Italian chef Matteo Zamboni is bringing a taste of Ferragosto to Weekend Sunrise with a lesson in making the perfect tortellini.
The Civico 47 culinary director, who grew up in northern Italy and has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe, shared his recipe for ricotta and lemon tortellini served in a light chicken broth.
Zamboni showed how to make the pasta from scratch, fill and shape the tortellini, and finish the traditional dish in brodo, while sharing what the Italian holiday means to him and his family.
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Ingredients
SERVES 4
For the brodo
– 1 whole chicken
– 3 carrots
– 2 sticks celery
– 2 medium brown onions
– 200g tomatoes, cherry or roma
– 2 sprigs rosemary
– 2 sprigs thyme
– 10 peppercorns
– Salt
For the pasta dough
– 400g “00” pasta flour
– 3 whole eggs
– 3 egg yolks
For the filling and to finish
– 400g ricotta, firm and authentic, not the spreadable or creamy kind
– 100g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more to finish
– 2 egg yolks
– 1 lemon
– 4 sprigs thyme
– 1/2 bunch chives
– Semolina, for dusting
– Salt and pepper
Method
Brodo
1. Set the pot. Rinse the chicken and sit it in a tall, narrow pot. Add the carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes in large chunks. A little salt, then cold water to sit about 3cm above the chicken.
2. Bring to the boil and skim off the foam. Add the peppercorns, rosemary and thyme.
3. Simmer. Lid on but not sealed, simmer very gently for at least 1 hour. Let it cool in the pot another hour if you can.
4. Strain and keep the meat. Lift out the chicken and pick the meat. You can add some to the brodo, chop a little finely into the tortellini filling, or reserve it for something else. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and freeze what you don’t use as a base for next time.
Pasta dough
1. Make the well. Beat the eggs and yolks together in a bowl. Mound the flour on a board or in a wide bowl and make a well in the centre.
2. Start mixing. Pour in about half the egg. With a fork, whisk the egg while drawing a little flour at a time from the inner wall of the well, so it thickens into a paste before the walls come down.
3. Bring it together. Add the rest of the egg and work it in, then use your hands to press the shaggy crumbs into a rough dough. Add egg only until it comes together, flour varies.
4. Knead and rest. Knead firmly for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth, elastic and springy. Wrap in clingwrap or a cloth and rest in the fridge for about 1 hour.
Filling
1. Dry the ricotta. Hang the ricotta in a muslin or clean kitchen cloth in the fridge to drain off as much water as possible. Dry ricotta is the difference between a clean filling and a wet one.
2. Mix and pipe. Put the drained ricotta in a bowl with the zest of half the lemon, the chopped thyme, the Parmigiano Reggiano, the yolks, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth, taste, then load into a piping bag.
Shape the tortellini
1. Roll and cut. Roll the pasta very thin, with a machine or a rolling pin, until it is almost see-through. Cut into squares of about 5cm.
2. Fill and wet. Pipe a small amount of filling into the centre of each square. With a brush, lightly wet two sides with cold water.
3. Fold and shape. Fold into a triangle, pressing out all the air around the filling. Bring the two points together and pinch to join, for the classic tortellini shape.
4. Rest them. Sit them on a tray dusted with semolina so they don’t stick. They hold in the fridge uncovered for 3 to 4 hours. To use the next day, freeze them.
Cook and serve
1. Cook in the brodo. Bring the amount of brodo you need to the boil. Cook the tortellini for about 90 seconds, a little longer from frozen.
2. Finish. Check the seasoning. Serve warm in the hot brodo, finished with more Parmigiano Reggiano, more lemon zest and finely chopped chives.
Dining and Cooking