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Emma Morano, who recently passed away at the ripe old age of 117 after becoming the oldest woman in the world, apparently ate a daily lunch of pasta with raw minced meat:

The Economist | Emma Morano: Ancient as the hills

Is this an actual Italian dish, and if so, what is it called and are there restaurants that serve it to the public? Googling in English was unhelpful.

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  • Honestly, I don't think so. It would seem this was a diet she started following, by suggestion from a doctor, to increase her lifespan.
    – JoErNanO
    Commented May 5, 2017 at 9:07
  • I don't know if there is a particular dish, but on the subject of raw mince meat, it wouldn't really surprise me, steak tartare is made from finely chopped or minced raw beef- tasty too
    – Preston
    Commented May 5, 2017 at 11:23

2 Answers 2

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+25

There are no raw meat dishes in Italy, with the exception of carpaccio. But that is often considered a somewhat fancy appetizer. But even carpaccio can be cured meat instead of raw. And in some places made with fish instead, which I personally won't call carpaccio but...

The other closest would be cured meats, but then, they are cured not raw.

If you do end up at a Greek or other Mediterranean cuisine restaurant, you should find raw kibbeh. And french places you will find Steak tartare. But those are not Italian dishes and you can find that in most other country too.

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I couldn't find any mention of what type of pasta she used to eat but I found a recipe of a food with raw beef which is called: Carne Cruda Alla Piemontese - I guess she was having a plain pasta with something like this beside (not mixed in the pasta as a sauce).

Note: All links are in Italian.

As I understood, Emma used to have a plain pasta to which she added raw ground (minced) beef for lunch; which in my experience and knowledge is not actually a common food in Italy and was more of a personalized diet suggested by her doctor. In this video she explains,

My doctor has told me to eat raw meat, better if minced so that I can eat it.

Referring to the fact that she was toothless.


Generally speaking, raw meat is quite popular in Italy. If you travel through different regions in Italy (specially towards south), in each of them you will find some specialized techniques to make and maintain a high quality raw meat. An an example, the city of Parma, which is famous for its raw prosciutto.

Also in most fast foods and restaurants you will find the raw meat options in the menus. Some examples are, raw prosciutto sandwich and spaghetti alla carbonara di prosciutto crudo.

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    It's a bit of a stretch to describe prosciutto (crudo) as raw. While not cooked, it doesn't really match "For lunch she had pasta with raw minced meat" (from the article linked). The carne cruda in your first paragraph looks spot on, though.
    – AakashM
    Commented May 5, 2017 at 13:04
  • @AakashM you are right, I wrote the answer from the office hence the general info I planned to give got mixed up with the main answer. I'll reorder my sentences as soon as I find the time :)
    – hatef
    Commented May 5, 2017 at 13:18
  • That recipe looks like tartar steak though, and doesn't involve any pasta... Commented May 5, 2017 at 21:45

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