Bloomberg Businessweek

69

In the 1971 comedyLadyLiberty,Sophia Loren arrives in the
U.S. carrying mortadellafrom the Italianfactorywhere she
worked. When a customs official stops her, she refuses to
giveupthe sausage andgets quarantinedat the airport. A
special agent arrives, pulls out a pocketknife to sample it,
and soon enough, it’s all gone. The Italian name ofthefilm?
LaMortadella.
In the decades since, the cured meat has often been con-
fused with mass-market bologna, which has a similar dull pink
hue. Ifyou’ve ever avoided a slice ofolive-studded sandwich
meat on adeliplatter, it was probablyalsolabeledmortadella.
This staple ofthe charcuterie board has been around
for millennia. Thefirst centuryphilosopher Plinythe Elder
referred to it in his writing.Its name derivesfrom the Latin
wordfor mortar(mortarium),the instrument usedtogrind
the meat; its hometown is Bologna, where it’s madefrom
pork,nutmeg,andthejuniperlikemyrtlespice. The meat is
punctuated with cubes offat and oftenpearls ofpeppercorns
and,less classically, crunchypistachios.

Nowmortadellahas becomeoneofthe trendiest meats in

U.S. restaurants: It’s griddledat sandwichspecialist Lardoin

Portland, Ore., andproudlyturnedinto a corndog at Leroy’s

Kitchen + Lounge in Coronado, Calif. At New York’s buzzy

Frenchette, co-owners and co-chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson

slice it paper-thin and serve it with brioche and a sprinkling of

Comté cheese. (Thedishis calledLa Mortadella, a nodto the

Lorenfilm.) “On manylevels, it’s one ofthe highestforms of

charcuterie,” Nasr says.“I consider it aluxuryproduct with

those rich chunks offat. It’s like the ultra bologna.”

But the biggest sign that mortadella is poisedfor a return

to prominence comesfromfatty-pork promoter David Chang,

who’s lookingto dofor the cured meat what his Momofuku

empire has doneforpork bellyand his Ssam Bar didfor

Korean specialtybossam.Athis BangBar at theShopsat

Columbus Circle in New York, hungrydiners wait in linefor

atasteofthe Mini Bangsandwich, whichfeaturesspit-roasted

mortadellacoated with lardand stuffed inside homemadeflat-

bread. “It’s time for it to make a comeback,” Changsays.

Soft, savory mortadella moves beyond the deli platter

Photograph by Danny Kim

MORTADELLA

SANDOS

Manhattan’s Katana

Kitten does a brisk

business in mortadella

“sandos,” or Japanese

sandwiches,made

with cured meat

sourced from

Fra’Mani Handcrafted

Foods in Berkeley,

Calif. This is a

simplified version

providedbymanaging

partner Masahiro

Urushido. Makesfour.

Coatfour¾-inch-thick

slices ofgood-quality

mortadellaonboth

sides with beaten egg,

then cover themin

panko bread crumbs.

Heat a generous

amount of vegetable

oil in a skillet and fry

onmedium-highuntil

golden onbothsides

andheatedthrough.

Letcool.Makesandos

using thick slices of

Japanese milk bread.

(Briochealso works.)

Brushthebreadwith

Dijon mustardand

tangytonkatsusauce,

a Japanesebarbecue

stapleavailableat

INSIDER INGREDIENT internationalmarkets.

DELICACIES