The signature dish of Mantuan cuisine
Mantuan cuisine, rich and refined, reflects the history of a court city surrounded by fertile countryside, and its most famous dish is the tortelli di zucca, pumpkin tortelli. They are large squares of fresh egg pasta filled with a sweet and savoury mixture of baked pumpkin, amaretti biscuits, Parmesan or Grana Padano, nutmeg and mostarda mantovana, candied apples or quinces preserved in a mustard-flavoured syrup, served with melted butter, sage and more cheese.
The combination of sweet and savoury is a legacy of Renaissance court cooking: the Gonzaga court cooks, such as Bartolomeo Stefani, already used similar fillings in the seventeenth century. Tradition says the dish is served on Christmas Eve. Other Mantuan specialities include risotto alla pilota, made with rice from the Mantuan plain and minced pork salami; luccio in salsa, pike with a sauce of capers, anchovies and parsley; agnolini in broth; and the sbrisolona, a crumbly cake made with corn flour, almonds and lard, broken with the hands rather than cut.
Tip: the best place to taste them is in the traditional trattorias of the city and of the surrounding countryside; ask for the "torta sbrisolona" with a glass of Lambrusco Mantovano.
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