Hellooooo!!! It’s been a long while since posting mostly because summer and autumn were occupied with the sausage business and farmers markets. Life intervenes. And then once the markets ended I had to start getting ready for the holiday season. Hopefully we’ll get some quiet-er time starting next week. As a result of all this we didn’t travel to many new places this year (New Zealand being the big exception) but did revisit Tuscany on a celebra-cation of sorts for my in-law’s 50th wedding anniversary. Being in Tuscany you of course eat and drink fairly well and one treat I loved was a whipped mortadella we had in Florence. Decadent yet simple to make, this is a perfect bite for holiday parties or just plain old snacking.
First off, what’s mortadella. Literally and figuratively the king of all bologna, it’s an emulsified and cooked sausage from Bologna, Italy. You may know it from the deli case at the grocery store as the big round sausage with chunks of fat and maybe pistachio nuts dotting the inside. It’s delicious. As with all simple preparations the quality of your ingredients matters. Try to find some good mortdella and be sure to get it in a thick chunk instead of sliced for sandwiches. Well get some of that too, why not?
Such a snap to make and overall this dish shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes. Basically take all of your ingredients and process in a food processor. Once you add the cream make sure you process the mixture well so it’s smooth. You may need to add a little more cream in order to achieve the desired consistency. It’s ok, the cream will get whipped by the processor.
The whipped mortadella, spuma di mortadella, is spreadable and great on toasted crostini. It is the richest bologna you’ll ever have. Drizzle a little reduced, thickened vinegar (or some real balsamic vinegar, or some mostarda) for a touch of sweet acidity and oh my! A plate of these will definitely impress your guests, and you don’t need to tell them how simple it really is to make.
Whipped Mortadella (Spuma di Mortadella)
- 8 oz mortadella, cubed
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- 1/4 C grated parmigiano reggiano
- small pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of black pepper
Place the cubed mortadella in a food processor and process until chopped up and fine. Slowly add the cream in and process into a smooth paste, then blend in the cheese, pepper, and nutmeg. Serve with bread, crackers or crostini.
Spoon into a ramekin and refrigerate until ready to serve.
The Roaming GastroGnome 