Originally Posted by DiamondDoll:
“What do you think tortellini is?
That's all it is.
I bought Tesco's fresh tortellini (with spinach and ricotta filling) last week and it was disgusting btw.”
A month or so back we spent 18 days touring Italy "top to toe".
In a town called Orvieto we wandered down a lane and found a small restaurant/bar and decided to chance lunch. The "charismatic" owner insisted we try his "special" - tortellini.
We ordered it - ricotta and aubergine (with flower heads).
Not something that would float my boat but we just wanted light lunch.
When he brought it we were surprised. We had four pieces which weren't the traditional shape. They were spring roll shaped parcels. They were drizzled in a thick balsamic reduction and sprinkled with Parmesan that seemed to have been quickly grilled or even blow torched. It was 10€ and my first impression was "Hmm, is that it?"
We got about three forkfuls from each parcel and I can only describe them as "bloody fantastic". My wife thought the same.
So this was a very simple pasta dish that was made from scratch in the kitchen - we could see the chef working away - and it was just memorable.
He was delighted when we told him so, sincerely.
During the tour we had a pizza in Pisa that another owner sold us through enthusiasm - avocado and salmon! Also memorable.
We had a penne bolognese in Bologna ( no spag!) and when I got back i determined to find out why my bolognese is just wrong - nice but wrong.
And finally we had an outstanding lasagne from our hotel kitchen in Fuiggi.
I noticed lots of takeaway pizza slice places getting precooked deliveries.
The places I've described all made their own with expertise and pride.
Sadly, they're becoming hard to find.