Bergamasque Casoncelli are typical ravioli from the namesake Lombard city, with an ancient history and tradition, differentiated, like every recipe, by the wealth of the family where they were prepared.
In fact, the original Bergamasque Casoncelli originated in peasant families as a Sunday main course, filled with cheese, bread, parsley, and garlic, easily accessible ingredients. While in richer families, the Bergamasque Casoncelli were enriched with minced meat and cold cuts.
Even the dough of the two traditions was different: in the first, eggs were replaced with milk, and indeed the difference was quite noticeable from the color of the pasta.
Today, the substantial differences in Casoncelli are between the Bergamasque ones, which I will explain how to prepare below, the Brescia ones, based on meat, spices, and vegetables, and those from Val Camonica, which instead have a filling of herbs, mortadella, sausage, grated cheese, potatoes, and spices.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 3 1/3 tbsp milk
- 5 oz ground veal
- 1 3/4 oz ground pork
- 1/3 oz raisins
- 1/5 oz amaretti
- 2.8 oz pear
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 1/2 oz breadcrumbs
- 1 3/4 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 3/4 oz butter
- to taste sage
Tools
- 1 Pasta machine also called "nonna papera"
Steps
First, prepare the dough, which will then need to rest while you prepare the filling before being rolled out.
On a surface, pour the flour in a mound and create a well in the center.
Pour the eggs and milk into the center and start kneading until you get a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least half an hour or while you prepare the filling for the Bergamasque Casoncelli.Place a pan to heat on the stove, when hot, add the butter, ground veal, and ground pork.
Brown over high heat until the meats are well cooked.
Transfer the cooked meat to a blender, add the pear, raisins, amaretti, the garlic clove with the germ removed, and the parsley.
Blend everything until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Transfer the filling to a bowl and lastly add the grated cheese, breadcrumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and egg.
Mix everything to homogenize the filling and set aside.Roll out the dough and cut circles with a fluted pastry cutter.
Place a generous mound of filling in the center of the circle, then fold the dough over itself to form a crescent.
Seal the casoncello and press it with a finger in the center of the filling, then fold it toward the edge to give it the classic shape of these typical Lombard ravioli.Heat a pot with water, when it starts to boil, salt it to taste.
Drop the Bergamasque Casoncelli in water and cook for 5/6 minutes.
When they float to the surface, leave them for another two minutes, stirring them in the pot.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the sage, and when the Casoncelli are cooked, drain them and toss them directly into the pan with the sauce.
Sauté the ravioli for a minute and serve them hot.
CONSERVATION
I recommend consuming the cooked Bergamasque Casoncelli immediately, but if any are left over, you can store them in the fridge for two days.
When raw, you can store them in a cool, dry place for a day, or you can freeze them to always have them ready!
