FIRST
Discovering Italy: the tortellini from Emilia
Getty Images
Discovering Italy: the tortellini from Emilia
Italy is known worldwide for its history, art, culture and....its food. Among the many foods enjoyed around the world, nothing beats the famous tortellini emiliani. Fresh pasta, stuffed with meat and cheese. In broth or with sauces or gravies, this traditional dish truly appeals to everyone, both in Italy but also abroad, where you can find them almost everywhere. Invented between Bologna and Modena, their popularity now has no limits, so much so that they have even been revisited according to traditional recipes of each individual country. However, for Italians, tradition is important, and purists would turn their noses up at some atrocities. In this article we present to you, in the most traditional way possible, the beauty of the real tortellino emiliano.
Getty Images
The tortellino: an ancient food
According to the book "The History - Confraternity of Tortellino of Bologna", the earliest traces of tortellino date as far back as a parchment from 1112. Moreover, the same document mentions tortellino as one of the foods mentioned in Pope Alessandro III's Papal Bull of 1169.
Getty Images
Tradition dictates in broth
Tortellino in the typical Italian tradition is a food that is eaten during the holidays, especially at Christmas. Also, the typical way of eating it in Italy is dipped in a meat broth (beef, capon, chicken along with some vegetables such as celery and potato).
Getty Images
Italy's "rasdore"
In Italy nowadays, tortellini are still linked to the memories of yesteryear. Almost every Italian has memories in his or her mind of his or her mother or grandmother, her hands full of flour, preparing the pastry and filling, a magical moment. Le "rasdore", a word in the Italian dialect, is the person in charge of the administration and care of the home, and therefore also in charge of food preparation.
Getty Images
For Italians, a meaning beyond food
Obviously, then, Italians do not see tortellini merely as a food, but the emotions felt arise from childhood memories and connections with the land. A powerful food that can literally improve lives.
Getty Images
An artisanal preparation
The recipe for tortellino emiliano is quite simple. A sheet of flour, water and eggs, rolled and rolled out to make it as thin as possible. The filling is usually made with ground beef, cheese, nutmeg, eggs, mortadella Bologna and pork loin. The most difficult thing is, of course, the technique to close them.
Getty Images
How to close the tortellini
Today there are machines specifically for preparing it, but tradition calls for the classic pinky clasp. Once the pastry is rolled out, it is cut into squares. You place the filling in the center, then close the two opposite sides until you create a closed triangle, with the filling inside. To close the tortellino, you must take the two vertices of the longer side and fold them around your little finger, very calmly and gently.
Getty Images
Wonder
There is little to say in this picture. You just have to enjoy it and make your mouth water.
Getty Images
There are not only tortellini in broth
There can be so many variations of this dish. The filling can be ricotta and spinach, or pumpkin instead of meat. Or the pastry itself can be spinach, which gives the classic green coloring. They are also often eaten without the broth, with butter, cream, meat sauce, and you name it.
Getty Images
A problem of the Italians
A vice that many Italians have, often the younger ones, is to eat the filling of tortellino completely raw while the "rasdora" prepares it. A typical Italian behavior, but trust me, it is one of the most delicious things in the world.
Getty Images
Every country, every recipe
Here we have talked about the typical Italian tradition, but the great spread of tortellino around the world has allowed the emergence of so many variations. So, do not focus only on tradition: experiment as much as you can, and find the most original tortellini possible. It is very unlikely not to be good.
Front Page
24/04/2024
Cooking techniques
23/04/2024
Bless you
22/04/2024
Bless you
21/04/2024
Bless you
20/04/2024
wine, beer, sparkling wine, champagne
19/04/2024
Bless you
18/04/2024
