Is mortadella following prosciutto's pursuits?

Meet the other deli meat making the cut.

Mortadella is another moreish Italian cured meat. Source: Supplied

I vividly remember what was in my lunchbox in primary school. While other kids feasted on polony sandwiches smothered with tomato sauce or canteen eats, I got stuck into mortadella sandwiches. Call it a 'kids conti': two slabs of buttered bread with a stock of sliced mortadella and rings of fresh tomato smacked in between.

Try mortadella with some good quality Italian bread. Source: Adam Liaw

I was an Italian child through and through. My mum introduced me to Italian delights from a young age, and eating mortadella sandwiches would be what ignited my life-long antipasto addiction. This love translated into work. Working in a Coles delicatessen during my teen years taught me how to prepare mortadella, which is best served by slicing it paper thin. Even if it wasn't the most popular cold meat, my weakness for this adult version of polony has never waned.  

In hindsight, perhaps I was a schoolyard trendsetter. These days, mortadella is in vogue, with chefs around the country choosing to add this pastel pink meat, blemished with fatty white spots, to their menus.

But what exactly is mortadella?

Unlike its fellow antipasto cohort, prosciutto (which is simply dry-cured ham from a pig's hind leg), mortadella is seen as a bit more mysterious.

Mortadella is processed pork that is usually studded with fat and peppercorns, but it can also be flecked with olives or pistachio. 

Butcher Vince Garreffa of Perth's Mondo Butchers and Small Goods tells SBS Food, "Mortadella has been exclusively made with pork, with some [mortadella varieties] using trimmings left over from sausage production, while artisan butchers use high-quality lean pork meat with 15% pork fat mini cubes in the mix."

Mortadella's origins

Ok, so maybe I wasn't exactly the lunchbox trendsetter I thought I was. According to Italian Food Excellence, mortadella's rise in prominence dates to the 17th century in the Bologna region. In 1998, the European Union gave Mortadella Bologna Protected Geographical Indication to preserve the original recipe.

My weakness for this adult version of polony has never waned.

This classification means that Bologna Mortadella is given a seal of authenticity. This also places it alongside other Italian food greats, including parmigiano-reggiano, aceto balsamico di modena and bresaola della valtellina, to name a few. 

Move over prosciutto

It's about time mortadella had its day on menus, according to the celebrated chef and restaurateur Guy Grossi of Grossi Restaurants.

"Mortadella is not only delicious, but it has a great cultural heritage and plays a big part in the Italian cucina, from being a noble antipasto teamed with Tigelle or crunchy ciabatta to being used as an ingredient in endless preparations," Grossi tells SBS Food. 

"The richness of the fat and flavour of the spice makes it an unbeatable kitchen companion." 

Grossi puts Australian restaurants' take up of the meat down to it being different from other deli cuts. 

"I think chefs embrace it because it's a little different from your standard salami and stands out on its own," he says.

"It's also easy enough to make, whereas salami needs to be aged. Mortadella can be made in-house quite simply. You can really play around with it by adding your own spice mix, pistachio, pepper or olives, so it's a nice way for chefs to showcase their own version."

It's a little different from your standard salami and stands out on its own.

"I think some people also may have been under the impression that mortadella is a mystery meat. But now that it's becoming more well known and its authenticity and beauty uncovered, mortadella is making its way into the hearts and menus of many chefs."

Mortadella has long been on the menu of Grossi Florentino in Melbourne; the meat is a core ingredient of the restaurant's staple dish, tortellini in brodo.

"Mortadella is quite a rich meat with high-fat content. When mixed with pasta fillings, it adds a lovely richness. The spices in the meat also add to the depth of flavour in the mix," Grossi says.

Florentino Grossi's tortellini dish. Source: Florentino Grossi

Unlike prosciutto, Grossi is happy to cook mortadella. "Fried mortadella is delicious, but I would never cook prosciutto."

Who knew mortadella was such versatile meat? Time for me to go back to the delicatessen and place my order.

 

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