruit with hints of tobacco and spice, it is a perfect complement to Polpettine della Nonna Vincenza and Filetto di Bue.

Gianluca Sarti
CHEF-PARTNER
IL FORNAIO
PASADENA

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. The legendary Hotel Le Tre Vaselle was his first employer. This was his introduction to the excitement and activity of the kitchen. Luca was then offered a position at the Hotel Baglioni in Bologna. A curiosity for international foods led him to 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. Luca’s passion and skill quickly led him to his current position of Chef-Partner of Il Fornaio in Pasadena. Yet he still manages to return to Italy to visit his family and enjoy meals in his parent’s restaurant in Bologna, Ristorante Marco Polo.

Sarti explains why he feels so happy in charge of his own kitchen, “It is here that I can truly express myself. 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

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 one hundred years.

Petto di Pollo Modenese (roasted chicken breast rolled with sage, prosciutto and fontina cheese)is finished with a twenty-year old balsamic vinegar.

Coming December 2-15:
The food, bread and wine of Lombardia.

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