Every Italian table has its Christmas idiosyncrasies, whether they’re related to regional tradition or personal preference. But there is one dish, originating in Emilia Romagna, that promotes harmony across the country: a piping hot bowl of tortellini floating in a golden stock.
Tortellini are minuscule silky egg pasta bites filled with a mix of meats and the trifecta of umami that is mortadella, prosciutto and Parmigiano Reggiano. They are so small that it takes at least six to properly fill a spoonful. They are delicious but quite laborious, definitely a special occasion food, unless you get paid well to make them.
Eggs and Flour for preparing the dough
When a client during my New York catering days asks that I make enough for a 100 people party, offering a price I couldn’t refuse, I spent hours folding almost 4000 tortellini, enough to put me off tortellini making for years. Until my friend Francesca, a 3rd generation pasta fresca maker in Bologna took me under her wing and healed me from my tortellini trauma.
There are as many tweaks of filling as there are kitchens in Emilia Romagna, mine is inspired by my tortellini healer. The defining elements of Francesca’s delicious tortellini are that she is adamant that the fresh meats cannot be cooked and the pasta must be made with soft wheat 00 flour and eggs only.
Viola's prepared tortellini
Traditionally, stock to serve tortellini is made with capon, not the easiest ingredient to source in the US and also a little pricy, so I turn to chicken. If you have time, making your own fresh stock cannot be beaten, or you can buy a high quality stock made by your local butcher. In that case, use mostly chicken with a little beef mixed in for depth and color.
And don’t forget to serve them with plenty of grated Parmigiano Reggiano to sprinkle on top. Enjoy and happy holidays!
Tortellini in brodo by Viola Buitoni
Serves 3 to 4 people
Ingredients for the stock:
chicken back, wingtips and feet 1 carrot
1 celery rib
1 onion
5 cloves
5 peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 lemon slice
1.5 tablespoon salt
Ingredients for the pasta:
3 eggs
¾ pounds 00 flour + some for rolling the dough
pinch of salt
Ingredients for the filling:
2 ounces lean pork meat cut in small pieces
2 ounces chicken thigh meat cut in small pieces 2 ounces mortadella roughly chopped
2 ounces prosciutto roughly chopped
1 small egg
2 ounces grated parmigiano + more for serving nutmeg to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Make the stock in advance. Crack the bones of the chicken pieces and drop them in a 4 quarts stock pot. Cut the carrot and celery rib in chunks and toss in the pot. Peel the onion and spike it with the cloves, also in the pot. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, lemon slice and salt.
Cover with water and turn the heat on to medium high. As soon as it looks like it is about to boil, lower until it simmers. Skim the floating scum, partially cover and simmer for a couple of hours. Strain and refrigerate for several hours until the fat congeals on the top and can be easily removed.
Line a fine mesh strainer with a paper towel and with the help of a ladle filter the stock to eliminate impurities. Your stock is ready.
Next let’s knead our pasta dough.
Salt the flour and mound it on a wooden board. Make a high-walled wide-mouthed well by lowering your balled fist in the middle of the mound and rotating it in a circle towards the edges. Break the eggs into the well and beat lightly with a fork, as if to scramble them. Use your free hand to push in small amounts of flours from all around the outer base of the well into the egg, being mindful not to open escape routes in the well.
A little tip: I like to weigh my eggs so that I have a better idea if I am keeping the 2 wet to 3 dry parts ratio of egg past pasta. If on the heavier side then I know I will need to add more flour while kneading, but if they are smaller and lighter, I might keep a handful of flour back and use it only if necessary.
Start beating with a fork and gradually incorporate the flour until the mixture becomes too thick to beat and too dense to run away. Start squeezing the ingredients together with your hands until all the flour and eggs are gathered into a shaggy mass. Pat together and start kneading the mass until it is smooth and springy. It should take 10 minutes at the most, do not over work or it will get tough.
To test if it’s ready, poke gently it should slowly rise back into place. Wrap the dough tightly and let it relax for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
While the pasta is resting, mix the filling.
Grind the fresh and cured meats into a fine paste in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and add the egg and Parmigiano Reggiano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lastly grate in nutmeg until its fragrance reaches your nose without you having to bend over the bowl. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use it.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and dust VERY lightly with flour. Have some bench flour available.
Because the dough needs to stay soft, I suggest assembling the tortellini in batches. Whether you are rolling the dough by hand or using a pasta machine, divide in 4 pieces and do one at a time.
Roll the first piece of dough to 1/16”. We call this sfoglia velo - a sheet that is thin like a veil.
Using a pastry wheel cut the sheet in 1.5” squares. Grab a bit of filling and pinch off a little piece -approximately corresponding to 1/2 teaspoon- and place it in the center of a square. Repeat until all the squares have filling in the center.