The filling follows the registered Bologna recipe: pork loin, mortadella, prosciutto crudo, Parmigiano, egg and nutmeg, ground to a fine paste. The choice that matters is the broth: the tortellini cook directly in it, so a clear capon broth, well skimmed and seasoned to taste, is half the dish. Keep them small; a tortellino should fit in the spoon with its broth.
Make ahead Make the broth a day ahead (chilling it lets you lift off the fat) and freeze the folded tortellini on a floured tray, then cook them straight from frozen.
Tortellini in Brodo
Prep 2 hr · Cook 30 min · Rest 30 min · Serves 6 · Difficulty Hard
Method
Brown the pork loin in the butter until cooked through with golden edges; cool.
10 min
Grind the loin with the mortadella and prosciutto to a fine paste. Work in the Parmigiano, one egg (taken from the pasta allowance), and nutmeg. Rest the filling, covered, while the dough relaxes.
15 min
Knead flour and the remaining eggs into a firm, silky dough, 10 minutes. Rest 30 minutes wrapped.
40 min
Roll the dough nearly transparent (last setting). Cut 3.5 cm squares, working in small batches under a cloth.
20 min
Dot each square with a chickpea of filling. Fold corner to corner into a triangle, press the edges, then wrap the two base corners around your fingertip and pinch them together, flipping the collar. Practice forgives.
1 hr
Bring the broth to a confident simmer and season it to taste; it should be just salty enough to make you blink.
10 min
Cook the tortellini directly in the broth until they bob and the pasta at the pinch is tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
4 min
Ladle into warm bowls, broth generous, Parmigiano passed at the table. Silence will follow.
Kitchen notes
Small is the whole point. A true tortellino disappears in a spoon with its broth. If yours start large, call them tortelloni, serve them proudly, and fold smaller tomorrow.
Broth equals pasta. A bouillon-cube brodo under hand-folded tortellini is a tuxedo with sneakers. Simmer real bones; skim like it matters, because it does.
The filling ratio was deposited at Bologna’s Chamber of Commerce on 7 December 1974, which tells you everything about how seriously to take substitutions.
