Tortellini in Brodo
An Italian Christmas classic for any time of year.
by Erin Henderson
“Where are you?” my sister asked me, hearing the delightful cacophony of Toronto’s bustling St Lawrence Market on a Saturday afternoon.
“Getting the morty for the torty,” I replied.
She laughed. “That’s what it’s called from now on.”
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I was shopping for mortadella, along with porkloin and prosciutto, which would be the stuffing for our tortellini, which would go into one of our favourite soups of all time, tortellini in brodo.
I got to know the glorious soup on my first visit to Bologna, Italy.
Out of all the incredible food to be found in the culinary epicentre, this soup is a Prima Donna. In Bologna, tortellini in brodo is the dish of Christmas Eve, with every family serving their own unique recipe, though it’s served all year round at every restaurant in the city.
I came back from that trip raving about it to my sister, where it quickly seemed obvious I needed to work on my sales pitch. Sure, it sounded good enough to her – pasta in broth, what’s not to like? – but nothing to get excited about.
Then we travelled to Bologna together, and she saw what the fuss was about.
Tortellini in brodo is a staple in both our homes, and, though we’re not Italian, will be on our family’s Christmas Eve table, as well. It’s a fun family project, as a considerable number of tortellini is required for the soup of which there needs to be plenty – everyone wants seconds, and even thirds.
My friend in Bologna says making tortellini in brodo is a family affair, as it is the kids who are enlisted to wrap the miniature tortellini. Their little fingers are better equipped to create the tiny loops. She remembers being relieved of her tortellini duties as a small child, as she took the entrepreneurial attitude of, one for the pot, one for me. When her mother and aunts discovered why it was taking so long to fill the tray, she was banished from the kitchen. She has since been allowed back.
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Every family – and restaurant – has their own unique recipe, of course, but most commonly you will find pork-filled tortellini (it is Bologna, after all), and a chicken broth, though beef broth is not uncommon, and occasionally we have seen offal used as the pasta stuffing.
My recipe is a blend of the stuffing we learned at a cooking school in Umbria and a pasta that has evolved from a recipe I learned from my friend and pasta teacher, Ema. I use a chicken stock as is common, but a parmesan broth would be equally delicious.
Of course, you can always speed up the process by buying your tortellini and purchasing a good quality stock from a butcher. I will never condemn any cook in need of a quick solution to dinner, but I really love the ritual of making tortellini in brodo with my family (yes, the kids, while no longer small, are still conscripted to tortellini duty), so I always opt for scratch.
Tortellini in Brodo
You do need to set aside an afternoon, and ideally have a few extra sets of hands to help make light work of this. However, since all three components – stock, filling, and tortellini – can be made well in advance, why not double up the recipes so you have them ready for the next soup? In for a penny, might as well be in for a pound.
For the Pasta Dough
For the Stock:
Makes: about 3 litres
Chef level: easy
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken backbone
- 1 ½ pounds chicken wings (feet also work)
- 4 litres water
- 1 cooking onion, quartered (leave the peel on as it gives a lovely golden hue to the broth)
- 4-6 garlic cloves, left whole but gently crushed
- Half a fennel bulb
- 2-3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
- 1-2 carrots, scrubbed, roughly chopped
- 3 fresh bay leaves (I find fresh offers better flavour than dried)
- 10-12 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorn
- 2 whole, dried Arbol chilis, optional
How to Make It:
- Place chicken parts in a large, tall stock pot and cover with four litres of water (about one litre per pound of chicken.)
- With the lid off the pot, bring to a simmer with a gentle bubble (you don’t want a high heat or rapid bubbles as this can cause the scum to break down back into the stock resulting in a muddy taste.)
- Strain the rising scum from the liquid – you will likely have to do this two and possibly three times.
- Once the scum has been removed, add your vegetables, salt, and herbs (you don’t want to add these earlier, as the floating herbs will be skimmed away with the scum.)
- On a low heat, allow the stock to cook for about two hours (some recipes say the longer the better, but I find that there’s a point where you’ve wrung out all the flavour you can from the chicken and aromatics.)
- Strain the solids from the stock. Use right away or store in containers in the fridge for up to five days, and the freezer for up to three months.
For the Filling:
Makes: about 4 cups
Chef level: easy
Special Equipment: food processor
Ingredients:
- 200g pork loin
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 250g mortadella, diced
- 100g prosciutto, diced
- 50g parmesan, grated
- 1 egg
How to Make It:
- Warm the butter and oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Season the pork loin with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan. Cook until done, about 7 minutes. Allow to cool.
- To a food processor, add the pork loin, mortadella, prosciutto, parmesan, egg and a few cranks black pepper.
- Blitz into a fine paste.
- Use right away or keep refrigerated in a sealed container for up to three days.
For the Tortellini:
Makes: 50-100 tortellini, depending on size and how much filling is used in each pasta
Chef level: moderate
Special Equipment: Pasta machine, optional
Ingredients:
- Pasta dough
- Tortellini filling
- 00 flour
How to Make It:
- Sprinkle some flour on a clean, flat work surface.
- Take your portioned pasta dough, working with one portion at a time, and keeping the rest covered under clean kitchen towel.
- Roll your dough into a smooth, flat, rectangular piece, about 5 mm high.
- Set your pasta machine to setting 0 and roll the pasta through twice (alternatively you can roll our by hand.)
- Fold the dough into a rectangle and roll it through again twice more.
- Keep running your dough through each setting, increasing in settings, until you reach setting 6, for a dough that is about 1mm, or five Post-It Notes, thick.
- Cut the pasta into small squares, about 2 inches x 2 inches, and dollop a marble-sized amount of filling in the centre. Gently wet to edges and press the pasta closed to create a triangle. Take the two pointy ends, and press them together, so you create a slight bulge in the centre of the pasta, which almost looks like a belly button with a pasta ring around it.
- Lay finished tortellini on a baking tray that’s sprinkled with semolina and keep going until done.
- Use right away or freeze in resealable bags for up to three months.
For the Tortellini in Brodo:
- Bring stock to a simmer in a soup pot.
- Add tortellini, cook for one minute for fresh tortellini, five minutes from frozen.
- Serve with parmesan for topping.
Wine Pairing:
I like a crisp white with silky texture, which will match the lightness of the soup, and compliment the delicate salty note of the pork fillling. Piedmont whites such as a Gavi, which is made from the Cortese grape, and has a creamy texture with flavours of bitter almond and white blossom, or Arneis, a waxy-textured white wine with yellow fruit and hazenut flavours would both go very well here.
