Tortellini in Brodo
Emilia-Romagna · pasta · serves 6 · 240 min total · hard
Christmas Day food in Bologna and Modena. Legend says the shape was modelled on Venus's navel after she stayed at an inn near Castelfranco.
Ingredients
- 300 g '00' flour
- 3 eggs large eggs
- 150 g pork loin
- 100 g mortadella
- 100 g prosciutto di Parma
- 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 yolk egg yolk
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 2 L capon or rich chicken broth
- 20 g butter
Method
- Make pasta dough: pile flour, well in centre, eggs in. Combine and knead 10 minutes until satin-smooth. Wrap, rest 30 minutes.
- Sear pork loin in butter until just cooked. Cool. Mince finely with mortadella and prosciutto.
- Combine the minced meat with Parmigiano, the egg yolk, a generous grate of nutmeg. The filling should be dense and aromatic.
- Roll pasta thinly — translucent enough to read newsprint through.
- Cut into 3 cm squares. Place a pea-sized bit of filling on each. Fold diagonally into a triangle, seal, then wrap the two ends around your fingertip — pinch them together to form the navel-shaped tortellini.
- Bring broth to a gentle simmer. Drop in tortellini, cook 3 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls of broth with extra Parmigiano on the side.