Behind every pasta is a tale, and tagliatelle is no different. Legends and folklore about this pasta are absolutely captivating and offer a story behind the yellow ribbons that are between 6.5 and 10mm in width. The story of inception of tagliatelle dates back to the marriage of the Bolognese warlord, Annibale Bentivoglio and his wife, the duchess of Ferrara, Lucrezia d’Este. The chef of the wedding wanted to surprise the newly married couple with a special dish. The talented court chef decided to create a pasta that resembled Lucrezia’s hairdo. Like most folklores, this spectacularly, crafted legend was simply a joke created by humorist Augusto Majani in 1931. I guess news didn’t travel quite quickly in those days, but the fable still remains viral.
In the early years, the recipe for tagliatelle was called tagliolini di pasta e sugo alla maniera di Zafiran. I am sure every waiters at Italian restaurants are happy that name has shortened up. The recipe was also served on silver plates (Fancy town!) In the Chamber of Commerce in Bologna, there still sits a gold strand of tagliatelle in a glass case as a symbol of its Bolognese origin. Now a days, tagliatelle dishes are served to us common folks. Good to know we didn’t have to break out the silver plates. Ideally, tagliatelle is served with a meat sauce. In Italy, the dish is served with a variety of meats including rabbit, beef, veal and pork. Some vegetarians prefer tagliatelle with pine nuts and breadcrumbs or tomatoes and basil.
The next time you serve your guests tagliatelle a story is already been prepared for you to entertain your guests and give them a bite of Italian folklore. Don’t forget to bring our Egg Tagliatelle Homestyle Pasta to the table, so you have something to talk about. If it’s Italian…It’s Flora.