Since childhood, I’ve always helped my parents prepare Cappelletti in capon broth, a tradition for us Emilians, with each family guarding their own recipe. Even today, now that they’re gone, I relive those moments as I prepare them. On Christmas Eve, but also on New Year’s Day and Easter, I’d wake up to the aroma of the broth filling the kitchen. In the afternoon, everyone was ready, hands washed, and we began: preparing the filling, called batù in dialect, and then Mom would make the dough, kneading it on the marble sink. I still remember 1 kg of flour for 10 eggs sliding from the dish into the flour, one by one, kneading for a long time. Everyone participated in this event, and once finished, we counted them and in the evening turned them to dry underneath… how wonderful to remember and relive that day.
Recipe of 12/04/2016 Updated
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 4 Hours
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Emilia-Romagna
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz pork meat
- 3.5 oz veal
- 21 oz chicken thighs (with drumsticks)
- 3.5 oz mortadella
- 3.5 oz prosciutto crudo
- 1 egg (medium)
- 3.5 oz pancetta (flat)
- 5 oz grated Parmigiano (set aside 1.75 oz to sprinkle on the finished plates)
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp nutmeg (leveled)
- 0.7 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
- 21 oz capon (thighs with drumsticks)
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 3 cloves
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 0.5 oz coarse salt
- 1 leaf bay
- 21 oz flour 00
- 6 eggs
- 0.4 oz extra virgin olive oil
Tools
Affiliate links from IconA are present in the recipe
- Kitchen Scale
- Pot
- Pasta Machines
- Bowl
- Meat Grinder
- Pastry Board
- Iron Skillet
Steps
Three hours before preparing the filling, fill a large pot with cold water and immerse the capon thighs, chicken thighs, all the flavors, and the coarse salt. Light the fire and let it cook on low heat for 3 hours from the moment it starts to boil. Once ready, remove the two chicken thighs and clean them from bones and tendons. (Keep the capon aside to serve as a second course accompanied by mashed potatoes and fruit mustard).
Cut the veal and pork meat into pieces, brown it in a pan over high heat with the oil. Cut the cured meats into pieces.
Pass the cured meats and all the veal, pork, and chicken meat drained from its liquid through the meat grinder. In a large bowl, add the grated Parmigiano, the egg, salt, and nutmeg, and mix. Combine all the ground meat and knead with your hands until a well-blended filling is obtained. Taste for saltiness, cover, and let rest for 1 hour.
Pour the sifted flour onto the pastry board. Make a well, pour the eggs that have been cracked into a dish first, and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Start kneading with a fork and then with your hands until a soft but not sticky dough forms. Let it rest 30 minutes covered with a towel.
Take the dough and divide it into pieces. Roll out each piece at a time with the pasta machine, keeping the others covered. Pass the pasta through the rollers several times, from the first notch up to the penultimate. Place the sheets on a lightly floured pastry board, cut lengthwise, and then horizontally to form 1.5 x 1.5-inch squares. Place a small dollop of filling in the center of each square. Fold into a triangle, pressing the center point and sides. Join the other two points and overlap them to seal. The cappelletto is formed.
Strain the cold capon broth to remove the fat and clarify it. Bring it to a boil and add the cappelletti, which will cook in 8-10 minutes. Serve in plates and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
If there’s leftover filling and no more dough, can it be stored?
The filling of the Cappelletti can be stored in the freezer in a sealed container, but not for too long, or it will lose its flavor.
How should frozen filling be handled when making Cappelletti again?
Let it thaw at room temperature, and then make the cappelletti according to the recipe.
