“I would like to ask you if you have any information about the history of the Balanzoni recipe, which is now a popular dish in Bolognese restaurants, but, as the Bolognese I am, I don’t remember ever having eaten as a child” (signed email).
A reader’s email a few months ago inspired me to tell you about the Balanzoni, green pasta dough filled with ricotta, mortadella, and Parmigiano.
For this, I thank those who read my blog or choose to cook one of my recipes: you motivate me to do my best!
Last summer, while planning some Bolognese-flavored recipes for fall, I received an email to which I responded with relief. The consolation rests on my reader’s common sense: I am Bolognese, but I don’t remember spinach Balanzoni.
From this consideration, confirmed by the oldest cookbooks and supported by the memories of some Bolognese people, who are more than forty years old, we can deduce that Balanzoni became part of the Bolognese tradition recently. And they are not related to the Carnival season.
The origin of the recipe
Be careful of the fake news about the true story of Balanzoni.
The recipe is modern (the preparation is not mentioned in ancient cookbooks, just as it is not remembered by the Bolognese). Most importantly, it has nothing to do with Carnival.
It dates back to the second half of the twentieth century. The recipe was probably born at the end of the Seventies, when a Bolognese sfoglina (pasta maker) who worked in a fresh pasta lab stuffed green tortelloni with mortadella and ricotta cheese, some leftovers of the day.
In the Bolognese fresh pasta lab, women chose a name that would make people think of Bologna. I imagine the gathered sfogline discussing around it.
And since the filling includes ricotta cheese in addition to mortadella, another typical ingredient used to fill fresh pasta in town, the choice fell on the name of Dottor Balanzone, the Carnival mask of Bologna.
However, in Carnival, no custom refers to the preparation of Balanzoni as a “typical” dish of the period.
This fake news comes from a misinterpretation of the name.
In conclusion, Balanzoni is a stuffed pasta dish of the most recent Bolognese tradition and is not a typical Carnival dish.
One last thing before I leave you with the recipe. Many call for spinach in the filling as well. As I wrote, there are no ancient sources from which to build the origin. But I will explain why they did not originate with spinach in the filling. The mortadella is delicate and would be covered by the flavor of the herbs in the pastry and filling. You would also lose the color contrast between the bright green of the sfoglia and the white pink-of the filling.
The Bolognese calendar, which includes local sayings, rhymes, and recipes, offers a version of Balanzone without spinach in the filling. And so I do.
Buona cucina, Monica
Fresh pasta from the blog
The blog condenses what I have understood and learned over the years if you need some pasta dough-making tips. Making sfoglia at home is not mission impossible; it just takes a little practice.
If you love pasta dishes and fresh pasta, don’t forget the recipes for tortellini, garganelli, Goccia d’Oro lasagna, tagliatelle with chestnut flour, lasagne verdi alla Bolognese, strozzapreti di Romagna, and maltagliati.
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Balanzoni of Bologna (green tortelloni)
Ingredients
Filling
- 500 g of cow's milk ricotta
- 150 g of mortadella Bologna
- 30 g of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- a pinch of salt and nutmeg
Pasta dough
- 1 egg, about 60-70 g
- 70 g of boiled and well-squeezed spinach
- 200 g of all-purpose flour
Instructions
Filling
- Finely chop the mortadella in a food processor. Using a fork, mix the chopped mortadella with the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, salt, and nutmeg until the mixture is soft and well blended. Place in the refrigerator and let rest while you make the sfoglia.
Dough and sfoglia
- Blend the egg and spinach in a food processor.
- Place the flour on the cutting board and form a well in the center with your fingers.
- Using a fork, gradually bring the flour toward the center to mix with the egg and spinach.
- Stir until large crumbs form. From this point on, work the dough with your hands.
- Work the dough with regular wrist movements, pushing the mixture forward and bringing it back toward you for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and soft but not sticky.
- Form a ball and let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature, wrapped in plastic film or under a glass bowl.
- Roll out a thin sheet with a pasta machine or cutting board and cut out 6 cm squares.
- Place a little filling in the center of each square.
- Close the square by matching two corners to form a triangle. Now seal the edges of the triangle with your fingers. Join the tips of the triangle, bringing them downwards to form a tortellone.
Tips
- Let the Balanzoni rest for 30 minutes on a drying rack before freezing.
- Alternatively, let the pasta rest for 15 minutes before cooking it in boiling salted water. Serve with butter and sage.
