Riserva Regionale Bosco della Frattona

	Typical Products
	Pasta Dough
	The sheet of pasta dough made with eggs and flour and rolled out by hand with the rolling pin is the main ingredient of all first dishes. The subsequent processing and filling transform it into cappelletti (filled with thin meat or cheese) cooked in capon broth, into the large tortelli filled with ricotta cheese and parsley, to eat with melted butter and sage, into strichetti (rectangles of pasta dough squeezed in the middle) or into the famous garganelli, small pasta dough rectangles rolled on a reed giving them the characteristic striping. The most widespread sauce is meat sauce, sometimes with peas or sausage. Passatelli in broth are another specialty: they are small cylinders based on eggs, parmigiano cheese, and nutmeg traditionally obtained by squeezing the pasta dough with a pierced tool and pouring them into the boiling broth for a few minutes.
	Piadina
	The symbol of Romagna, piadina or "la piè" is made with flour, water, salt, and lard, while the addition of a pinch of bicarbonate or pizza yeast is controversial. It was traditionally cooked on a terracotta slab called "testo". The piadina from Imola is slightly smaller and thicker than the piadina of the Riviera. It is traditionally eaten with cold cuts, soft cheese, and rocket, and becomes "cassone" when it is folded and filled. Another characteristic product is crescente, soft bread dough enriched with bacon or rosemary, for tasty snacks. The tasty streghette also deserve a mention: they are made of bread without yeast, with lard, flour, and salt, and are often used for appetizers based on white wine.
	Meat
	Meat is a local specialty and is traditionally grilled: in particular, chops, bacon, and pork sausages and above all mutton chops are kept in a mixture of oil, rosemary, salt and pepper for about one hour before cooking. Also roasted guinea hen, rabbit, and chicken are widespread. Genuine characteristic local products include cold cults, like ciccioli, "mad" sausage (pork entrails flavored with garlic), salami, and cured pork head.
	Vegetables
	Grilled vegetables traditionally forming the side dishes of meat include tomatoes, aubergines, and sweet peppers. We find the same ingredients in the characteristic friggione, where - together with onion - these vegetables are slowly stewed on fire to form a scented mixture. Fresh vegetables are always present at table, and the most tasty way to eat the season early produces is dipped in olive oil with pepper and salt as appetizer. Romagna Shallot PGI is a small violaceous bulb halfway between garlic and onion, used in several recipes and eaten in oil as a real delicacy.
	Desserts
	Besides the characteristic trifle with cream, sponge cake soaked in alkermes and sometimes chocolate, the local titbits include without a doubt the so-called ravioli (with alkermes or jam filling) - the nearby town of Fontanelice organizes a festival dedicated to them - and the ever-present ring-shaped cake (brazadèla) that in Imola is oval-shaped and without central hole. It is the cake par excellence, simple but tasty, prepared on various occasions with milk and eggs, butter, yeast, and a piece of lemon. You will find the ring-shaped cake and Sangiovese or Albana wine in every town festival. According to the ancient rural traditions, the so-called saba (cooked grape must) is used as jam or sweetener for biscuits and wafers, while the Carnival in Imola is always associated with the so-called sfrappole, long and tasty tagliatelle fried in lard and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Among the sweet products, also honey and its by-products must be mentioned: the nearby town of Castel S. Pietro dedicates to these products a special festival.
	Wine
	Wine is the king of the local cuisine, to the extent that "Colli d'Imola" wine has obtained the D.O.C. label. The label includes the vines Chardonnay, Pignoletto, Trebbiano for white wines, and Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese for red wines. Albana di Romagna has obtained the DOGC label. Sangiovese deserves a few words more, since it is the local wine par excellence. According to the legend, the name is a contraction of "Sanguis Jovis" (meaning Jupiter's blood); however, although the origin is more low-class, this wine is so full-bodied and fine that it forms most of the Tuscan Chianti. The variety from Imola is dry and fruity, with a beautiful garnet color, and perfectly matches with roast, grilled meat, and cold cuts which often characterize the table in Romagna. Sangiovese is celebrated every year in Imola with an important festival held during the first week of Baccanale.