Mumbai Food: A four-course Italy meal on a plate

Sardenaria

If Naples is the home of pizza, Modena - a city in northern Italy - is the land of handmade pasta. Be it sheets of lasagna or tortelli with a variety of stuffings, families there have perfected the art of making them for generations on end, using just dough and eggs. Not just that, but since it lies in a cold region of the country, people have also mastered different techniques of preserving meat. And when a pig is slaughtered, not a single portion goes to waste, says chef Daniela Patel, ahead of her debut pop-up where she will showcase the finest culinary traditions of her ancestral region.

"The philosophy behind Italian cuisine is to keep things as simple and healthy as possible, without compromising on taste. It can't be bland under any condition, but we don't use spices, and put in things that belong to our land, such as different kinds of herbs," Patel tells us, before revealing the menu for the lunch she will be hosting. The meal begins with sardenaria, a tomato sauce-based pizza that surprisingly has no cheese and is garnished with a single olive. The other starter is called vitello tonnato, and comprises slices of meat flavoured with a tuna sauce.

Torta emilia

The mains involve three different types of pasta. These include lasagne that has chicken and pork instead of what Patel cryptically describes as "certain things that you don't get in this city". There is also tortelli di zucca that is stuffed with pumpkin, and pasta ececi, which has a soupy sauce made with chickpeas. That apart, Patel will be serving pollo alla cacciatore, a chicken dish akin to a stew.

She adds that the sides include verdure riteiene, or stuffed veggies, and roasted potatoes. For dessert, there is torta Emilia, a dish that is considered to be an ancestor of tiramisu since it also has coffee in it. All these items will be paired with a selection of wines that Luca Bernardini will curate. Patel, who's been based in India for 39 years, tells us that there has been a marked improvement in the way Italian food is prepared in Indian restaurants over the past decade. But still, if it's an indubitably authentic taste of the country's cuisine that you're after, this is the event where you should be.

Daniela Patel

At The A, One IndiaBulls, tower 2A, 8th floor, Parel.
On April 26, 8 pm
LOG on to instamojo.com
Call Rs 3,500

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