That is a home recipe. And I mean I have never had it anywhere else. And the reason I titled the post-Green Cappelletti of Grandma Sara.
After so many recipes from the Via Emilia, I am happy to return with a familiar dish that has accompanied my life since I was a little girl.
I particularly love this green cappelletti recipe.
The spinach pastry is bright and fragrant, and in the delicate filling, for once, it is not Parmigiano but ricotta cheese that is the protagonist thanks to a well-balanced and skillful balancing of ingredients. And then I love the surprise hidden in the belly of the cappelletti: the champignon mushrooms cooked au naturel (without garlic that could alter the kindness of the ricotta), finely cut, almost chopped.
After the flavor of the sheet, you’ll feel that of the filling where the mushrooms hold hands with the ricotta, making a happy couple.
You can season the green cappelletti with butter and sage, heavy cream and bacon, Parmigiano cream, or any sauce you like.
Now that I have told you what there is to know about this recipe, I would like to briefly tell you the story of a journey that began looking at a cutting board. At that time, I didn’t realize it was a journey or, more importantly, where it would take me.
Green cappelletti and the urge to start to make fresh pasta
I was not born with a rolling pin in my hand. What do I mean by that? As much as I ate a great deal of homemade egg pasta as a child, such as these green cappelletti that I count among my favorite dishes since many years, I did not learn to roll out the sfoglia since I was a child.
On the contrary, it happened only recently, after I took a professional course for business purposes, or so I thought.
It was 2020, and the proposal also included making a pasta sheet al matterello. Since I was making it but with difficulty, I thought it was an opportunity to refine my uncertain skills. In fact, although I grew up in a house surrounded by sfogline, I never really learned the art of fresh pasta.
Over time, I realized that the passion I dedicate to this activity transcends any business matter. That desire was born from the need to return home. By learning how to properly move my hands between eggs, flour, cutting board, and rolling pin, I recovered a piece of identity missing from the roll call.
And now I feel I’am back home, I have focused on another thing. The journey I started some years ago was also crucial for another reason.
Starting to make sfoglia al matterello has created a space between my thoughts, a definite place where I found the past that I had decided to ignore. An effort that has drained so much energy over the years and produced no metabolization of the affair that, even if it involves dealing with pain, allows one to move beyond it and draw something from it in terms of lessons.
That thinking space is now also a writing workshop. In the sfoglia, I found the comfort I needed to find the courage to reclaim my voice and the will to write.
But you write!
That is true, but blogs and newsletters are my comfort zone. I write thematically, the introduction to the recipe or the preamble to the newsletter, and never push the envelope where words are a storm on the high seas.
Now, I am no longer afraid of those words because I have finally accepted the events that forged my adult life, albeit in an unnecessarily hateful and cruel way. This story is not for the blog or even for the newsletter; I will entrust it to another path by taking up the invitation of many of my readers to write a book.
Thank you for being here.
You need to know one thing, dear reader, you are just as valuable as the sfoglia in this personal journey of resurrection.
Some notes about homemade fresh pasta
Many people watch a video and think it is easy. Wrong.
I read daily messages from people who have tried and failed. As much as I firmly believe in a video recipe’s usefulness, I also know that the video contains deception. It is easy to believe that it can be replicated effortlessly and with excellent results from the first attempt. Again, nothing could be more wrong.
During cooking classes or culinary conferences, to those who ask me questions wanting to try their hand at a specific preparation, I recommend reading the text of the recipe, not leaving out even the ingredients. Agian, watching a few video recipes made by knowledgeable people. And finally trying to make the dish without changing ingredients or steps. Customizing a recipe we do not know happens later, at least after a taste of the original. I have little patience with those who change here and there and then mutter that it doesn’t come.
Returning to sfoglia, remember it is a form of gastronomical craftsmanship. You will learn it through lots of practice and patience. In short, it is only for some.
After a few years, I can say that it was a genuine passion if I continued to make it and, from time to time, went back to class. Humility is another useful ingredient for those who want to learn how to make puff pastry with a rolling pin, as it has been done along the Via Emilia for a few centuries.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with using a pasta machine to roll out the sfoglia, but that is another matter. If you make the dough with the mixer and roll it out with the machine, the artisanal element that characterizes the procedure with a cutting board and rolling pin is lost. Choose your own way and be patient if you don’t become a pasta maker-
Buona cucina, Monica
All my fresh pasta recipes are HERE.
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Green cappelletti of Grandma Sara
Ingredients
Green dough
- 80 g of boiled and squeezed spinach
- 2 regular eggs
- 300 g all purpose flour or 00 flour
Filling
- 250 g of champignons mushrooms
- 400 g of drained cow's ricotta cheese
- 50 g of grated Parmigiano
- 1/2 of teaspoon salt
- nutmeg, to taste if you like it
Instructions
Green dough
- In a food processor, blend the spinach with the eggs.
- Place the flour on the cutting board and form a well in the centre with your fingers. Ensure the well is large enough to take the required liquid and pour in the eggs and spinach.
- Using a fork, gradually bring the flour toward the center to mix with the eggs.
- Stir until large crumbs form. From this point on, work the dough with your hands.
- Work the dough with regular wrist movements, pushing the mixture forward and bringing it back toward you for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and soft but not sticky.
- Form a ball and let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature, wrapped in plastic film or under a glass bowl.
Filling
- Remove the mushrooms' stems and wash or discard the top skin. Roughly chop the mushrooms in a nonstick pan with olive oil until soft.
- Drain the mushrooms, let cool, squeeze them lightly with your hands, and chop finely with a knife.
- In a bowl, mix ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and nutmeg. Add the mushrooms and mix again. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Green cappelletti assembling
- Roll out a thin sheet with a pasta machine or on a cutting board.
- Use a pasta cutter wheel to cut out 5cm squares.
- Arrange a generous teaspoon of filling on each square.
- Join two tips of the square together, forming a triangle. Apply pressure with your fingers to the edges to seal them. Now, join the other two tips and press them together.
- Let the cappelletti rest on trays sprinkled with semolina for 30 minutes.
- Cook the cappelletti in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and season.
