Tortellini from Valeggio sul Mincio
The following dish with particularly fine tortellini comes from Valeggio sul Mincio, south of Lake Garda. These are traditionally filled with meat, but also taste delicious with other ingredients, such as this variation from Mantua with a pumpkin filling (original: tortelli alla zucca).
The Tortellino di Valeggio is also known as Nodo d'Amore (knot of love). This name goes back to a fascinating legend that is said to have taken place in Valeggio sul Mincio...
Recipe for 6 people:
For the pumpkin filling:
- 1.5 kg pumpkin
- 160 g Amaretto biscuits
- 80 g butter
- 180 g grated hard cheese
- nutmeg
- zest of one untreated lemon
- salt
- pepper
Wash and dry the pumpkin, cut into slices, remove the strings and seeds and peel. Cook the slices in the oven at 180 degrees until soft. Leave to cool and chop in a blender. Crumble the biscuits and mix with the pumpkin, cheese, lemon zest and nutmeg. Season with salt and leave to rest for about an hour.
For the meat filling: Brown 600 g of mixed minced meat (beef, pork, chicken) with an onion and rosemary, season to taste and mix with 50 g of breadcrumbs and 100 g of hard cheese.
For the pasta:
- 600 g flour
- 6 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
Sieve the flour, mix with the eggs and salt and knead well. Roll out the dough very thinly - that's the secret of these special tortellini. Cut out squares and fill them. Fold them to create triangles and press the edges together well. The two ends of the triangle are then pressed together or ‘knotted’. The tortellini are now ‘dried’ on a kitchen towel or a floured surface until they are ready to be cooked in salted water. After 2 minutes, when they are firm to the bite or ‘al dente’, they can be served in their own broth or with melted butter and sage.