Your ultimate guide to Italy's fresh stuffed pasta
Part 1 | On Piemonte's million agnolotti and Liguria's unique naming techniques.
Knowing your pasta in Italy is a pretty big deal, although you could probably get away with ordering spaghetti in every town and region of the country. In any case, I thought I would collect all of Italy’s stuffed fresh pasta shapes under one hat, as a way of informing and hopefully inspiring you to taste new flavours in your travels. If you’re Italian, don’t shy away from this guide as I’m sure you’ll discover some new things too—I certainly did!
Before we get into the details, a few basics need to be covered. 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.
Lastly, it’s important to note that some of the pasta shapes I’ve listed traditionally exist in more than one area, as Italy’s regional borders were only defined with the country’s unification, in 1861. Many gastronomic customs and recipes precede the unification and are the result of different communities blending, sharing traditions and heritage.
Piemonte
Throughout the whole guide you’ll notice three shapes being repeated time and again, often in their local denominations: agnolotti, ravioli and tortelli. These are the three most widespread categories of fresh stuffed pasta, whose main differences are in shape, filling and area of origin.
Agnolotti
The classic Piedmontese stuffed pasta shape, predominantly filled with rich meat sauces. Depending on where in Piemonte you find yourself, you might encounter the following local variants:
Agnolotti del Plin - their name derives from plin, the pinching motion one does to seal the pasta. You can find them in the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato areas. A version of agnolotti del plin can be found al tovagliolo, served without condiment in a napkin, to highlight the exquisiteness of the filling that requires no condiment.
Agnolotti gobbi - slightly larger and more stuffed than the classic agnolotti, their name comes from the gobba - hump - the pasta has.
Agnoli di Mostardele
The dough is made with mix of flours and walnut oil and the filling is composed of leeks and mostardele: a local salame. You can find them in the Valli Valdesi, the valleys that surround Turin.
Mandili ‘Nversoi
You need to start practicing your Piedmontese dialect in order to ace the pronunciation of this fresh pasta shape which is stuffed with quinto quarto and chard, found in the area of Alessandria.
Raviole
Although the shape resembles many others, there ravioli from Biella have a unique cooking method: stuffed with leftover cheese and eggs, they are first fried and then simmered in milk until it evaporates completely.
Raviole Alagnesi
Made with a corn flour, stale bread and butter dough, the round (or oval) stuffed pasta from Valsesia shape resembles a nugget or large gnocco.
Ravioli di Seirass e Maiale
Stewed pork and seirass - a special Piedmontese mountain ricotta - are the two protagonists of these hearty ravioli.
Turtei della Valle Tanaro
Another unique preparation, this time originating from the Valle Tanaro, the source of one of Piedmont’s largest rivers. Flour is combined with cream from the pastures and salt to form the dough which is then stuffed with potatoes and nettles. The turtei are deep fried or cooked over a griddle.
Liguria
Trekking across the Alpi Marittime from Piemonte takes you to Liguria, one of Italy’s northern coastal regions which has a rich and intricate gastronomic heritage, thanks to the influence of its sea and mountains.
Pansotti
Perhaps the most widespread fresh stuffed pasta in Liguria, which I’m sure many of you have tried, served with its traditional walnut pesto. What most people don’t know is that the dough is made with the addition of white wine and no eggs.
Zembi d’Arzillo
A fresh stuffed pasta shape whose etymology is a source of great dispute made with leftover fish, ricotta and herbs. It is commonly served with a mushroom sauce.
Barbagiuai
Deciphering Liguria’s stuffed pasta names gets more intricate with this shape that originates from three towns perched on the border with France. De Vita shares that the name is dialect for Uncle Giovanni, which start to make sense if you divide the word into barba-giuai. In any case, the pasta is filled with squash, cagliata (rennet, commonly used to make cheese all around the world) and marjoram. They can be deep fried or boiled and served with a sauce.
Gattafin
This triangle-shaped, deep fried, pasta from the Riviera del Levante takes its name from a quarry in the Gatta area, where the workers would forage herbs and greens and take them home for their wives to make the pasta with. Gattafin is dialect for finezza della gatta, in which finezza refers to the fine foraged herbs.
Ravioli alla Genovese
Ravioli are to Liguria what agnolotti are to Piemonte, in this case traditionally filled with quinto quarto: all the less noble cuts of meat. The ravioli are traditionally served with il tocco di carne, a traditional meat and tomato sauce from Genova which is made with one whole piece of meat, known as il tocco.
Ravioli di Pesce
Ravioli di pesce - most commonly made with pesce azzurro, such as sardines and mackerel - can be found in many coastal regions throughout Italy. Their existence originates from the abundance of pesce azzurro in the Ligurian sea.
Raviore
High in the Alpi Marittime, on the border with Piemonte, you can find a unique foraged-herb-stuffed pasta which is shaped like a candy wrapper, with two twisted ends.
Tortelli Bastardi
Alongside the unique name - whose etymology is uncertain - these tortelli have a very special characteristic: their dough is made with a mix of wheat and chestnut flour, an ingredient extremely present throughout the whole region and source of food for many centuries. They can be found towards the border with Tuscany.
Turtle
Back to the Alpi Marittime for a unique flavour combination to Liguria that is nonetheless present in a few places throughout Italy: mint and potatoes for the filling.