Have you ever tasted real casoncelli from Valcamonica (or Camonica Valley)? When it comes to casoncelli, we immediately think of the typical stuffed pasta from Bergamo with a shape that looks like a sort of half-moon or folded handkerchief. We often forget, however, that the term can be associated with another of Italy’s most delicious regional specialties: the casoncelli from Valcamonica, which some claim is the most ancient type of stuffed pasta in Italy. So what’s so special about this dish?
Casoncelli recipe
The recipe for typical Valcamonica casoncelli calls for a filling with boiled spinach or the like, mortadella (or salami), sausage, grated Grana Padano cheese, potatoes, bread crumbs, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Wrapped in a mixture of flour, eggs, salt and milk, they’re served with a sauce consisting of butter, sage and grated Grana Padano cheese. Of course, this isn’t the only recipe for casoncelli from Valcamonica in circulation.
The dispute over origins
The origins of casoncelli are very remote and both Brescia and Bergamo claim the birthright. This fact is complicated by the similarity that once linked them to tortelli and ravioli from Emilia. Documents seem to agree with those from Bergamo: a document dated 1386 by the notary Castello Castelli speaks of a grand party where stuffed “artibotuli” were served (the ancient name for casoncelli). Whereas those who hold that Brescia invented them base their beliefs on a quote from the notary Jacopo Melga from 1471. What is certain is that the filling was very different from what we know today: the taste for bittersweet foods typical of late medieval and Renaissance cuisine called for them to be filled with a mixture based on candied fruit, almonds, chopped mustaccioli (a chocolate-covered spice cake), pears, eggs and butter. This recipe was then replaced by a filling with Marsala, raisins, candied citron and cheese. These were expensive ingredients, which few could afford. So up until the 20th century, casoncelli were a food that the poor only ate on holidays.
Bergamo casoncelli
Every area, or rather every family, has its own recipe for casoncelli. Bergamo casoncelli are stuffed with roasted beef, ground meat for salami, bread crumbs, eggs, amaretti, raisins, Spadona pears, lemon rind (possibly passed down from the remote medieval and Renaissance origins), garlic and parsley. The sauce has a base of butter, sage, Grana Padano cheese and pancetta.
Those of the Lioness
In the Brescia variation, (especially between Longhena and Barbariga), the filling is prepared with beef, carrots, celery, onion, cloves, nutmeg, basil, red wine, Grana Padano cheese, bread crumbs, egg, butter, oil, salt and pepper, and served with a simple sauce with butter, sage and Grana Padano cheese.
Roots in the valley
The Valcamonica recipe is much simpler: meat is not so predominant. The focus is rather on greens like spinach or chard, or even cabbage. The various herbs and spices include the typical costmary (Tanacetum balsamita), also used in the bitter tortello of Castel Goffredo (Mantua). This simple fact leads us to think that the “forefather” of all casoncelli can be found in Valcamonica. As in the Brescia casoncelli, the shape also changes, not just a half-moon or handkerchief but often also shaped like a candy.
From Sebino to Tonale
There are also numerous variations within each type: in Breno, for example, they have meat, together with raisins and walnuts. In Alta Valcamonica they have salami, potatoes and nutmeg. In Artogne there are “giant casconcelli.” In Erbanno the filling has eggs, Grana Padano cheese, ground meat for salami, roasted beef, raisins, Spadona or Abate pears, lemon rind, garlic, parsley and pepper, with a sauce with butter, sage, Grana Padano cheese and pancetta.