Three days in the name of flavors with a full calendar of events, from November 5 to 7 the streets of downtown Ferrara will come alive with cultural, gastronomic, showcooking and historical re-enactments for the Ferrara Food Festival, the major event promoted by The Ferrara Province Wine and Food Trail Association, under the patronage of the Municipality of Ferrara and the Ferrara Chamber of Commerce. The event will also see the involvement as sponsors of the most important Ferrara businesses: Cooperativa Giulio Bellini, Holding Ferrara Servizi, then Torrefazione Krifi, Grandi Riso, Vassalli Bakering and also Coop Alleanza 3.0, Quello Giusto and Bia Spa.
The Ferrara Food festival will take place between Piazza Trento and Trieste, Piazza Castello, and Piazza Municipale, thus involving the entire city center in celebrating the food and wine excellence of the territory through a format that will guarantee authority and success to a program capable of attracting both all lovers of good food and domestic and foreign food experts.
A gastronomic tour of Ferrara’s flavors and excellence
Ample space will be given during the Ferrara Food Festival , to the possibility of discovering the delicacies of the territory, through the most characteristic products of Ferrara to all the excellences of the territory with the IGP, DOP, DOC marks. From baked goods such as the coppia ferrarese, to the now famous cappellacci, via pampepato, to the torta tenerina made of dark chocolate kneaded with eggs, butter and very little flour, a real food and wine tour so that you can taste the many excellences the area has to offer.
Among the products of pride of the Ferrarese territory is certainly bread (and in general, baked goods) among these is the Ferrarese coppia IGP, a bakery product with a singular shape: two strips of dough wrapped spirally around themselves go to form two pairs of horns joined at the base. This unique shape combines in one bread the dry, crispy texture of crostini (suitable for accompanying Ferrara’s typical cured meats) and a heart with a soft, firm crumb, suitable for picking up sauces and broths.
International recognition certainly goes to the area’s fresh pasta, among which stand out the PGI pumpkin cappellacci, whose first written record is in 1584 in Giovan Battista Rossetti’s recipe book and was considered a luxury preparation. A stuffed egg pasta, similar in shape to cappelletti, but larger and coarser in appearance, filled with a mixture of baked violet squash, parmesan cheese, and nutmeg. They are topped with meat sauce (to enhance the contrast with the sweet filling) or melted butter and sage.
For cured meats, the Ferrara aunt and Ferrara salami stand out, which are made from various parts of the pig, and then flavored with salt, pepper and fresh garlic and put to season. To this day the preparation often differs only in the size and shape of the casing (narrow and elongated for salami, wide for auntie) however this gives them different flavors and textures. The recipes are already mentioned in Renaissance texts. Fresh salami barbecued is a typical custom in the countryside between Ferrara and Cento.
Among the excellent wines not to be forgotten is the DOC Bosco Eliceo the red wine that is the symbol of viticulture in the area, ruby red in color, full-bodied, with a vinous bouquet, moderately tannic and savory, it can be still, lively or sparkling. It goes well with eel, salama da sugo, and fatty dishes.
All these exquisite delicacies can be discovered among the city’s streets during the Ferrara Food Festival, an occasion when each product will be highlighted thanks to guided tastings and dedicated appointments not only to taste but also to learn about the history of the area’s food and wine offerings and rediscover classic, refined, as well as unexpected and extravagant pairings, in a modern take on traditional recipes.
The must-see events at the Ferrara Food Festival
There are many events not to be missed during the days of the Ferrara Food Festival: the Emilian salami competition in the PalaEstense events area in Piazza del Municipio will be a challenge to the last slice. Giorgio Cannì, a food expert and longtime contributor to Il Corriere della Sera, will select several regional farms that will compete in the production of the best artisanal Emilian salami, a convivial product par excellence.
Instead, it will be a meeting of a historical nature the one organized together with Ascom Lugo in collaboration with Ascom Ferrara and focused on Cristoforo Messi Sbugo, a famous cook at the court of Alfonso I d’Este in the first half of the 16th century who owes fame and notoriety to his treatise on gastronomy “Libro novo nel qual s’insegna à far d’ogni sorte di vivande secondo la diversità de’ tempi.” The aim of the meeting will be to find the signs of Libro Novo cooking in the present day in the home and non-home dishes of Ferrara cuisine, complete with showcooking to show the making of the dishes.
It continues with the sfogline of the Academy of Puff Pastry to see them create a huge pumpkin-filled tortellaccio the size and shape of a statue dedicated to this culinary staple. The appointments continue with a challenge with a very aristocratic atmosphere: in fact, the protagonist will be the queen of traditional cuisine, namely the pumpkin, which will be hosted on the one hand at the court of the Este family in the Ferrara version of the classic cappellaccio, and on the other hand it will be “invited to the palace” by the Gonzaga family, with an interpretation of the traditional tortello alla mantovana.
It will be a dialogue in the form of a lectio magistralis that given by food critic and writer Edoardo Raspelli, who will present “his” 3Ts, or the slogan that the gastronome expert filed years ago with the Milan Chamber of Commerce: Land, Territory and Traditions.
During the Ferrara Food Festival we will find the sfogline of the Accademia della Sfoglia association again when under the eyes of the public they will create, knead and roll a spectacularly large sheet of pasta, reenacting all the steps of the classic recipe. When finished, the pasta sheet, as tradition dictates, will be cut to create classic noodles, which will then be sold for charity.
Finally, the Ferrara Food Festival features showcooking by Cooperativa Giulio Bellini with SimaBio, a leading producer of organic, protein and gluten-free flours with Tenuta Garusola. Between a tortellaccio and a sfoglia, traditional Ferrarese sweets will also make their way with the traditional pampapato: the Orsatti family, which has been guarding traditional Ferrarese recipes since 1860, will present the Prince of Ferrara sweet, a symbol of the city’s confectionery tradition and awarded the important Protected Geographical Identification (PGI) Denomination, with an overview of its characteristics and the entire production process.
Not to be missed then, among the performances of the Ferrara Food Festival, the re-enactment of the wedding between Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso D’Este, flag-waving performances, shows and fire games, and the marvelous infiorata that in real time will create a true work of art dedicated to a symbol of the city.
