Tortellini are a traditional pasta from Emilia Romagna, more specific from Emilia. I really recommend a visit to Emilia Romagna, it is a beautiful region with nice people, nice cities and landscapes. In my opinion it is also one the best regions in Italy for pasta. Making your own pasta might seem a bit daunting but I reassure you that the result is very satisfying.

Ingredients for the pasta:

• 200g 00 flour
• 2 large free range eggs

How to make it:

Tip the flour in a surface and make a well in the center, break the eggs into the the well and start mixing the flour and the eggs with a fork. Keep beating the eggs and blend the flour into them. You should obtain a crumbly mix and from now on you have to work with your hands.

When the eggs have thickened together with the flour work the mixture to a dough: work it with your hands to a smooth and yellow dough. If possible don’t push the dough against the work surface but try to pull it along the surface. When the dough is ready wrap it with film and set aside for 10 minutes.

You need now to roll out the dough. I suggest to use a pasta machine. I didn’t have it so I had to roll it by hand: that was a good workout for my arms! Run the dough through a pasta roller (or by hand) until you obtain a nice and smooth sheet of pasta.

Cut the sheet into squares, the measure here really depends on the filling. Roughly it would be 3 inches by 3 inches. Place some filling in the middle of each square, if unsure you can use a teaspoon. Dip your finger in some water and run it along the two edges of the square, then fold the square into a triangle, pressing the top together and then working your way along the sides. You need to form a kerchief shape by drawing the bottom two corners of the triangle together. Press to seal and sift with flour so they don’t stick to the working surface.

How to cook tortellini:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon or two of salt. Add the tortellini to the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon. Stir occasionally and cook for 5 mins or until they come to the surface of the water.

You can now serve your tortellini: depending on the filling, you can decide the sauce. Below few examples:

• FILLING: Ricotta and Spinach SAUCE: butter and grated parmesan
• FILLING: pumpkin SAUCE: black pepper and grated smoked ricotta
• FILLING: prosciutto SAUCE: mushrooms and parsley ragù.