The city of Bologna, is often defined with three Italian words: "La Rossa" (the red one), "la Dotta" (the learned one), "la Grassa" (the fat one). 'The Red one' refers to the bricks of its mediaeval buildings and the city's left-leaning political history, while 'the learned one' refers to Bologna hosting the oldest University of the Western world.
And 'the fat one' hails from Bologna's famous food. From Bolognaise sauce (our Australian version of the original 'ragù alla bolognese') to lasagne, the city is home to some of the most delicious Italian dishes, and sits at the centre of the Emilia-Romagna region, itself the cradle of Parmigiano cheese, prosciutto di Parma, mortadella and balsamic vinegar.
One of the signature foods of the city is the tortellino, a pork meat filled pasta dumpling, of which the traditional recipe is listed in official documents and certified by the local chamber of commerce – a big deal.
But controversy erupted in the lead-up to last Friday's feast of the city's patron saint, Petronius, when the Catholic diocese of Bologna offered Muslim-friendly pork-free tortellini for the celebrations. It was an attempt to involve residents and tourists that for personal or religious reasons cannot consume the traditional pork-filled tortellini.
Bologna, Italy. Source: Moment RF
The diocese replaced pork with chicken, a type of meat generally not associated with pasta dishes in Italy.
Nationalist leaders including Matteo Salvini, chief of the anti-immigration League party, slammed the move saying that Italy's history and identity were under threat.
At a rally in the Italian city of Terni, the former deputy prime minister said: "For the sake of respect, the bishop of Bologna, not even a passer-by, launched the tortellini without pork. It is like, let's say, red wine without grapes as a form of respect. Do you realise that they are trying to erase our history, our culture?"
Matteo Salvini shows a handful of tortellini. Source: https://www.facebook.com/salviniofficial/photos
"Here the problem is not the Muslims. The problem is the Italians that are ashamed of what they are," he added on a Facebook live video. "Denying our history for the sake of a mislead respect is madness."
In response, the local Catholic Church said that hyperventilation around chicken tortellini was turning a simple gesture of "kindness and hospitality" into an ideological matter.
But is the chicken tortellino, or chicken in any type of pasta dish, culinary blasphemy?
"I think it is a form of evolution," says Bologna-born, chef and actor Mirko Grillini, who has featured in 'The Chronicles of Narnia', 'Wanted' and 'Underbelly'. "As anything else the world is evolving, it's becoming more global. And yes, there are a lot of people that do not eat pork meat because of either diet, beliefs, religion and I cannot see why they shouldn't enjoy something that is a signature of Bolognese cuisine".
Grillini says it is "magnificent that we have the opportunity to showcase what we do in Bologna" to people who cannot consume the traditional versions of those dishes.
Mirko Grillini Source: Supplied
"I agree that the traditional recipe is the one for a traditional pork meat-filled tortellino. But the fact that we can have another dish in the shape of tortellino utilising other fillings is just an evolution of the tortellino."
