Homemade Tortelli Verdi

Each region in Italy has its own delicious and distinct cuisine.  Liguria is known for its basil pesto and focaccia, Tuscany for it’s ribollito soup and florentine steak, and Emilia Romagna, the region where I live, boasts some of the most mouthwatering pasta dishes like lasagne, cappelletti and the renowned tortelli verdi.

My friend Elena was kind enough to share a tortelli verdi recipe with me that has been passed down in her family throughout the generations :: generazioni.  Elena, like many Italian women, learned how to cook at a young age and spent countless hours in the kitchen with her grandmother and mother learning how to make traditional recipes by hand.  It comes as no surprise that cooking has turned into one of her biggest passions and throughout the years she completed an advanced program at a school for chefs and has taken two professional courses (butcher and bread making) as well as participated in numerous cooking classes to satiate her culinary curiosity.

Tortelli verdi dates back to Medieval times and was a typical dish served by farmers :: contadini on the holidays (typically on Christmas Eve) while in modern times this exquisite dish is enjoyed all year round.  While there are many variations to this classic dish, this particular recipe calls for egg pasta dough filled with spinach that is then formed into small squares and topped with sage infused butter.

To begin, heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet then add two cloves of smashed garlic and cook for two minutes.  Next add 450g of organic frozen spinach and one organic vegetable bouillon, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes then remove the lid and continue cooking until the spinach is dry.

Remove the skillet from the heat and cool.  Discard the garlic and add 1 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and 3 tablespoons of dried bread crumbs.  Stir well.  To test if the filling has the right consistency :: consistenza, try to form a small ball.  If it holds its shape, it’s ready; if it is too soft, simply add more grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and breadcrumbs until you are able to form a ball.

Now it’s time to make the pasta dough :: la sfoglia.  Place 400g of organic type 00 flour on a clean surface, make a well in the center and crack in 4 eggs. Using a knife or a fork gradually combine the flour and eggs until you have a reached a dough consistency.  In Italy type 00 flour is readily found in all supermarkets but in other parts of the word it may be found at a high price in specialty stores.  Although I haven’t tried this recipe with all-purpose flour, according to this article by The Kitchn blog, they’ve found that it is generally fine to substitute all purpose flour for type “00” flour;  recipes will come out fine, you will just notice a texture difference if you grew up in Europe or are familiar with type “00” flour.

 At this point knead :: impastare for 10 minutes then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In the meantime, clean the counter in order to have space to roll out the dough.

Divide the dough in two pieces, rewrap one of them and place in the refrigerator.  Using a rolling pin :: un matterello, roll out the first piece of dough until it is as thin as a piece of paper.  Work quickly because if the dough dries out when you make the tortelli the borders will not close well and the filling will leak out when the tortelli is being cooked.

Whereas a normal sized rolling pin is used in other regions in Italy, in Emilia Romagna a long rolling pin like you see in the photo is commonly utilized and passed down throughout the generations.

 Using a frilled edge pastry cutter, cut a line at the bottom of the pastry sheet.  Form little balls of spinach filling the size of small grapes :: le uva and position them in a line about 1/4  inch from the edge and 1/2 inch from one another.  Fold the pasta sheet over the balls.

Cut the pasta sheet with the frilled edge pastry cutter where the overlapped edge touches the pasta sheet.  Starting from the center, use your two pinkies :: mignoli to form a circle around each spinach ball and pat around it to seal, this also will allow the air to come out.  Utilizing the frilled edge pastry, cut a line between each ball then with your fingers press down on all of the edges to make sure that the square pasta is completely sealed.

At this point :: a questo punto the tortelli verdi are ready to be cooked or conserved in the refrigerator (for a few hours) or in the freezer (for a few months).

When you are ready to cook your tortelli verdi, bring a pot of water to boil, add salt and the tortelli verdi and cook for roughly 4-5 minutes.  In the mean time, melt two tablespoons butter with 5 sage :: salvia leaves in a skillet.  Drain the tortelli verdi, add them to the skillet and coat with butter paying attention to not break them while stirring. Serve immediately with grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Advice from Elena :: Consigli di Elena:

• If you want the tortelli verdi to be more flavorful, substitute the extra virgin olive oil for lard or chopped pancetta.
• If the spinach filling seems too salty, don’t add salt to the water before cooking the tortelli verdi.
• If you want more delicate tasting tortelli verdi, add 160g of fresh ricotta to the filling and 4 additional tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
• To conserve the tortelli verdi in the freezer, put them side by side on a paper tray and place them in the freezer until they are frozen.  After which you can transfer them to a freezer proof plastic bag and replace them in the freezer.

Homemade Tortelli Verdi

 

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Prep time

1 hour 30 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

1 hour 35 mins

 

Each region in Italy has its own delicious and distinct cuisine. Emilia Romagna, boasts some of the most mouthwatering pasta dishes like lasagne, cappelletti and these renowned homemade tortelli verdi.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 16 ounces (450g) organic frozen spinach o (32 ounces (900g) fresh spinach, steamed)
• 1 organic vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 cup (100g) parmigiano reggiano, grated
• 3 tablespoons (30g) breadcrumbs

For the dough:

• 4 eggs
• 3⅛ cup (400g) organic type “00” flour or all-purpose flour

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons (25g) butter
• 5 sage leaves

Instructions

For the filling:

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet then add the garlic and cook for two minutes.  Next add the organic frozen spinach and one organic vegetable bouillon, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes then remove the lid and continue cooking until the spinach is dry.
2. Remove the skillet from the heat and cool.  Discard the garlic and add the grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and dried bread crumbs.  Stir well.  To test if the filling has the right consistency, try to form a small ball.  If it holds its shape, it's ready; if it is too soft, simply add more grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and breadcrumbs until you are able to form a ball.

For the dough:

1. Place the organic type 00 flour on a clean surface, make a well in the center and crack in the eggs. Using a knife or a fork gradually combine the flour and eggs until you have a reached a dough consistency.  
2. Knead the dough for 10 minutes then wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In the meantime, clean the counter in order to have space to roll out the dough.
3. Divide the dough in two pieces, rewrap one of them and place in the refrigerator.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the first piece of dough until it is as thin as a piece of paper.  Work quickly because if the dough dries out when you make the tortelli the borders will not close well and the filling will leak out
4. when the tortelli is being cooked.
5. Using a frilled edge pastry cutter, cut a line at the bottom of the pastry sheet.  Form little balls of spinach filling the size of small grapes and position them in a line about ¼  inch from the edge and ½ inch from one another.  Fold the pasta sheet over the balls.
6. Cut the pasta sheet with the frilled edge pastry cutter where the overlapped edge touches the pasta sheet.  Starting from the center, use your two pinkies to form a circle around each spinach ball and pat around it to seal, this also will allow the air to come out.  Utilizing the frilled edge pastry, cut a line between each ball then with your fingers press down on all of the edges to make sure that the square pasta is completely sealed. Take the second ball of dough out of the refrigerator and repeat the process.
7. At this point the tortelli verdi are ready to be cooked or conserved in the refrigerator (for a few hours) or in the freezer (for a few months).
8. When you are ready to cook your tortelli verdi, bring a pot of water to boil, add salt and the tortelli verdi and cook for roughly 4-5 minutes.  In the mean time, melt two tablespoons butter with 5 sage leaves in a skillet.  Drain the tortelli verdi, add them to the skillet and coat with butter paying attention to not break them while stirring. Serve immediately with grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. Buon appetito!

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