Emilia-Romagna · — · Ferrara Techniques

Ferrara's extraordinary moulded rice preparation — a dome of saffron-scented risotto pressed against the sides of a buttered and breadcrumbed pudding mould, with a central cavity filled with a ragù of pigeon (piccione), chicken livers, peas, and porcini. Unmoulded and served whole at the table, the golden rice dome conceals its rich filling. When cut, the filling's steam-saturated game ragù flows onto the plate from inside the rice. A late medieval Este court preparation, one of Italy's most baroque and impressive.

Ferrara's extraordinary sweet pasta cake — an entirely unique preparation where freshly made egg tagliolini (very thin noodles) are tossed with butter, sugar, toasted almonds, and cinnamon, layered into a pasta frolla shell, and baked until the pasta sets into a firm, sliceable cake with a golden crust. A preparation with clear medieval origins in the Este court of Ferrara — when sweet and savoury were not yet separate categories. The texture is like a very fine vermicelli pudding inside crisp pastry.