Piacentini Anolini (Anvein) is the classic Christmas dish from Piacenza and festive days, ancient, passed down through generations in families. Anolini is a filled pasta, rich and elaborate, yet refined, made with meat and handmade pasta.
Tradition has it that on Christmas Eve the family gathers to prepare anolini (anvein) together, the opening course of the Christmas lunch. I remember as a child at my grandmother’s home, these important, unforgettable days, started with preparing the braised beef, the day before, which filled the house with an incomparable aroma. Then we proceeded with the preparation of the filling, and the thin pastry, creating this little treasure chest that held the meat filling. It’s not just a dish; it’s home, memories, tradition….
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6/8 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Christmas
- Energy 859.48 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 62.62 (g) of which sugars 2.91 (g)
- Proteins 59.05 (g)
- Fat 38.90 (g) of which saturated 19.78 (g)of which unsaturated 16.62 (g)
- Fibers 2.98 (g)
- Sodium 889.73 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 117 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Preparation of the pastry
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- to taste salt
- 1 lb beef (shoulder cut)
- 9 oz pork (loin)
- 1 clove Piacenza white garlic
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery
- onion (1)
- 2 glasses red wine
- to taste cloves
- 7 oz Grana Padano DOP (grated)
- 3 1/2 oz breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- Grater Ariete 44 Gratì Metal, Cordless Electric Grater, Capacity 2.2 lbs, 2 Stainless Steel Drums, White
- Scale Amazon Brand – Eono Digital Kitchen Scale, Stainless Steel, Measures in Grams and Ounces, 11 lbs / 0.1 oz, 15-year Warranty
- Mezzaluna Home Mezzaluna, Stainless Steel, Black, 31x2x19 cm
- Earthenware Pot Earthenware Pot with Lid, Various Sizes 9.5, 11, 12 in (9.5in)
- Pasta Machine Imperia 010 Manual Pasta Maker
- Pasta Cutter Verbania Shop Round Ravioli Cutter with Automatic Ejector Diameter Ø 1.3 in CAPPELLETTI, ANOLINI and Cookie Stamp
- Mixer High Hydration Spiral Mixer GRILLETTA for 11 lbs Dough-10 Speeds HH with Liftable Head and Removable Bowl
Piacentini Anolini Steps (anvein)
Prepare the braised beef, which will be used for the anolini filling. In the earthenware pot, place the meat with the garlic clove and brown it in the butter, adding an onion, celery stalk, salt, pepper, cloves, and red wine. Once the mixture has reduced, add water or beef broth to cover the meat, and let it cook on low heat for about 5/6 hours, until the liquid is almost completely absorbed.
Once cooked, chop the braised beef with the mezzaluna; with the remaining sauce in the pot, which you will have filtered, scald the breadcrumbs in a large container, and mix with the finely chopped braised beef, eggs, grated cheese, and nutmeg, until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Here is the preparation of the filling:
Place the flour, eggs, and a bit of salt in the mixer, and prepare the dough. Once ready, make a dough ball, which you will cover with a towel. Cut a slice of dough and roll it out into a thin sheet with the pasta machine. Place, as seen in the photo, many balls of filling, spaced 2/2.4 inches apart, fold the pasta to cover the filling, and cut with the metal anolini cutter, which, once ready, will have the shape of a small crescent. Cook them in traditional beef broth and serve
Here you find the steps to prepare a perfect anolino
Storage, tips for Piacentini Anolini (anvein)
Regarding the meat for the filling, you can also use only beef, I used my family recipe, which also includes pork loin. With such ancient preparations, there are always different versions, but they are all equally good. Once ready, anolini can be frozen, so you can prepare them in advance
