Tortellini in Brodo

About this dish

The legend everyone tells is that tortellini's shape was modelled on Venus's navel, glimpsed by an innkeeper through a keyhole — a story invented well after the fact to give a humble stuffed pasta a suitably romantic origin. What's actually documented is the argument between Bologna and Modena over which city invented it, a rivalry old enough and stubborn enough that both cities still hold a folding contest most years. Serving it in broth rather than a sauce is the older, more traditional way to eat it — a sauce came later, as a way to serve tortellini as a standalone main rather than the soup course it started as.

• Not vegetarian because of Minced pork, Cooked ham, Chicken stock
• Contains gluten because of Plain flour
• Contains dairy because of Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, Unsalted butter

• 300gPlain flour
• 4largeEggs
• 150gMinced pork
• 100gCooked ham
• 80gParmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 2gNutmeg
• 1200mlChicken stock
• 20gUnsalted butter
• 6gFine sea salt

Instructions

1. 1

   Mound the flour, make a well in the centre, add the eggs and knead into a smooth, elastic dough. Wrap and rest it for 30 minutes.

   15 min

   Tip: Knead until the dough genuinely fights back a little — a soft, slack dough will not roll thin enough to fold without tearing, and this is the one step where under-kneading costs you later.

2. 2

   Gently cook the pork mince through, then finely chop or process it with the ham, grated parmesan and nutmeg into a smooth, well-bound filling.

   15 min

   Tip: Go easy on the nutmeg and taste as you go — it's the spice that makes this filling taste unmistakably like tortellini rather than a plain meat stuffing, but a little too much turns bitter fast.

3. 3

   Roll the dough out very thin and cut it into small squares.

   15 min

   Tip: Roll it thinner than feels right for any other pasta — tortellini wrapping is meant to be delicate, and dough rolled to a normal pasta thickness turns doughy and heavy once folded twice over the filling.

4. 4

   Place a small dab of filling in the centre of each square, fold into a triangle and seal the edges, then wrap the triangle around a fingertip and pinch the two corners together to form the classic ring shape.

   30 min

   Tip: Seal the edges firmly before folding into the ring — an open seam is where the filling escapes into the broth, leaving you with an empty wrapper and a cloudy pot.

5. 5

   Bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer and cook the tortellini in it until they float and the pasta is tender, about 4-5 minutes.

   15 min

   Tip: Simmer gently rather than boil — a hard boil knocks the delicate parcels against each other and the sides of the pot, and that's usually how a seam gives way.

6. 6

   Season the broth with salt, stir in the butter, and serve the tortellini in the hot broth.

   5 min

   Tip: Serving them in the broth they cooked in, rather than draining and saucing them separately, is the traditional way and also the more forgiving one — it never leaves them sitting around getting dry and sticky.