Traditional Pasta of Emilia-Romagna: 11 Dishes to Try

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Emilia-Romagna is famous for its fresh egg pasta, especially Bologna’s tortellini in broth and tagliatelle al ragù. Parma, Piacenza, Ferrara and Romagna have their own specialties, from anolini and cappellacci to cappelletti and passatelli.

With so much flavor, substance, and simplicity, it’s no surprise that Italian food is a perennial winner among world-favorite cuisines. And the nation’s many and varied, delicious pasta dishes are largely the reason why.

As ever with food, Emilia-Romagna has more than its fair share of tasty pasta specialties, and ‘fare la sfoglia’, or making the traditional deep yellow egg pasta dough, is considered a true art. Many of the region’s pasta shapes have curious stories or legends about their origins, and each has a specific way of being served in broth or with a particular sauce.

Traditional Pasta of Emilia-Romagna at a Glance

Pasta	Traditional Area	Filling or Preparation	Typical Serving
Tortellini	Bologna and Modena	Pork, prosciutto, mortadella and Parmigiano Reggiano	In broth
Tagliatelle	Bologna	Fresh egg-pasta ribbons	With ragù
Balanzoni	Bologna	Green pasta filled with ricotta and mortadella	Butter and sage
Tortelloni	Bologna	Ricotta and parsley filling	Butter and sage
Anolini	Parma and Piacenza	Meat or cheese-based filling, depending on local tradition	In broth
Cappellacci di zucca	Ferrara	Zucca violina, grated cheese and nutmeg	Butter and sage
Cappelletti	Romagna and Reggio Emilia	Cheese or meat, depending on the area	In broth or with sauce
Spoja lorda	Ravenna and Romagna	Small pasta squares with a thin cheese filling	In broth
Gramigna	Emilia	Short, curled pasta	Sausage sauce
Garganelli	Imola and Romagna	Rolled, ridged pasta tubes	Ham and shallot sauce
Passatelli	Bologna and Romagna	Breadcrumbs, eggs and Parmigiano Reggiano	In broth

Tortellini: King of the Table

Bologna is the region’s undisputed pasta capital, and many recipes registered at the city’s Chamber of Commerce are fresh egg-pasta specialties. The so-called king of the table is the tortellino, a must on local dining tables for festive occasions such as Christmas, New Year, Easter, and birthdays. The Festival del Tortellino is traditionally held on 4 October, the feast day of the city’s patron saint, San Petronio.

The Bologna tortellini filling consists of equal proportions (300g) of pork loin, prosciutto, and mortadella; a larger amount of Parmigiano Reggiano (450g); three eggs; and a pinch of nutmeg. The tortellini should be small enough that at least five, and up to eight, fit easily on a soup spoon. Traditionally, you enjoy this pasta in capon broth.

While the legend behind the origins of these dainty pasta shapes varies, the story goes that tortellini were made to resemble a perfect navel, perhaps belonging to no less beauty than the goddess Venus, spied through the keyhole by an innkeeper. There’s even a statue of the tortellino in Castelfranco Emilia, which claims to be the birthplace of the specialty. Although the town is now in the province of Modena, it once belonged to Bologna. The claim as the home of tortellini is one more example of the continued bickering between the two neighboring cities. In Modena, try tortellini at the historic food market Mercato Albinelli. Some locals even enjoy them with a drop of Lambrusco poured into the broth.

Tagliatelle and Bologna’s Pasta People

Another Bologna favorite, tagliatelle, was also inspired by female beauty, according to legend: the story places its creation during Lucrezia Borgia’s 1502 journey to Ferrara for her wedding, as a tribute to her beautiful long, wavy, golden hair. Tagliatelle al ragù is a favorite on many menus. Along with the official recipe for ragù, Bologna’s Chamber of Commerce has a strip of gold representing the perfect width for tagliatelle (8mm after cooking) kept in a wooden casket for safekeeping.

Many of the city’s pasta shops have their sfoglino (fresh pasta maker), a highly respected profession in recent years. In addition, numerous pasta labs in central Bologna let you buy pasta and watch it being made. The most celebrated is Le Sfogline, opposite the Mercato delle Erbe food market (pre-booking your batch of pasta to take home and cook is recommended). At the same time, there are daily queues at Sfoglia Rina, a pasta shop with tables where you can enjoy the classics and seasonal specialty pasta with intriguing flavor combinations. Finally, buying the ready-prepared filling at one of Bologna’s magnificent delis, such as Simoni, is a good idea if you feel like making your own.

Bologna has a masked carnival character named Dottor Balanzoni, a university professor. This character is so famous that it has given its name to a filled pasta specialty called balanzoni. These large green pasta parcels get their color from spinach used in the dough (similar to the city’s typical lasagne). Balanzoni are typically filled with mortadella and ricotta and are usually served with a simple butter-and-sage topping. The city’s traditional tortelloni, filled with ricotta and parsley, are generally served this way, too.

Regional Specials: Anolini, Cappellacci and Cappelletti

Elsewhere in the region, filled pasta specialties change shape and name but remain important on the dinner table for festive and family occasions. Taking its name from ‘annulus,’ the Latin word for ring, anolini is the disk- or half-moon-shaped pasta preferred in Parma and Piacenza in the region’s west. While recipes vary, they’re usually served in broth; some fillings include beef, while others, particularly in the Bassa Parmense, use Parmigiano Reggiano without meat. Tradition traces them back to the 12th century, and they are said to have been enjoyed by popes and by Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma and wife of Napoleon – the saying goes that the only bow the duchess would make was in reverence to the noble anolino. A good place to find them in Parma’s Via Farini is the historic Sorelle Picchi.

Cappellacci di zucca is Ferrara’s specialty, with an aromatic filling of zucca violina (named for its violin-like shape), flavored with nutmeg and Parmigiano Reggiano, and rooted in the court of the d’Este rulers. Cappellacci di Zucca Ferraresi has IGP protection. Il Mandolino is a classic place to enjoy them at lunchtime (closed evenings) in central Ferrara.

Confusion can arise around the subtle differences between various types of filled pasta when talking about cappelletti; the shape is rounder than tortellini to resemble a hat (cappello means hat), and the filling varies from place to place and chef to chef. Around Ravenna and Cesena, in the eastern half of the region, the traditional filling for cappelletti tends to be cheese-based and meat-free, while recipes around Rimini may include meat. In contrast, the cappelletti of Reggio Emilia, between Modena and Parma in the western region, is traditionally filled with meat, especially beef, sometimes with pork or other meats.

Traditionally meat-free, spoja lorda (literally ‘dirty pasta’), made in the Ravenna area on the Adriatic coast, is small squares with wavy edges, like a postage stamp. The filling is less abundant than with other shapes, hence the name. Ravenna’s Mercato Coperto is a good place to find spoja lorda and other local pasta.

Just Pasta: Gramigna, Garganelli and Passatelli

Emilia-Romagna’s pasta isn’t all filled, though: short pasta squiggles known as gramigna are popular with a sausage sauce, while garganelli, Imola’s specialty, are squares of sfoglia rolled into short tubes with pointed ends. They’re made with a special wooden ‘pettine,’ a kind of wooden rack and stick, and are traditionally served with a ham-and-shallot sauce.

Passatelli, another favorite in the pasta section of menus, especially in Bologna and the eastern areas of the region, are made with something other than the traditional deep yellow sfoglia pasta dough. Instead, a mixture of breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano, egg, and nutmeg is formed into a ball and pushed through a potato ricer into a saucepan of steaming broth, creating chunky, worm-shaped lengths.

It’s not all fresh pasta in Emilia Romagna, of course – historic dry pasta giant Barilla is based near Parma. Also near Parma, the Museo della Pasta, a pasta museum, is dedicated to the history of all kinds of pasta.

And, as a staple of the Mediterranean diet, pasta is as popular nowadays as it has ever been. Menus throughout Italy dedicate an entire section to it. It’s increasingly easy to find pasta as street food, too – you may come across fried tortellini or even cartons of pasta in broth to eat as you stroll.

Pasta and Local Wine Pairings

Thanks to the delicate yet structured character of most of the region’s pasta dishes, a wide range of local wines pair beautifully. A dry Lambrusco pairs well with tagliatelle al ragù, while a fresh Pignoletto works well with tortellini in broth. For the sweetness of Ferrara’s pumpkin-filled cappellacci, try a dry Albana; Sangiovese is another option for meatier sauces.

Tortellini with You – Forever!

The downside of fresh pasta is that it’s meant to be savored in the here and now, or at most within a few days of being made. While you can freeze it, the best way to enjoy traditional pasta from Emilia Romagna back home is to learn the skills and secrets of the sfoglino so you can make it yourself time and time again. Pasta-making courses for pros and enthusiasts abound throughout the region, including at the Vecchia Scuola Bolognese in Bologna.

Federico Fellini, the film director from Rimini on the Romagna coast, is often quoted as saying, “Life is a combination of pasta and magic.”