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Tortellini al sugo

17/11/2023

Tortellini with sauce are a classic of Emilian cuisine, and I will guide you step by step to prepare this delicious dish. First of all, let’s see what you need:

Ingredients for the pasta:

  • 300 g of flour
  • 3 large eggs

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 100 g of minced pork
  • 100 g of mortadella
  • 100 g of raw ham
  • 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • Nutmeg to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the sauce:

  • 500 ml of tomato puree
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh basil to taste

Preparation

  1. Start by preparing the pasta: on a pastry board, create a well with the flour and crack the eggs in the middle. With a fork, start to incorporate the flour into the eggs, then knead with your hands. Work the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Wrap the ball of dough in cling film and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

  2. For the filling, combine the minced pork, the chopped mortadella, and raw ham in a bowl (you could also mince them with a meat grinder for a finer texture). Add the grated Parmesan cheese, the egg, and a pinch of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and mix well until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.

  3. Roll out the dough with a pasta machine or a rolling pin until you get a very thin sheet. Cut into squares of about 4 cm on each side, place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each one, fold into a triangle by sealing the edges well, and wrap the two opposite small sides of the triangle around your finger to give the typical tortellini shape.

  4. For the sauce, finely chop the onion and gently fry it with extra virgin olive oil in a pan until it becomes translucent. Add the tomato puree, season with salt, and cook for 20-30 minutes on medium-low heat. Add hand-torn basil leaves at the end for a fresh aroma.

  5. While the sauce is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the tortellini for about 1-2 minutes, or until they float to the surface. Drain them carefully, and transfer them to the pan with the sauce to flavor them further.

  6. Serve the tortellini hot, garnishing with extra grated Parmesan cheese and basil leaves if you like.

Curiosity

Tortellini are traditionally served in broth during the Christmas holidays, but with sauce, they are a pleasurable variation to enjoy them differently throughout the year. Moreover, there are many legends about the origins of their shape, inspired according to some by Venus’s navel.

Tortellini al sugo