ParMaremma: a winning gastronomic axis

I am from Turin by birth, but I just had to go to Maremma for the first time when I was six years old to understand what land my guiding spirit was. Precisely for this reason, I decided to create a menu that binds Parma, my university city, to Maremma trying to blend together the right flavors to create a perfect union.

Appetizers

The starter is like the beginning of a love story, you start slowly and you have to andenjoy slowly. For this reason, two things that were born to be together cannot be missing: PDO Tuscan bread (therefore strictly "silly", that is, without salt), cut into croutons, with two slices of Parma ham on it. The combination, however, can and sometimes must be reversed: do not be afraid to prepare the fried dumpling seasoned with a good raw Tuscan PDO. Fried dumpling: https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Gnocco-fritto.html

First

Tortelli with herbs or Maremma tortelli?

They look identical but they're not. Tortelli with herbs for those who prefer a more delicate filling to season with butter and sage and Maremma tortelli for those who, instead, want the classic ricotta filling and spinaci to season with a simple tomato sauce (with an exaggerated sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano on top).

Another thing that differentiates them are the size: the Maremma tortello is 8 cm (but some also reach 14 x 7 cm!) while theone with herbs is 5 cm.

Everyone agrees, the gnudi take care of it. Called so precisely because they are naked, stripped of the cover of the pasta. They are made as balls of ricotta, semolino, parmesan and spinach. They can be seasoned with butter and sage or ragout. Tortelli with herbs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2MPWMoJzw Maremma tortelli: https://www.cookaround.com/ricetta/tortelli-maremmani.html Gnudi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1BWEuR3RrM&t=14s

Seconds

Secondly, youcan't miss the “nana”, or the duck. We can prepare it in two ways: to red wine or to make a stew.

In both cases the protagonist will be the Lambrusco of Parma which we will then bring to the table so that it also serves as a match. In recent years, producers in the Parma area have worked very hard to claim a leading role in the production of Lambrusco. "Nana" with red wine: https://www.toscanago.com/siena/articoli/2192-anatra-al-vino-rosso "Dwarf" stew: https://blog.giallozafferano.it/cosacucinopercena/spezzatino-anatra-al-l...

Sweet

The moment of dessert is a rite in which all guests are called to participate. To close in beauty, therefore, we cannot give up the Cake of the Duchess of Parma. Maybe accompanying her with a Capalbio Vin Santo. At the table, however, you can not miss even two cantucci, it is precisely the rule! Vin Santo calls cantuccio, always. Duchess's Cake: https://www.parmacityofgastronomy.it/the-duchess-cake/

If, on the other hand, you prefer a dessert that creates the perfect union between Parma and maremma,then I propose a re-institation of the Duchess's stracchino,with cantuccini instead of savoyards. Exaggerated? Try to believe! Duchess's Stracchino: https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Stracchino-della-duchessa.html