Tordelli are stuffed pasta with a meat-based filling, and are to the Apuans what maccheroni might be to a Neapolitan. In other words, a signature dish that everyone makes and ever restaurant has on the menu. As is usually the case when a dish enters the local psyche, there are innumerable variations. To serve 6-8 people:
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- See Below
Preparation:
You'll need about 1 1/2 pounds of fresh pasta in sheets, or you can make your own from 3 1/3 cups (400 g) flour, three eggs, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a few drops of milk (see the pasta page for instructions). Note: if you are making pasta from scratch, prepare the filling first, lest the dough harden as it sits.
For the filling you'll need 1 3/4 cups (80 g) freshly grated Parmigiano, to which you can add, if you want, 1/2 cup (25 g) freshly grated Tuscan or Sardinian pecorino (romano is too sharp), 12 ounces (300 g) not overly lean ground beef, 8 ounces (200 g) ground pork, and a handful (i.e. about a packed cup) of boiled, drained, and minced collard greens. Heat a quarter cup of olive oil in a pot and cook the meat, seasoning it with salt and pepper; when it's almost completely browned add the collard greens and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add to it the grated cheese. Next, strip the crust from a 1/4 pound (100 g) of Italian bread, soak it in milk, squeeze it dry, and crumble it into the bowl (you can also use 1/4 pound (100 g) breadcrumbs if you prefer). Finally, add a pinch of powdered cinnamon. Mix well, adding a little milk if the filling appears too thick, and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
We now come to the sauce: Mince a medium-sized onion, a carrot, and a 6-inch stick of celery, a small bunch of parsley, and some basil, and sauté everything in 1/4 cup of oil until the onion begins to turn golden. Add 8 ounces (200 g) each of ground pork and ground beef (not too lean), and, if you have them, a chicken's liver and gizzard, both minced, seasoning the sauce to taste with salt, pepper, a pinch of cloves, and a pinch of nutmeg. Continue cooking for about an hour, adding a little dry white wine to keep things from drying out. When it's done the sauce should be both abundant and thick.
Set abundant pasta water to boil and see about making the tordelli: roll your sheet out dine-thin and use a glass whose mouth is about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) in diameter to make rounds. Put a teaspoon of filling on the first round, cover it with the next, pressing down so the pasta sticks, and continue until all is used up. Salt the pasta water and slip the tordelli into it (you may want to do them in batches). Once they return to the surface let them cook for a minute or two, and then transfer them to your serving dish with a slotted spoon, spooning the sauce over them as you go. Serve with the grated cheese you set aside.
Incidentally, tordelli (with a d) have a meat filling in Versilia. The same shape, but with a ricotta-and-cheese filling, are called tortelli.
For the filling you'll need 1 3/4 cups (80 g) freshly grated Parmigiano, to which you can add, if you want, 1/2 cup (25 g) freshly grated Tuscan or Sardinian pecorino (romano is too sharp), 12 ounces (300 g) not overly lean ground beef, 8 ounces (200 g) ground pork, and a handful (i.e. about a packed cup) of boiled, drained, and minced collard greens. Heat a quarter cup of olive oil in a pot and cook the meat, seasoning it with salt and pepper; when it's almost completely browned add the collard greens and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add to it the grated cheese. Next, strip the crust from a 1/4 pound (100 g) of Italian bread, soak it in milk, squeeze it dry, and crumble it into the bowl (you can also use 1/4 pound (100 g) breadcrumbs if you prefer). Finally, add a pinch of powdered cinnamon. Mix well, adding a little milk if the filling appears too thick, and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
We now come to the sauce: Mince a medium-sized onion, a carrot, and a 6-inch stick of celery, a small bunch of parsley, and some basil, and sauté everything in 1/4 cup of oil until the onion begins to turn golden. Add 8 ounces (200 g) each of ground pork and ground beef (not too lean), and, if you have them, a chicken's liver and gizzard, both minced, seasoning the sauce to taste with salt, pepper, a pinch of cloves, and a pinch of nutmeg. Continue cooking for about an hour, adding a little dry white wine to keep things from drying out. When it's done the sauce should be both abundant and thick.
Set abundant pasta water to boil and see about making the tordelli: roll your sheet out dine-thin and use a glass whose mouth is about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) in diameter to make rounds. Put a teaspoon of filling on the first round, cover it with the next, pressing down so the pasta sticks, and continue until all is used up. Salt the pasta water and slip the tordelli into it (you may want to do them in batches). Once they return to the surface let them cook for a minute or two, and then transfer them to your serving dish with a slotted spoon, spooning the sauce over them as you go. Serve with the grated cheese you set aside.
Incidentally, tordelli (with a d) have a meat filling in Versilia. The same shape, but with a ricotta-and-cheese filling, are called tortelli.
