If you tear even one tortellini you'll be hearing from the mob
Hundreds of tiny, perfect pasta knots floating in a clear, golden broth: it's Bologna's Christmas classic and a true labour of love. Put the broth on early, put some music on and settle into the folding. Every single one counts.
The challenge
- Rolling pasta paper-thin
- Uniform filling portions
- Folding without tearing
- Making rich meat broth
- Preventing filling leaks
Emilia-Romagna's filled pasta in broth that Italian nonnes train for years to master. Fresh egg pasta gets rolled until thin enough to see your hand through, then cut into perfect squares for filling. Meanwhile, you're simmering a proper meat broth from capon or beef that takes hours to develop depth.
The pasta must be thin enough to cook properly in the broth but strong enough not to tear during folding or burst during serving, and any Italian grandmother will judge inconsistent shapes mercilessly.
Prep: 2 hours, plus resting ย ยทย Cook: 4 hours
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1 capon or boiling hen (about 2 kg / 4.4 lb), or 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) chicken wings and backs
- 750 g (1.6 lb) beef shin or brisket, plus 1 beef marrow bone
- 1 onion (halved), 1 carrot and 1 celery stick
- 4 litres (4 quarts) cold water
- Salt
For the filling
- 100 g (3.5 oz) pork loin, cubed, and 10 g (2 tsp) butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) mortadella
- 80 g (3 oz) prosciutto crudo
- 120 g (1 1/4 cups) Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 24 months), finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 1 egg
- A good grating of nutmeg
For the pasta
- 300 g (2 1/3 cups) '00' flour, plus semolina for dusting
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
Method
- Start the brothPut the capon, beef and marrow bone in a large stockpot with the cold water. Bring slowly to a bare simmer over medium-low heat, skimming off the grey foam as it rises for the first 20-30 minutes. Never let it boil hard, or the broth will turn cloudy.
- Simmer for depthAfter 1 hour, add the onion, carrot and celery. Keep at the faintest simmer, with just a few bubbles breaking the surface, for 3-4 hours in total. Strain through a sieve lined with muslin or a damp tea towel. Season with salt, then chill so you can lift the fat off the top (or skim it carefully while hot).
- Make the fillingMelt the butter in a frying pan and gently cook the pork for 5-6 minutes until just cooked through but not crusty. Cool. Mince the pork, mortadella and prosciutto very finely in a food processor or through a fine mincer plate twice. Mix in the Parmigiano, egg and nutmeg to a smooth, firm paste. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour (overnight is even better).
- Make the pasta doughMound the flour on a board, make a well and crack in the eggs. Beat with a fork, gradually drawing in the flour, then knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should be firm but not crumbly. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Roll paper-thinCut off a quarter of the dough, keeping the rest wrapped. Roll it through a pasta machine from the widest setting down, folding it in half and re-rolling twice on the widest setting to strengthen it. Continue to the second-thinnest setting, about 0.6 mm, until you can see the shadow of your hand through the sheet.
- Cut and portionWorking fast before the pasta dries, cut the sheet into 3.5 cm (1 1/2 in) squares. Pipe or place a hazelnut-sized blob of filling, about 1/2 tsp (2 g), in the centre of each. A piping bag with a plain nozzle keeps every portion identical.
- Fold and sealFold each square into a triangle, pressing out every bit of air around the filling and sealing the edges firmly with your fingertips. If the pasta has dried and won't stick, dab the edge with the lightest touch of water. Air pockets and dry edges are what cause leaks and bursts.
- Shape the tortelliniWrap the triangle around your index finger with the long edge facing out, bring the two bottom corners together and pinch them firmly, then fold the tip back to make the classic 'belly button'. Place on a tray dusted with semolina and cover with a cloth. Repeat with the remaining dough in batches.
- Cook in the brothBring 2 litres (2 quarts) of the broth to a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, which can burst the tortellini. Add the tortellini and cook for 2-4 minutes until they float and the folded edges are tender. Taste one to check.
- ServeLadle into warm bowls, roughly 30 tortellini per person with plenty of broth, and finish with a little grated Parmigiano. Serve straight away.
- Count the survivorsBefore serving, count your tortellini. Every one. If any of them tore, eat them quietly over the sink so the family never knows. Then serve the rest in broth and accept your new status as a made man.
Tips from the trenches
- Always keep the dough you aren't working with wrapped. Dry pasta cracks when folded, and that's where tears come from.
- Make the broth a day ahead: it's easier to defat cold and leaves you a whole day for folding.
- Freeze extra tortellini on a semolina-dusted tray, then bag them. Cook from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes.
- Nobody nails the first 20. By the hundredth, your hands will know the fold, so make the early ones for yourself.
โMuch like gardening, most cooking manages to be agreeably absorbing without being too demanding intellectually. It leaves plenty of mental space for daydreaming and reflection.โโ Michael Pollan
