Reading this article you may wonder what are balanzoni and green balanzoni with mortadella??!!
IF YOU WANT LISTEN TO ME IN THE RECIPE PREPARATION
The balanzoni are a typical stuffed fresh pasta from Bologna named after the famous character of Dr. Balanzone. They are also called crazy tortelli or Carnival tortelli because they were consumed during the Carnival period.
How are balanzoni made?
To make the classic recipe of green balanzoni with mortadella you have to close them like tortellini and not like I do for Romagna cappelletti and you can follow the procedure in the tortellini recipe HERE.
The balanzoni are thus a stuffed fresh pasta, in which the dough is prepared by substituting part of the eggs with boiled and well-drained spinach.
How are balanzoni seasoned?
The classic and recommended seasoning for balanzoni is butter and sage but you can also foresee other seasonings like balanzoni with mascarpone and sausage, balanzoni with parmesan cream and even more delicious if enriched with speck or ham.
It is a pasta I made in a cooking class during the Cibò So Good event held in Bologna at Palazzo Re Enzo and then we brought it home for a homemade tasting.
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I also have a free WhatsApp channel with a sweet and a savory recipe everyday: click and subscribe → https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F
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Green Balanzoni with Mortadella
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Day 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 PEOPLE
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
For these balanzoni the course instructor suggested seasoning with just butter and sage but since I had a few speck cubes I wanted to add them to the pan… Was I wrong according to you????
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1 oz spinach (boiled, drained, and chopped)
- to taste nutmeg
- 1 cup cup cow's milk ricotta
- 6 oz Bologna mortadella
- 1 1/2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste speck
- to taste butter
- to taste sage
Tools
- Rolling Boards
Preparation
• For the pasta make a well with the flour and mix with the spinach, eggs, and nutmeg.
Make an elastic dough which you will wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for about half an hour.
• For the filling chop the mortadella and combine it with the ricotta, cheese, and egg, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Roll out the pasta with the appropriate machine or with a rolling pin and make rather large squares about 3 to 3.5 inches per side.
I’m showing the photos taken during the Cibò So Good event even if they are… horrendous!
• Place the filling on each balanzone close it and continue until the mixture is finished.
• Boil the pasta in salted boiling water and drain it.
In a pan, you will have already melted the golden butter with speck cubes and some fresh sage leaves.
Then pour the green balanzoni with mortadella into the pan and sauté them for a few minutes, then plate them.
Enjoy your meal with green balanzoni with mortadella!
Annalisa
