The recipe for cappelletti seems to have been brought to Rome and its province during the ‘20s by families from Emilia-Romagna who moved to work in the draining of the swamps in Pontine Marshes. This dish became popular and was Romanized over the years.
The traditional Roman recipe wants all the ingredients raw, including the cerebellum. I do not eat lamb anymore, so since cappelletti are one of my favorite Christmas dishes, I replace it by increasing the amount of grated parmesan cheese and meat.
They are a bit laborious to prepare but they are really delicious.
Roman-style cappelletti
- Preparation time: 3 hours
- Ingredients for 4-6 servings
- Difficulty: Average difficult recipe
- Ingredients
- For the fresh pasta:
- 2 eggs
- 200 g of all-purpose flour
- For the cappelletti filling:
- 100 g of minced veal
- 100 g of grated parmesan cheese
- 100 g of prosciutto
- 100 g of chicken meat that I used for the broth
- 1 lamb brain (not for me)
- 1 egg
- Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
- For the chicken broth:
- 1 chicken
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 liters of water
- 1 clove
- 1 bay leaf
- Instructions
- Prepare the broth. Place the chicken in a large pot with the herbs and spices. Pour in the very cold water and bring to the boil. Skim with a slotted spoon and then add the vegetables and cover with a lid, lower the heat and cook for about two hours. After this time turn off the heat and let the broth cool.
- Remove the chicken and the vegetables and filter with a chinoise. Pass all the broth through a strainer so as to also remove all the aromas. And finally filter it again through a gauze or a clean napkin so that it becomes nice and clear.
- Make the dough. Put the flour on the pastry board, creating a hole in the center where you will pour the eggs. Knead with a fork, then with your hands until the mixture is smooth. Cover and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Pass the meat and ham through the mincer and add the parmesan, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well to obtain a smooth dough.
- With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a thin sheet. Cut it out with a 4 cm pastry cutter and place a small walnut-size portion of filling in each circle, fold it in half to form half-moon and press the ends, thus forming the cappelletti.
- Bring the broth to a boil, salt it and cook the cappelletti for a few minutes.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- I don’t have a mincer so I mince everything very finely with the knife and then put it in the food processor giving a couple of pulses. I don’t want it to become a baby food.
- If you want to filter the broth through a napkin, it must not have been washed with soap or fabric softeners but only in boiling water.
- The pasta must be rolled out very thinly. If you use Imperia, you must pass up to the narrowest level.
