This weekend I wanted to try and make a new type of stuffed pasta. I love pasta so much but I usually make homemade spaghetti and tagliatelle because making stuffed (or filled) pasta requires more time. As I had ricotta, ham and cheese in the fridge, the filling was already decided. I also had a third of a bag of dried wild mushrooms available that would make a perfect sauce along with butter and good seasoning. The question was: which type of stuffed pasta I was going to make; which shape! There are so many options! But just after a few minutes of browsing the internet I decided to go with tortellini! The experience of making these for the first time was truly amazing! This was honestly the cutest pasta I’ve ever made! I am totally thrilled and in love with this little navel shaped pasta!
I learnt that there are a few techniques to fold this little guys. I tried some of them but in the end, I stuck to the one where you fold the navel by wrapping the stuffed triangles around your little finger. The first one I folded seemed difficult, the second one was much easier and so on. As everything in the kitchen, it’s just a question of practising 😊
Recipe
How much time do you need?
Preparation time: 2 hr
Cooking time 15 min hr
Total time: 2 hrs 15min
Material:
Bowls
Kitchen scale
Cheese grater
Pasta rolling pin (or a pasta maker)
Pasta cutter (or a knife)
Kitchen towel, cutlery, knife
Spatula
Frying pan
Large saucepan
Cutting board
Ingredients (makes 2 serves)
Pasta dough:
200 grs plain flour (type 00)
2 eggs
2 tbs Olive oil
Filling:
150 grs ricotta
50 grs grated ham
25 cc olive oil
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tablespoons of fresh finely chopped parsley
100 grs grated parmesan cheese (I replaced for 2 different cheddar cheese I had available), you can use any type of hard or semi hard cheese you like)
Salt and pepper
Sauce:
50 grs butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 handful of dried wild mushrooms (can be replaced by fresh mushrooms). Hydrate in ½ a cup of white wine or water for at least 3hrs.
Extra parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
1 shallot (can be replaced for ½ onion)
1 cup (200ml) white wine
Method:
Pasta:
Form a crown with the flour, arrange eggs and the olive oil in the centre. Start taking the wet ingredients from dough from the centre to the edges until the ingredients are joined. Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Let the covered dough rest for 20 minutes. This step is essential and will make the rolling and stretching process much easier. Roll out the dough until thin sheets are obtained. If you are using an automatic pasta maker, start with the widest setting (0) and continue until you reach 8. It has to be very thin.
Filling:
Mix the ricotta with the grated cheese, ham, olive oil and season with salt, pepper, the nutmeg and the finely chopped parsley.
Assembling and shaping:
I read about the shaping of this type of pasta and apparently there is a lot of discussion about tortellini vs cappelletti. An Italian friend told me that it depends on the filling rather than the shape. But if we go by the shape, tortellini are made from small squares shaped pasta and cappelletti from round shaped pasta. The shape of the tortellini is similar to a little navel ship while the cappelletti looks like a capelina or little hat.
Spread a thin sheet of dough on the counter and using a pasta cutter cut into 2.5cm squares. If you would like them bigger to hold more filling, go for 5cm squares. The 2.5 cm squares can hold half a teaspoon of filling. If you use the 5cm squares size you might need to increase your filling preparation (200gr ricotta + 75grs ham). I cut all the squares to have them ready and then I worked filling and shaping batches of 8-10 tortellini. I covered the remaining squares with a slightly wet kitchen towel so they don’t dry out. Shaping will be difficult if the squares have dried out.
To make the tortellini, place a teaspoon of your filling in the centre of a square and slightly moisten the edge with a very small amount of water using a pastry brush or your fingers. Gently fold the pasta over and seal at the top forming a triangle. Work your fingers down the edges to seal, pushing out any air bubbles as you go. Take the corners of the little tortellini and bring together around your little finger and press together to seal. Try making one and adjust the amount of filling if needed. Check the highlight on my Instagram for a step by step video!
Repeat until you have used all the pasta and filling, storing them on a tray dusted with semolin until you are ready to cook them.
Cook in boiling water (add 1 tablespoon of salt per litre of water) for 8-10 minutes. Try one and test if it’s cooked, specially in the folded corners.
Sauce:
Chop the mushrooms, do not discard the mushroom flavoured white wine, it will add a lot of flavour to the sauce so reserve it. Finely slice the shallot and finely chop the garlic.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook slowly until golden brown. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic and the shallot for 2 minutes being careful not to burn them. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the reserved mushrooms juice and complete with up to a cup of white wine, cook for 2 more minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Transfer the cooked tortellini to the pan, sauce for 1 to 2 minutes and serve. Grate some extra parmesan cheese, add a pinch of black pepper and enjoy!
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