food by region

apart from getting schooled on Hank Williams and Gene Clark, one of the hidden perks of occasionally playing music with a guitarist from Turin is the food talk on the side.

today i've been introduced to a couple of his steadfast northern favourites: fritto misto, which sounds like the Italian equivalent of a greasy plate of fried wings, except it's a whole platter of seafood beautifully battered and then deep fried in flavoured oil. there's agnolotti - a particular ravioli served with a meat sauce, and then melanzane alla parmigiana - fried aubergine slices with a layer of basil and mozzarella. perfectly hearty stuff especially with the word "fried" appearing multiple times.

also gleaned, from a recent visit to refettorio, the difference between a bolognese and emiliana sauce. the former being the more familiar pork sausage and beef mince mix, and the latter being predominantly pork, without the beef, which i found gave a more straightforward flavour to the sauce. their tagliatelle all'emiliana had a very honest flavour, complemented by rosemary.