A borlengo is an Italian flat bread made from flour, salt and water, with no leavener. Some feel that it is better described as a crêpe rather than a flat bread.
It is generally thin and somewhat crisp, rather than soft and doughy. Sometimes it is made so thin that it is translucent.
Borlenghi (the plural of borlengo) are made in many parts of the Panaro Valley of the Emilian Apennines near Modena.
A special “pesto” sauce called “cunza”, “counza” or “concia” (aka “Pesto Modenese”) is made for Borlenghi from crushed garlic, rosemary and melted lard. You heat the lard first just enough for the lard to melt a bit so that it will bind the ingredients together. Chopped bacon or sausage might be added.
The batter is called a “colla.” In the town of Bettola, yeast is added to the batter. Other variants elsewhere include whole wheat flour, milk, white wine or even pig’s blood to the batter (if it is hog slaughter time.)
The cooking implement favoured depends on the town. The traditional cooking pan is called a “sole” [1] or “ruola” — a sort of frying pan made of tinned copper, about 40 to 50 cm (15 to 20 inches) wide, with short sides, that might or might not have a handle. Some areas prefer a pan of roughly the same description, but made of cast iron, or a cast iron flat round, with no sides, about 30 cm (11 inches) wide.
You heat up the pan, then grease the bottom using a piece of pork rind or some oil. Then you pour in a dipper of the batter, and move the pan about so that the batter spreads to cover entire bottom of pan. The batter should be spread quite thinly. When it starts to lift from the bottom, you flip it to cook the other side. Total cooking time is 5 to 7 minutes.
You eat Borlenghi warm out of hand as soon as they are cooked, dressing the top of each some of the sauce and a bit of grated parmesan, and then folding it in four. Some traditions dress Borlenghi in the pan; others have you put a Borlengo in your hand, and do the topping and folding there.
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[1] “Sole” meaning “sun” in Italian, here picking up on the shininess of the tinned copper.
History Notes
A thin, flat bread made with just flour and water and seasoned with herbs is mentioned during the 1266 siege of Montevallaro castle. Some, particularly in the town of Guiglia where the castle was, like to speculate that this might have been Borlenghi.
Literature & Lore
There are two big Borlengo festivals: one in May, held in Guiglia, outside Modena, and another in November, in Zocca.
Language Notes
Singular: Borlengo
In local dialect, Borlengo is called “Burlang” or “Burleng.”
In the Bologna portion of the stretch where the bread is made, it is called “Zampanelle.”
In the town of Polinago in the Modena portion, the bread is made just a bit thicker and called “Ciacci” or “Solatelle.”
In Piacenza, called “burtleina.”
Some speculate that Borlengo comes from the word “burla”, meaning trick. There are many theories why this might be so, though none overly compelling and most come from local tourist boards. Another theory is that Borlengo comes from the German word for shingle, “bertling.”
Sources
Borlengo. Prodotti tipici: Parco Regionale dei Sassi di Roccamalatina. Retrieved August 2010 from http://www.parks.it/parco.sassi.roccamalatina/dettaglio_prodotto.php?id_prodotti=2242