Tortelli D'erbetta

A community recipe by Anonymous

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

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Introduction

This is a very traditional pasta dish from Parma. Every year on 23 June for the Feast of Saint Giovanni everyone in the Emilia Romagna region eats Tortelli D'erbetta at home with friends or at village & cityfestivals.

Ingredients

Serves: This recipe will make enough f

Metric Cups

For the Pasta

3 medium eggs (use the best organic free range eggs that you can get if you want your pasta to be a good bright yellow colour)
300 grams Italian flour (this is soft flour, it says tenero on the pack - this means tender or soft)
½ teaspoon salt

For the Filling

1 kilogram beet spinach (use ordinary spinach if this is unavailable)
250 grams ricotta cheese
1 egg
100 grams Parmesan cheese (grated, aged 24 months and up - grate it yourself)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of nutmeg

For the Pasta

3 medium eggs (use the best organic free range eggs that you can get if you want your pasta to be a good bright yellow colour)
10⅗ ounces Italian flour (this is soft flour, it says tenero on the pack - this means tender or soft)
½ teaspoon salt

For the Filling

2⅕ pounds beet spinach (use ordinary spinach if this is unavailable)
8⅚ ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
3½ ounces Parmesan cheese (grated, aged 24 months and up - grate it yourself)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of nutmeg

Method

Tortelli D'erbetta is a community recipe submitted by Anonymous and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Throw the lot into a food processor and process until it resembles a rubble. Pour out onto a work surface and knead to get the mixture together. Do not be tempted to add water, even though it may seem dry to you.
Wrap the dough in cling film or put in a small plastic bag and put to rest in the fridge for about an hour. You will be amazed at how the dough has softened up after its rest.
While the dough is resting get on with the filling. You will need about 1 Kg of spinach beets. Use ordinary spinach if this is unavailable. Weigh before the stems are removed. I tend to like my tortelli green, if you prefer more cheese then alter the proportions. Clean the spinach in plenty of water and cook in a pan with only the water clinging to the leaves. This will take only a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Do not be tempted to skimp on this as it is important. A wet filling will cause the pasta to disintegrate. Not good. What I do is put on a pair of clean latex gloves and squeeze as hard as possible. Latex gloves are good as they stop the spinach from staining your nails. It takes days to get the stain out. Stained nails may be good on old style Nonna's but this modern one likes to keep her nails clean.
Put the spinach in a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly amalgamated. You should have a semi-soft mixture. It should not be sloppy. If it is too soft add more grated parmesan or dry bread crumbs. Set aside.
Now the fun begins. Cut the pasta into about 4 pieces. Use 1 and keep the other three under wraps to stop it from drying out. Put the machine on its widest setting and pass the pasta through the machine a minimum of 12 times, folding it in half each time. You will see that the pasta becomes firmer and pliable as you do this. If it is not then pass it through the machine again. Do not stint on this for if you do the pasta will develop holes when you try to make it thinner. Do not flour the pasta as this will alter the proportions and the pasta will not stick together when you come to make the tortelli. When you feel that the pasta is ready to make thinner start reducing the width of the rollers and pass through the machine to make a long thin length of pasta. This time there is no need to fold. I tend to go down to the last but one width and pass it through the machine twice at this thickness. That's about right on my machine but you can experiment with yours. Not all pasta machines are the same.

Throw the lot into a food processor and process until it resembles a rubble. Pour out onto a work surface and knead to get the mixture together. Do not be tempted to add water, even though it may seem dry to you.
Wrap the dough in cling film or put in a small plastic bag and put to rest in the fridge for about an hour. You will be amazed at how the dough has softened up after its rest.
While the dough is resting get on with the filling. You will need about 1 Kg of spinach beets. Use ordinary spinach if this is unavailable. Weigh before the stems are removed. I tend to like my tortelli green, if you prefer more cheese then alter the proportions. Clean the spinach in plenty of water and cook in a pan with only the water clinging to the leaves. This will take only a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Do not be tempted to skimp on this as it is important. A wet filling will cause the pasta to disintegrate. Not good. What I do is put on a pair of clean latex gloves and squeeze as hard as possible. Latex gloves are good as they stop the spinach from staining your nails. It takes days to get the stain out. Stained nails may be good on old style Nonna's but this modern one likes to keep her nails clean.
Put the spinach in a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly amalgamated. You should have a semi-soft mixture. It should not be sloppy. If it is too soft add more grated parmesan or dry bread crumbs. Set aside.
Now the fun begins. Cut the pasta into about 4 pieces. Use 1 and keep the other three under wraps to stop it from drying out. Put the machine on its widest setting and pass the pasta through the machine a minimum of 12 times, folding it in half each time. You will see that the pasta becomes firmer and pliable as you do this. If it is not then pass it through the machine again. Do not stint on this for if you do the pasta will develop holes when you try to make it thinner. Do not flour the pasta as this will alter the proportions and the pasta will not stick together when you come to make the tortelli. When you feel that the pasta is ready to make thinner start reducing the width of the rollers and pass through the machine to make a long thin length of pasta. This time there is no need to fold. I tend to go down to the last but one width and pass it through the machine twice at this thickness. That's about right on my machine but you can experiment with yours. Not all pasta machines are the same.