The gastronomy of Romagna
Ruby-red Sangiovese, the typical wine of Romagna,
'sky blue' fish from the Adriatic and golden,
ground grain, an indispensable ingredient for making ‘piadina’
Rimini’s daily bread. These are the basic colours of local
cuisine, the colours of the great food festivals held day and
night in Rimini, 365 days a year. You will find piadina everywhere,
in roadside kiosks and beach restaurants, in the many piadina
restaurants dotted everywhere, in taverns and trendy restaurants
and now even on the virtual highways of Internet where a pinch
of the flavour of Romagna is on sale.
This is simple cuisine based on seafaring and country traditions
but it does not disdain a little imagination in the preparation
of dishes. Food ranges from hors d’oeuvres, which are either
sliced cold cuts served with warm piadina (made using flour, lard,
water and salt) that is even better if served with squacquerone
(a soft cheese that literally melts in the mouth) or fish followed
by a great variety of pasta dishes, which are
always handmade by the housewives. Try tagliatelle,
cappelletti (small pasta parcels), ravioli
and strozzapreti (literally 'priest stranglers')
served with meat sauce or clams. Main courses vary from char-grilled
meat (the lamb is excellent), to spit-roasted
rabbit accompanied by side dishes of vegetables au gratin,
to grilled fish (the famous 'rustida'), fish kebabs and fried
fish. All the dishes use extra-virgin olive oil from the hills
behind Rimini (one of the best in Italy due to its acidity level
and also its organoleptic characteristics) and are 'watered' by
Sangiovese red wine or by Trebbiano white wine,
both typical wines grown on the hillsides of Romagna.
WHERE
TO GET A GOOD PIADA
Bar
Ilde - Il baretto della buona piadina
Via Covignano, 245
Tel. 0541 753274
Piada
e Cassoni dalla Lella
Via Covignano, 57
Tel. 0541 775505
Circolo
Acli S. Fortunato
Via Covignano, 259
Tel. 0541 751358
Casina
del Bosco
Via Beccadelli (Marina Centro)
Tel. 0541 56295
Le
Fontanelle (da Norina)
Via Castellaccio
near Grotta Rossa
Information
from the Rimini Tourism
Council web site
