Spaghetti Bolognese
With a somewhat tangled history, some Italian chefs claim that Britain’s most-cooked pasta dish doesn’t actually exist in their country.
The Mayor of Bologna, Virginio
Merola, agreed, saying: “We’d prefer the world to know that Bologna invented tagliatelle, tortellini and lasagne.”
The main beef with our spag bol is tha it uses spaghetti (dried pasta), not tagliatelle made with fresh eggs. Italians prefer it this way as it creates a larger surface area to hold the sauce.
Bologna is in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy’s major food hub. Parmigiano-Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and salumi (cured pork) all hail from here.
At Trattoria Anna Maria, a traditional Bolognese tavern in the city, you’ll get Tagliatelle al Ragu, the real Italian version of spag bol (don’t mention it by name though). emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en
Peking Duck
Seeing rows of fluorescent red ducks roasting on hooks through the window of a steamed-up Chinese restaurant is enough to make your mouth water – or give you nightmares.
But when cut into tender strips with crispy skin, garnished with spring onion, cucumber and sweet plum sauce, then wrapped in wafer-thin pancakes, it’s the stuff of Friday night takeaway dreams.
The first version of this iconic dish was hatched in Peking, now known as Beijing, and served to the Emperor of China in the 13th century. By the 20th century it had become a national symbol of China.
Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant is one of the oldest Peking duck restaurants; its flagship eatery in Beijing has been around since 1864. quanjude.com.cn, english.visitbeijing.com.cn