Don't miss this unique show by Barbara Romano, one of Bologna's best pasta makers, and taste her masterful creations.
February 27, 12-2 p.m., February 28-March 2, 12-2 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Tržnice restaurant, Strakonická 948/1, Smíchov
During these days, you will find Barbara Romano at our Tržnice restaurant in Smíchov, where she will be making fresh tortellini and tortelloni exactly as they are still made in Bologna. And you don't have to just admire her artistry, you can also buy this unique pasta to take home or taste it in our restaurant.
Bologna is renowned for its handmade fresh pasta, although places where you can find authentic, truly handmade tortellini are becoming increasingly rare, as many businesses resort to industrially produced pasta, which is inferior in both quality and taste.
Traditional artisanal production is very laborious and time-consuming. It takes a sfoglinia (as women who make pasta by hand are called in Bologna) a whole hour (!) to make one kilogram of pasta, which is why it is significantly more expensive than industrial pasta.
The dough is rolled out very carefully and stretched using a special long rolling pin without a handle until it forms a perfectly smooth, evenly thin dough (sfoglia), which is then cut into squares, filled with filling, and rolled by hand into a characteristic shape resembling a navel.
Fresh pasta, especially tortellini, is an integral part of the gastronomic heritage of the Emilia-Romagna region and has been produced here for hundreds of years. Monks mentioned a precursor to today's tortellini in their records from 1112! There are many legends about when and how tortellini in its present form came into being. According to some, it originated in Bologna, according to others in Modena, and so in the end, the town of Castelfranco Emilia, which lies exactly in the middle, was declared the place of origin.
The real tortellini (which you can also try at our restaurant) are made only from flour and whole fresh eggs and filled with a mixture of pork, mortadella, prosciutto crudo, Parmesan cheese, and egg, seasoned with nutmeg. They are traditionally served in capon broth or with simple sauces that bring out their unique flavor.