I have always been a fan of this food!

I used to think it was really bad for you but I found out only in recent years that it is actually made from very high quality meat cuts. (it is fatty -- I think the guy wanting to substitute his chicken breast with it was sort of kidding, but I can see it would in fact seem comparable to chicken overall, when you consider how fatty chickens skin is.

I prefer to have mortadella with white bread (especially the baguette type), or with plain focaccia. (Yummm!) I never adding other ingredients or condiments to it, nor use elaborate breads, because doing so masks the delicate and complex flavor of this cold cut. Adding things like balsamic vinegar would pretty much kill it, IMHO.

This thing has murkier origins than seem apparent: From what I have read, this stuff seems to have originated in north-central Italy in ancient times, and not necessarily in the city of Bologna. It is thought to have disappeared for a while, reappearing during the middle ages in the city of Bologna, Italy. Since the first historical evidence of its production is only traceable only to its production in Bologna during medieval times, this city is credited as being its point of origin. Today, "genuine" mortadella is only considered such if it comes from the city of Bologna. Hence the derivation of the American processed food "bologna", sometimes spelled "baloney".

I apologize for not providing a reference. I did the research a while back.

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We don't have this often -- regularly, but not frequently -- so it is a treat for me. We have some in the house now, and I have saved some of dad's white bread to have with it. Looking forward to that! Yummmm!

*licks lips

waves