Carpi a Tavola

porcini mushrooms

porchetta

Coming off of a rather exciting and intense weekend, it was nice to have a relaxing week. November 1^st and 2^nd are Italian national holidays (All Saints Day, and a day to honor the dead), which meant that I got to enjoy a three-day weekend. I spent most of my time relaxing and recuperating, but I also enjoyed a fun mini-festival in Carpi’s main piazza over the course of the weekend. It was called “Carpi a Tavola,” and the piazza was full of vendors selling food specific to the Emilia-Romagna region as well as all over Italy. There were stands of Sicilian sweets, bread from the Alps and Dolomites, and of course Tortellini from Emilia Romagna.

Tortellini is a regional specialty that is either served with a cream sauce or in broth, never with any type of red sauce (my host family was aghast to hear that we prepared tortellini with red sauce in the US). Some other specialties of the Emilia-Romagna region include: Gnocco fritto and tigelle (special types of bread that you eat with prosciutto and other cured meats), gramigna (a small type of pasta served with ground sausage and a lighter sauce), meat lasagna, and of course Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Tigelle

Gramigna

Gnocco fritto

Another fun thing about the weekend was meeting up with my friend Clare from Norwich who is currently living in Bologna (Clare is also the older sister of one of my Hanover High soccer teammates).  She has been living in Bologna for the past two years and is working as an apprentice to a very high-end shoe-smith. After she arrived on the train from Bologna, Clare joined our family for a great Sunday lunch, and then we all walked around the town. We explored Carpi’s castle and grabbed a gelato before Clare had to catch a train back to Bologna. All in all, a great day and a great weekend!