topping-meat
Mortadella
Bologna PGI emulsified pork; draped raw on hot pies.
- Origin
- Bologna / Emilia-Romagna, Italy
About
Mortadella di Bologna PGI is a large-format emulsified pork sausage studded with cubes of pork fat, pistachio, and black pepper. On pizza, it's used cold and raw — draped in thin slices over a hot bianca al taglio after the bake, often with shaved pistachio and a swipe of stracciatella or burrata. The residual heat of the slice softens the fat without cooking it, which keeps the flavor delicate. Buy it sliced paper-thin from an Italian deli.
History
Mortadella has been documented in Bologna since at least the 16th century, evolving from the Roman farcimen. The mortadella-and-pistachio al-taglio slice is a 2010s Roman bakery breakout that spread internationally through Bonci and successors.