Prep Time: 1 hours, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** For The Stuffing: **
- 1/2 pound pork loin, thinly sliced
- 1/4 pound turkey breast, thinly sliced
- 2 ounces prosciutto
- 2 ounces Mortadella di bologna, finely sliced (Substitute Bologna bought in a delicatessen if need be)
- A scant 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano
- A pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 pound fresh pasta sheets, either store-bought or home made per below instructions
- ** For the Sauce: **
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Either: A white truffle, washed, patted dry, and finely sliced with a truffle slicer
- Or: An ounce of finely sliced prosciutto, shredded
- A scant 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Grated Parmigiano
Preparation:
Begin by making the tortellini: melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the pork and turkey till done over a moderate flame. When the meat is cooked, remove it and mince it in a food processor, along with the mortadella and the prosciutto.Put the mixture in a bowl, and mix in the cheese, the yolk, and a pinch of nutmeg. Correct the seasoning (about an eighth of a teaspoon of pepper and maybe a half a teaspoon of salt, depending on the saltiness of the prosciutto.)
Using 2 3/4 cups of flour, 3 eggs, a pinch of salt, and a spoonful of water if necessary, make the pasta, following the instructions for home-made pasta, or buy several sheets of fresh store-made pasta. If you make the pasta at home divide the dough into two pieces.
Roll one of the pieces out till it’s as thin as a dime and cut it into 1 1/2 inch squares with a serrated pasta wheel. Put a 1/2 teaspoon of filling on each square and fold the squares diagonally to make triangles, tamping them well so the filling won’t come out while they’re cooking. Wrap each triangle around your little finger, giving it a half twist, and stick the opposing corners together to make the tortellini. Set the finished tortellini on to rest on a lightly floured surface. When you’re done with the first sheet, roll out the second and continue until the stuffing is used up. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the tortellini.
In the meantime make the sauce: set the butter to melt in a deep bottomed skillet without bringing it to a boil. If you are not using the truffle, add the prosciutto to the butter. Drain the tortellini when they are still quite al dente (2-3 minutes cooking) and add them to the skillet. Pour the cream over the tortellini and finish cooking them over a low flame, stirring them carefully.
As soon as the tortellini are done, transfer them to a heated serving dish. Sprinkle them with grated cheese, the sliced truffle, if you’re using it, and serve.
Serves four to six.
Note: you can also serve these tortellini with meat or tomato sauce. If you do, cook them completely in the water and then pour the sauce over them in a serving dish. Likewise, you can use the sauce with store-bought tortellini.
A wine? Though I tend to prefer whites with cream sauces, I would open a light red here because of the meat in the tortellini, say an unoaked Barbera.
Yield: 4 servings tortellini in cream sauce.
