Tortelli with ricotta and herbs Recipe
Tortelli with ricotta and wild greens are a classical recipe for a spring Sunday lunch.
In Liguria, the region where I come from, they are called “pansotti” and are prepared with a mix of various wild herbs among which borrage is very common.
The recipe
Ingredients ( serve -6)
3 eggs
300 gr. Flour ( “0” or “00”)
Salt
For the filling
400 gr of sheep’s ricotta
500 gr fresh borrage and/or chard , spinach or other greens
2 eggs
grated parmesan
fresh marjoram leaves
salt
white pepper
Prepare the dough: place the flour on a wooden surface, give it the shape of a mountain and put the eggs and the salt in a well in the centre. Mix the eggs carefully with the flour, and work the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Leave to rest for at least 40 mins, wrapped in a plastic sheet.
The dough can be kept outside of the refrigerator for 2 hours. If you need to prepare it before, keep it in the refrigerator ( but no longer than 12 hours).
Cook the herbs briefly in boiling water , cool them immediately in a bowl of icy water, then drain and squeeze them thoroughly, to remove all excess water.
Mix the herbs with ricotta, grated parmesan, a few chopped marjoram leaves, add the eggs, and season with salt and white pepper.
Make a thin sheet of pasta, either using a rolling pin or the traditional machine for making pasta.
Cut it in large squares, and place some of the filling in the centre of each square, close each one forming a triangle and fold it into the traditional shape of the tortelloni.
Cook your “tortelloni” in salted boiling water ( use 10 gr salt per litre) for 5 minutes after the water has come back to the boil.
Serve them with butter and sage, and a sprinkle of grated parmesan, or with walnut sauce (see below)
Walnut sauce
For 6 people you need:
2 slices stale bread, crusts removed, soaked in 1/2 cup of milk and squeezed, 150 gr shelled walnuts , 1 garlic clove, grated parmesan, fresh marjoram leaves , 3 tablespoons olive oil ,salt and pepper.
In a food processor, process the walnuts, marjoram, garlic, and the bread that you have previously soaked in the milk. Save the milk in case the sauce is too thick. With the motor running, add the oil and, if needed, more milk or just water. The sauce must have the consistency of a thick mayonnaise.
Before tossing your tortelli mix the sauce in the serving bowl with some hot water from the pan where you are cooking the pasta.
This sauce cannot be warmed in a pan, as all the sauces with parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately, garnished with more marjoram leaves.
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