The Cabinet of Curiosities | Issue 08
Of nameless bars run by hearing-impaired people; the world's most famous paccheri & the keys to their success and a special focaccia story.
Welcome back to The Cabinet of Curiosities my fellow food lovers! To refresh your memory, cabinets of curiosities, or wunderkammers, were small collections of extraordinary objects created during the Renaissance. This is our very own Cabinet of Curiosities, dedicated to all the wonders and peculiarities of Italian food culture.
In this monthly newsletter, you can expect to find 3 pieces by alternating La Panza Piena contributors. Voices and people that you’ll meet gradually, through their narrations, stories on forgotten recipes, hidden gems, deep-dives into unique products and distinctive global perspectives on Italian food culture.
August - at least in Italy - feels like a slow month. That is if you’re not traveling through airports and to the most touristic locations. Everyone slows their pace down, recharging their batteries for the year ahead. Everyone seems to read much more, whether that be under the shade at the beach or in the comfort of one’s own home during the hottest hours of the day. So here is our very own - and very brief - summer reading, which begins with Sophie’s story on Bar Senza Nome, an incredible business in Bologna’s center which is one of a kind in Italy in terms of concept and inclusivity. Next up is Maria Luisa who - after multiple tastings and analysis - shares the 3 keys to Vittorio’s paccheri, aka the most successful and Michelin-starred pasta dish in Italy. Last but not least is a new face to the Cabinet of Curiosities, Francesca, with a story on Lerici and the hunt for the perfect focaccia. Spoiler—she finds it.
- Carlotta Panza, founder of La Panza Piena
Bar Senza Nome
By Sophie Echeverry: curious and hungry Colombian polyglot passionate about tasting & cooking world foods
Vibrant, alive, and inclusive are the words many define Bologna with. Once you step foot in La Rossa, the red one, or La Dotta, the scholared one, you will find yourself walking down narrow and pebbled streets with red, orange and yellow walls. As the city is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe, the population is mainly young and liberal.
Bologna is filled with an electric bar scene that feeds all tastes, budgets and lifestyles. From craft beer, natural wine and cocktail bars, to pubs and clandestine spots hidden from the average tourist. Although I wouldn’t call myself a local (yet), I seek places that are tucked away and less mainstream, leading me to discover special, community-driven and socially responsible locations.
In Via Belvedere, just behind Mercato delle Erbe, is one of my recent findings: bar Senza Nome, quite literally, a bar without a name. Its subtle existence and lack of signage make this bar an easy catch for locals, and an even easier miss for tourists. Crowds of people gather around this street every night, but few truly know what goes on behind closed doors.
The first time I got invited to join an aperitivo in bar Senza Nome, I ended up walking into the place next door, as the bar itself was so packed with people it was hard to spot the subtle sign on the door. Once I managed to sit down in the correct bar, I instantly grasped the magic that takes place within its walls.
Founded in 2012, Senza Nome is the first business in Bologna owned and managed by hearing-impaired people. The bar is canvased in LIS (Italian Sign Language) illustrations which incentivise clients to learn how to communicate through hand gestures. Alternatively, you can select from a wide range of small tickets that hang on the entrance’s wall and depict the menu, an invention brought by the pandemic that made lip-reading obsolete due to the mandatory use of face masks. The bar showcases an incredibly diverse selection of wines and beers, alongside a 2 Euro apericena that is fully vegan and served in compostable plates.
Da Vittorio’s Paccheri & the 3 keys to their success
By Maria Luisa Ricci: Native Roman, passionate explorer of cultures, arts and cuisines and Italian gastronomic heritage lover.
In 1966, a small restaurant opened in Bergamo by Vittorio Cerea and his wife Bruna. It soon became appreciated by lovers of fine dining and intrigued the most popular gastronomic critics of the time. To this day, food lovers from all corners of the world venture to Brusaporto, on the outskirts of Bergamo, for a taste of one dish in particular: the Paccheri alla Vittorio.
What all these people seek is a dish of plain tomato pasta after all, what Italians sometimes refer to as pasta sciué sciué, which means simple, basic and easy. It’s the dish hopeless cooks make from a plain can of tomato sauce. And yet, the Paccheri alla Vittorio are worth three Michelin stars – so what’s their secret?
After much pondering, some serious tastings and objective analysis of the dish and its context I came up with what I believe to be the three keys to its success.
Firstly, the use of Italian ingredients of the highest quality. The unparalleled scent of fresh basil from Liguria, the umami of Parmigiano Reggiano, the sweetness of San Marzano, Corbana and Pachino tomatoes and the tang of new Extra Virgin Olive Oil all combined with paccheri result in an explosion of Italian flavors, consistencies and scents.
Secondly, the restaurant’s expertise. Momentarily leaving the paccheri to one side, it is no coincidence that Da Vittorio has been consistently rewarded throughout its lengthy life span. A unique and well-defined technical procedure is at the basis of the paccheri recipe: the tomatoes are filtered into a sauce after being slow cooked for hours.
Last but not least, the whole experience in itself. What if people traveled all the way to Brusaporto, lulled by the paccheri, all to find that the pasta was already plated? It would most likely taste exactly the same, but the experience would be drastically different. Guests want to be served the paccheri in the pan - the pan - they want the chef to stir the Parmigiano in at their table, watching as it falls down on the tomato sauce like snow. They want to eat with their eyes first, their nose second and with their palate only at the end.
Da Vittorio has transformed one of the most basic Italian dishes into marvel, like no one else in the world. It is living proof that sometimes even fine dining can be the most simple, as long as it brings emotions to your table.
Lerici, Italy’s “pearl of focaccia”
By Francesca Basso: food and eco travel lover with a passion for healthy & creative recipes.
A few months ago I managed to plan a weekend trip in Liguria. I wanted to go back to Lerici, a wonderful inlet in the Golfo dei Poeti, south of La Spezia, where years ago I spent a great vacation with my family. Lerici is referred to as la perla del golfo due to its beauty, but I would like to start a petition to name it la perla della focaccia instead.
It is here, in fact, that I discovered my pure passion for focaccia genovese. Once my passion unleashed itself, I wandered through every street of Lerici’s centro storico and tasted focaccia in every single forno until I found the best. And I did. I stumbled across a small bakery, Il Forno di Lerici, which confectioned and sold many different kinds of focaccia. I soon discovered my favorite to be focaccia antica, slightly flatter than the beloved version from Genova and made with ancient grains. Amongst the other unique focaccias, a second one also caught my attention: focaccia with mussels!
During my recent trip back to Lerici I made a beeline for the bakery in the hopes of asking for the focaccia antica’s recipe. Unfortunately it is a secret strictly kept within the family, so I tried to make my own version.
For the focaccia starter, you’ll need 7g of fresh brewer’s yeast and 50g of water to melt it in. Add 50g of ancient grains flour and combine it all thoroughly before letting it rest for 30 minutes.
Place 450g of ancient grain flour in a food processor along with 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the starter. Start the mixer on slow speed and gradually combine 280g of room temperature water. Add the salt and increase the speed, kneading until the dough is strong and hangs on the hook.
Remove the dough from the processor and place it to rest in an oiled bowl, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour. Then fold the dough a couple of times on itself and let it rest for 1 more hour. Drop the dough on an oiled baking pan and spread it out evenly, then let it rest for 30 minutes.
Now for the fun part: create a brine by mixing 50g of hot water and a tablespoon of salt. With well-greased fingers poke holes into the focaccia and then pour the brine over it all, followed by a dollop of olive oil. Bake at 250 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes and at 220 degrees Celsius for a further 5 minutes.