The debut episode of Broadsheet’s brand new podcast, FYI, is here. And it’s all about mortadella, and why it’s everywhere right now. To celebrate, we’ve rounded up some of the best dishes (and sandwiches) across the country that hero the pink, spotty Italian deli meat – for you to try while you tune into the episode.
Melbourne
Pure luxury is a handful of slices of mortadella warmed up on a fresh-out-the-oven pizza; find exactly that with fermented-garlic honey at Takeaway Pizza and Dom’s, or with salsa verde, scamorza, mozzarella and pickled garlic shoots at Capitano. Sandwich-wise, there’s the ooey-gooey Hector’s Deli HCT, with mortadella, mozzarella, provolone and tomato chutney; the King & Godfree house mortadella with giardiniera; and the King William Tony Baloney, fried mortadella on Tuscan flatbread with a lick of house-made olive jam, melty provolone and rocket. Other winning dishes include Meatsmith’s pistachio-spiked mortadella with mustard fruits and caperberries at the Builders Arms; the Patio Burger at Poodle, with a hulking mortadella patty; and the fried pork-and-mortadella polpette (meatballs) at Park Street Pasta & Wine. Plus, on the Surf Coast, the impeccably named Mortadeli does it by the slice and in a toastie with mozzarella and manchego.
Sydney
Broadsheet’s national editor Sarah Norris and Sydney editor Che-Marie Trigg have each waxed lyrical on the internet about a same-same-but-different Sydney mortadella dish. Norris was enamoured by Marta’s bianca e mortadella; she wrote, “Mortadella, folded within a hunk of woodfired bread and splashed with olive oil. Whoomph.” Meanwhile, Trigg was taken by the puffy, asking-to-be-pierced woodfired bread at Totti’s. “There are an overwhelming number of antipasti to go with your bread,” she wrote. “The [house-made] mortadella is a must because you can place it between the folds of the bread. You could even make a little DIY sandwich with a slice of provolone in there as well.” Yes. Our other picks: LP’s Quality Meats’ standout smoked mortadella, and Nomad’s Tathra Place duck mortadella (it also sells a make-your-own kit via Vic’s Meats if you really want to know how the sausage is made).
Adelaide
It’s all about mortadella sandwiches – be they fancified or entirely true to tradition – in Adelaide. For fans of the former, there’s a mortadella finger sando with pickled shallot, pecorino and mayo at Fugazzi. For fans of the latter, try the classic number two at Lucia’s, with mortadella, provolone and green olives; a similar but souped-up version at Bottega Bandito with mortadella, olive tapenade, stracciatella and pickled zucchini; and the egg-and-mortadella sandwich (a take on the bacon and egg roll) at Just Down the Road. Outside of sandwich land, Madre serves it on a montanara, or crisp fried pizza dough, with ricotta and pistachio – it’s decadent AF.
Brisbane
The mortadella origin story starts in Bologna, the capital of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. And Brisbane’s Ripiena pays homage to that heritage by serving a traditional, warming Bolognese dish: tortellini in brodo. Each tortellino is filled with a combination of mortadella di Bologna, prosciutto crudo di Parma, pork loin, Parmigiano-Reggiano and nutmeg, then cooked in a flavour-packed chicken broth. More handheld and markedly less dainty are the stacked-up sandwiches at the New York-style Reuben’s Deli; wafer-thin Borgo mortadella features in both the Italian Hoagie and the muffuletta. Two other top places to stock up on the fat-speckled stuff are Mega Continental Food Wholesalers and Tognini’s.
Perth
In the west, mortadella plays a stellar supporting role in most of the beloved, new-wave continental – or conti – rolls. It’s thinly sliced and layered up alongside its cold-cut cousins with some sort of cheese and vegetable component, depending on the particular variation. Find one of the city’s very best at Ethos, which makes its mortadella in-house, while other brilliant versions are at the recently opened Peggy’s and the longstanding Re Store. Meanwhile, at Si Paradiso, mortadella stars on the Hawaiian-ish Loco Paradiso, a house-made-nduja-slathered pizza with black-pepper pineapple and chilli. And it’s served with golden gnocco fritto, as well as rocket and pecorino at No Mafia.
Listen to episode one of Broadsheet’s new podcast, FYI – Mortadella: a rags to riches story – here.
