Tortellini, what a delight! Stuffed egg pasta is typical of Emilia Romagna, but over time it has become a recipe capable of arousing everyone's appetite. To buy or prepare at home, here are some secrets about tortellini.
Tortellini is one of the most famous recipes from Bologna, where you can also easily find a sweet version... with chocolate! The home of tortellini is actually located in the area between Bologna and Modena. According to a legend that takes its cue from the poem titled La Secchia Rapita by Alessandro Tassoni, written in 1614, due to a war between Bologna and Modena, after a long day of fighting Mars and Venus stopped to sleep in an inn called Corona, in Castelfranco Emilia. The next morning the innkeeper discovered the goddess Venus still asleep and fascinated by the unsettling shapes took refuge in the kitchen where he created a filled pasta whose shape evoked a navel. The navel is in fact the main character of another version of the legend that still in Castelfranco Emilia, wanted the birth of the tortellino. In this case the innkeeper was inspired by the beauty of a noblewoman guest, secretly being spied on.
What do you need to make tortellini at home?
11 oz of flour 00, 6 eggs, and a pinch of salt for the pasta: remember that according to tradition the dough must be worked by hand with a rolling pin. For the filling you can use pork loin, mortadella, and ham together with any cold cuts leftovers you find in the fridge. Add egg, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and... a pinch of nutmeg! Once rolled out, place a small amount of stuffing on a square of about 4 centimeters. Fold the square in two so as to obtain a triangle, then weave the two tips by rolling the dough on your finger and finally closing. Experienced housewives can create even really small tortellini, here is the real skill.
Careful, tortellini with sauce... it doesn't exist!
For Christmas lunch prepare your tortellini according to the traditional recipe: cooked in meat broth, or in the delicious dry version, seasoned with cream and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Those who do not like meat broth can opt for a vegetable broth. The first references to tortellini in gastronomic history date back to 1300, but it seems that since 1100 it was customary to consume hot capon broth, rich and substantial, for the winter night of solstice, December 21, along with scraps of pasta and small pieces of meat.