Cheese Tortelloni Pasta in Under Six Minutes
It was during my Northern Italy travels when I first found myself loving Tortelloni stuffed pasta. This Italian speciality dates back to the medieval era when it was deemed an extravagant luxury food by the affluent. As the name implies, Tortelloni means small little pies in Italian, and they also look like one! They are a type of pasta though! These beautiful miniature pies can be prepared with multifarious stuffings of your choice, be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian. In Italy, they prepare a Tortelloni pasta with vegetables, cheese or a meat filling and serve it either with a dip or with a broth. Here’s a basic recipe for a cheese-stuffed Tortelloni straight from Italian ovens.
Table of Contents
Tortelloni Pasta Ingredients:
All-purpose flour – 3 Cups
Large eggs – 2
Olive oil – 1 Teaspoon
Water – 3 Tablespoons
Salt to taste
Ingredients For The Filling:
Butter 50 Gm
1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons of milk
1 finely chopped white onion
Finely chopped garlic – 1/2 (small) cup
Chopped spinach 50 Gm
Grated parmesan – 1 Cup
Grated ricotta – 1 Cup
Ground Black Pepper
Rosemary
Sea or Desert Salt to taste
For the Tortelloni pasta filling – blend all ingredients in a bowl and keep aside. To prepare fresh Tortelloni pasta, you will need to work with four inches of flattened dough discs. You can either use a pasta machine or roll out the dough by hand. Once the rolled pasta is ready, use a cookie cutter to cut it into 4-inches of round discs. Hold the flattened dough in your palm and place the tip of your finger into the centre of its course. Fold back the dough wheel around your finger to turn its edges into a Tortelloni.
When done, brush the bottom half of each Tortelloni with beaten egg, fold over, fill it with small portions of stuffing you kept aside and seal. The technique will come to you naturally if you are good with rolling dumplings and ravioli. Bring to boil two litres of water, gently add Tortelloni batches and wait until they float back to the surface. Serve with a dip or with a broth of your choice.
