On the Apennines between Modena and Bologna is a real celebrity dish: the borlengo. It is prepared by combining flour, water and salt then poured into a large hot pan called "sole" (meaning sun), greased with pork rind. After a few minutes of cooking it’s seasoned with "cunza", which is ground lard with pancetta, garlic, and rosemary. Not exactly the essence of lightness, but the pleasure of eating it is immense.
Each home has its own recipe
The world of the borlengo is located at the foot of the hills between Bologna and Modena, with a significant presence also in Modena city and a base in Campogalliano. "We’ve noticed” says Bonacini, “that to make borlenghi each place has its own recipe, so in the guide we haven’t included just the restaurants that follow the Modena Apennine standards as lodged at the Chamber of Commerce more than a year ago". Similarly to what happens with the fried gnocco, and with crêpes and piadine, today the borlengo tradition can be enjoyed by enhanced imaginative variations, which combine mainly local cold cuts and even with Nutella.
When all else fails use your wits
The story behind the borlengo. It was the year 1226 when Guiglia castle, in the valley of Panaro, when it was surrounded by people from Modena. With the days that passed, food for the besieged became scarce: the flour supply dwindled with time, and the dough with which the bread was made became more and more soggy, so it turned into a very thin dough. As such, according to tradition, so the borlengo was born. A story similar to that of the zampone, born in 1511 during the siege of Mirandola by the troops of Gulio II, the "Warrior Pope".
A referendum to decide
The recipe for borlengo however, not everyone agrees with, and for this reason there is often talk of a courteous "distrust" among the territory cooks on how to prepare it. Some say that the real borlenghi are those created with a ladle and then cooked in the "sole", but you can also call borlenghi the dough cooked on a hot plate. To speed up the preparation process it can be created by spray gun. Among the ingredients are also extra virgin olive oil, eggs, and Parmigiano cheese. The Borlengo di Guiglia standards recorded at the Chamber of Commerce of Modena since 2003, protecting it with the trademark "Tradition and flavors of Modena", describes in detail the ingredients and procedure, using "sole" and with the eggs considered an optional ingredient. The specification however has not solved the challenge. To avoid misunderstandings the newspaper La Gazzetta di Modena organized a referendum amongst its readers to choose the best borlengo!