Your ultimate guide to Italy's fresh stuffed pasta
Part 2 | On Lombardia's vast repertoire and Emilia Romagna's million variations.
Welcome back for part two of Your ultimate guide to Italy's fresh stuffed pasta, a space dedicated to discovering the vast repertoire of traditional regional fresh stuffed pasta shapes. This month we’re delving deeper into Lombardia and Emilia Romagna, two regions that boast an incredible collection of stuffed pasta shapes.
Before we get into the details, let me remind you of a few basics notions. First of all: what is stuffed fresh pasta? My ultimate guide refers to all those pasta shapes that are filled, whether that be with meat, cheese, vegetables, spices or fish. It also refers to fresh stuffed pasta, so anything that hasn’t been left to dry out - or industrially manufactured - and subsequently stuffed (such as cannelloni ripieni). The greatest source of inspiration for this ultimate guide was Oretta Zanini de Vita’s Encyclopedia of Pasta - a masterpiece I recommend owning.
It is important to note that some of the pasta shapes I’ve listed traditionally exist in more than one area. Italy’s regional borders were only defined with the country’s unification, in 1861, and many gastronomic customs and recipes precede that date.
Lombardia
Although Lombardia’s regional recipes are rarely mentioned within anyone’s top 5 favorite cuisines, it boasts an incredible repertoire of fresh stuffed pasta shapes. What surprised me is the great diversity of ingredients used to stuff the pasta, from spicy mostarda to local fresh cured meats and ancient biscuits.
Tortelli di zucca
As with most historic fresh stuffed pasta recipes, the aim was to create a piatto unico: a dish that could nourish and feed, without needing seconds. Good quality squash is steamed and mixed with amaretti biscuits and mostarda di Cremona - a spicy delicacy obtained by fruits conserved in sugar and mustard.
Marubini
Small nuggets of fresh egg pasta that are made by mixing a selection of local roasted meats - including bone marrow at times - and a local cured meat known as pistöm. They are rigorously served in broth, to which Lambrusco can be added to make Sorbir di Marubini (which I recommend tasting in this Trattoria).
Bertù
Half-moon shaped ravioli, filled with cotechino or local salamella - a type of fresh sausage. This shape and filling is also known as orecchie d’asino.
Cadunsei
Also known as Casoncelli or Casonsei, the half-moon shaped stuffed pasta originates from the areas of Bergamo and Brescia and is typically filled with mixed meats, amaretti and herbs.
Pi.Fasacc
A pasta shape from Val Camonica with true cucina povera origins as it is traditionally stuffed with cheese and breadcrumbs and shaped into a bundle. The name derives from the bundles newborns are wrapped in.
Scarpinocc
Shaped like an old school wooden clog, this stuffed pasta which originates from Val Seriana is stuffed with cheese, dry bread and garlic.
Tortelli Cremaschi
A very unique stuffed pasta, whose filling is sweet - made with chocolate amaretti, Medieval biscuits, raisins, candied lemon and Marsala wine - yet their condiment is savoury. As the name suggests, the tortelli originate from the town of Crema, where they are consumed as a main course during holidays and special occasions.
Tortelli Sguazzarotti
A unique recipe in which the tortelli are served in the same sauce they are filled with. Borolotti beans and salsa saorina, an old sauce made with cooked wine, sugar, walnuts, apples, squash and orange zest.
Emilia Romagna
Emilia Romagna is considered the cradle of fresh egg pasta and fresh stuffed pasta. The incredible quality of the raw ingredients allows for fillings to be simple, such as the beloved tortellini, which are tiny pearls stuffed with roasted meat, Parmigiano and prosciutto.
Turtéi cu la cua
Literally translating to “tortelli with a tail” for the tail that forms when folding the pasta like a braid, they are filled with ricotta and greens or, as a more ample alternative, mascarpone. You can find them in and around the town of Piacenza.
Tortellini
Perhaps one of the most well-known stuffed pasta shapes in Italy, tortellini originate from the cities of Modena and Bologna. There are two traditional ways of serving the tiny pasta: boiled in a rich broth or served with Parmigiano cream.
Cappelletti
Cappelletti are another stuffed pasta shape which can be found in various Italian regions, in this case all within central Italy, from Lazio to Le Marche and Umbria. They are larger and made with thicker dough than tortellini and mostly filled with greens and cheese.
Cappellacci di zucca
Originating from the city of Ferrara - whose surrounding lands are celebrated for the production of delicious squash - the shape of cappellacci recalls the straw hats worn by local farmers. They differ slightly from the tortelli di zucca from Lombardia as they don’t have mostarda di Cremona and amaretti in their filling.
Anolini
To keep things simple, this stuffed pasta shape is also known as Caplett, Marubei, Anvei, Anolen… you get the gist. What doesn’t change however is the shape - always perfectly circular - and the celebration they are associated with: Christmas.
Fattisù
Literally translating to “made up”, this candy-wrapper shaped stuffed pasta originates from the city of Piacenza and is commonly filled with savoy cabbage and insaccati.
Tortelli Romagnoli
Also known as cappelletti romagnoli, they can either be squared or shaped like half-moons. The traditional filling is ricotta, greens and nutmeg.
Tortello sulla lastra
Things get interesting with these squash and cheese stuffed tortelli, which are larger than average, rectangular and cooked on both sides on a sandstone griddle. They originate from the area that sits on the border between Romagna and Tuscany, on the Apennines.
