Parsley and ricotta tortelloni. Recipe of Bologna

This is the recipe for ricotta tortelloni, a dish deeply rooted in the culinary tradition of Bologna and the surrounding area. While tortellini is the holiday dish, ricotta tortelloni, like cappelletti romagnoli with cheese, respected the Catholic Church’s precepts of a meatless menu on the days of Eve and Lent.

The recipe has been registered at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce since 2006. To my surprise, besides Parmesan, parsley, and nutmeg, I found sheep, not cow, ricotta, egg, and, optional, garlic among the ingredients.

As always, recipes born in home kitchens are full of variations. Personally, I have never tasted goat ricotta tortelloni with garlic. You can easily guess what will happen if you add a clove of minced garlic to the filling of ricotta tortelloni. Its overriding flavor will change the delicate balance of flavor among cheeses (ricotta and Parmigiano), aromatics (parsley), and spices (nutmeg).

The filling must contain cow ricotta (I have never tasted tortelloni with goat or sheep’s cheese), parsley, Parmesan, and nutmeg. Some people use the yolk, not the whole egg, especially if the ricotta is a bit moist (personally, I choose a cow’s ricotta that is not very watery, or I drain it but do not use the yolk).

For many Bolognese, that is THE authentic recipe for ricotta tortelloni; it is undoubtedly the taste I enjoyed at home.

Ricotta tortelloni of Bologna

At some point, I stopped eating ricotta tortelloni.

At home, ricotta tortelloni was a dish I ate all year round, even in the summer. We rented a house on the Riviera Adriatica for the whole summer. Sometimes, Grandma made tortelloni at home; other times, she bought tortelloni made with her own filling recipe. When we returned from the beach, I remember that she used to cook tortelloni and season it with butter, tomato, Parmigiano, and a basil leaf. On the table, the bread was ready for the scarpetta. Some fruit followed, and then the siesta began. The adults and younger children in bed, I, who never could stand an afternoon nap, would stay reading in the porch’s shade, waiting to return to the beach.

The years went by, and my maternal grandmother passed away too soon. I went to live alone, and for about a year, I ate pizza and sandwiches daily (I told this story in the post where you can also find the recipe for eggplant gnocchi).

After about one year, I began cooking to get out of the sandwich tunnel, starting with simple dishes.
Ricotta tortelloni was a complex dish for me. I decided to eat that dish at the restaurant and remember an intense disappointment. They had no flavor! And I never ate them again.

That was until 2020, when I decided to pick up the rolling pin again.

I was supposed to accompany a foreign TV crew to tell them about my Bologna, and they asked if they could also make a video while I was making the sfoglia. The job, due to Covid, was canceled. But even though I grew up in the shadow of a cutting board and a stove, I realized I needed to take a class.

I chose, by chance, the one organized at Bruno and Franco’s Salumeria fresh pasta lab. I remember speaking to a woman with a pleasant voice on the phone. That woman was/is Martina, the owner. In 2019, Forbes listed her among the Italian pasta ladies. Today, we are friends, and thanks to her, I have had an incredible experience in her pasta lab for the past year. Sooner or later, I will have to write a post about it. 

Well, Martina is a great teacher. She also sealed the peace between ricotta tortelloni and me.

The recipe I am sharing tastes like the tortelloni I remembered.

I did a lot of testing to find the right balance among the filling ingredients. I hope you, too, will like my recipe for ricotta tortelloni.

Buona cucina, Monica

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Ricotta tortelloni of Bologna

Ricotta tortelloni is a vegetarian fresh pasta recipe typical of Bologna

Course First Course, Fresh pasta

Cuisine Bolognese

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

Filling

• 650 g of cow's ricotta
• 50 g of grated Parmigiano
• 15 g of finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 g of grated nutmeg
• 3 g of salt

Pasta dough

• 200 g of 00 flour
• 2 eggs (about 110-120 g)

Instructions

Filling

• If the ricotta is very wet, set it aside to drain and, if needed, wrap it in a clean tea towel and crush it to lose its liquid. This step is essential because the ricotta's water can break the sfoglia of the tortelloni.
• If, on the other hand, it is a firm, compact ricotta, place it in a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the other ingredients and mix the filling using a fork and then your hands. 
• Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to rest for half an hour to a few hours (you can also make the filling the day before).

Pasta dough and sheet

• Place the flour on the cutting board and form a well in the centre with your fingers. Ensure the well is large enough to take the required liquid.
• Shell the eggs in the well and beat them lightly with a fork. 
• Then, using your fingertips or a fork, gradually incorporate the flour into the well in a circular motion until large breadcrumbs form, being careful not to break the walls of the well and lose the eggs. In this case, use a spatula to stop the run. 
• From that point, knead the dough by hand on a clean surface until soft but firm, about 10 minutes.
• Cover with a bowl or wrap the dough in plastic film and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours. If storing overnight, refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before use.
• After resting, lightly flour the cutting board and dough to prevent sticking. 
• Place the pasta dough in the middle of the cutting board, and put the rolling pin in the centre of the pasta dough. Then begin to roll as you would a sheet of pastry, working from the centre.
• Every 2-3 strokes of the rolling pin, rotate the sheet 90 degrees to give it an even shape. As the sheet becomes larger, don't fold it. Wrap it around the rolling pin to rotate it without breaking the sfoglia. 
• Continue to roll from the centre outwards, then back to the centre. Hanging the sheet over the edge of the table will help stretch the dough. Always turn the dough sheet around 90 degrees (do this by rolling the pasta sheet around your rolling pin and turning it) and continue to roll until you have reached the perfect smooth sfoglia sheet.
• Cut out squares 6 or 8 cm on each side (8 cm is the right size for me).

Ricotta tortelloni assembly

• Arrange a generous walnut of filling in the center. Then, join two tips of the square together, forming a triangle. Apply pressure with your fingers to the edges to seal them. Now, join the other two tips, as if making cappelletti or tortellini, and press them together.
• Let the dough rest on trays floured with semolina for 30 minutes.
• Cook the ricotta tortelloni in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and season with butter and sage or tomato sauce, butter and Parmigiano

Food tips

• If the filling seems a little watery, add an egg yolk.
• If you have to let the dough dough rest for 30 minutes, store it in the refrigerator, bringing it back to room temperature for 15 minutes before using it.
• Ricotta tortelloni is very moist and tends to stick to the dryer. It is best to rest them on a tray generously floured with semolina.
• For the same reason, follow this advice: if you want to freeze them later, blanch them for a minute in unsalted water before putting them in the freezer. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, grease the tortelloni with olive oil, let them cool, place the dough in a bag, and then put it in the freezer. When the time comes, cook the tortelloni without thawing them, plunging them into boiling salted water, and cooking them for 3-4 minutes.