Recipe | Tortellini: king of feasts
Premise: I’m not Emiliano (from Emilia Romagna) and for some ‘orthodox’ people I should probably stay away from this topic... but to buy my credibility, as I do not have an Emilian grandma – or far relative –, I decided to go to collect a few sources before providing you the following recipe, from Mr. Artusi and his bible “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene” - a must have in every Italian kitchen – to the “La Dotta Confraternita del Tortellino”, the association that in 1974, in collaboration with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, deposited the authentic recipe.
Ladies and gentlemen, the recipe we are talking about today is Tortellini!
Living abroad, I understood there is a lot of confusion about the difference between ravioli and tortellini… Let’s settle some dust before starting: they are both filled pasta but the main differences are in (1) the shape, ravioli are round or rectangular while tortellini have a nest shape built around the tip of the finger; (2) the filling, the one of ravioli can vary depending on regions or preference, while tortellini have a ‘religious’ one; (3) the origin: ravioli seems to have been created in Liguria, while tortellini origin is disputed between the cities of Bologna and Modena.
Now that clarity is done, time for the recipe. I will share the 2 fillings from Artusi and the Dotta Confraternita before proceeding with ours.
Artusi
30 gr fat and lean ham, 30 grams
20 gr Bologna Mortadella di Bologna, 20 grams
60 gr ox marrow, 60 grams
60 gr parmigiano
1 egg
Nutmeg
Dotta confraternita
100 gr browned pork loin
100 gr prosciutto crudo
100 gr Bologna mortadella
150 gr Parmigiano
1 egg
Nutmeg
Hungry Italian in Town
100 gr prosciutto crudo
80 gr mortadella
100 gr bone marrow
50 gr parmigiano
Nutmeg
50 gr grounded pork (optional)
As you can see our recipe is a mix of the 2, that keeps the bone marrow of the old version but removes the egg to avoid an additional source of fat. Additionally, we do not always add pork to the filling and if we do, we leave it row and grounded.
Up to you to choose your version!
For the pasta:
- mix 1 egg every 100 gr of flour and work until smooth. Let it rest for 30 min in a plastic foil.
- once ready, cut half of it and roll the dough to get a thin layer of about 2 mm.
- cut the layer of pasta in squares of about 4 cm per side.
- place a small portion of filling in the center of the squares of dough.
- fold the squares into triangles and close the tortellini around the tip of your finger (make sure to do it keeping the top of the 'triangle' towards the hand. It will facilitate the closing process).
