A moulded dome of rice baked around braised pigeon, unmoulded at the table like a savoury cake. Parma's grandest old-fashioned dish, revived by the city's younger kitchens.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Bomba di riso descends from the baroque timballi of the Farnese and Bourbon courts, filtered through the farm kitchens of the Parma Apennines where pigeon was the festive meat. The rice shell is enriched with butter and Parmigiano, the filling is pigeon braised with its livers, and the whole is baked in a buttered mould until it holds its shape. Nearly extinct by the 1990s, it has returned on revival menus, Brisla's Bib Gourmand kitchen among them.
Common allergens: Milk, Egg
Tip from the editors. Guinea fowl or duck legs braise the same way if pigeon is hard to find; keep the livers, they are the depth of the dish.
Brisla Trattoria earned a 2026 Bib Gourmand for chef Elia Otgianu's seasonal take on Parma classics: anolini in brodo, leek tortelli and bomba di riso.
Signature: Anolini in brodo, Tortelli di porri e tartufo, Bomba di riso
Order: Anolini in brodo, then the rice bomb with pigeon ragout.
Tip: Book online through their site; the room on Strada Farini is small and the Bib Gourmand listing keeps weekend tables scarce.
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