Today's excerpt from Diary of a Tuscan Chef is the recipe for Tordelli con Ragu di carne, which is a recipe that Cesare's grandmother taught him to make as a child. Try this family recipe in your very own cucina for a taste of what sparked Cesare's love for food.
Tordelli con Ragu di carne
Lucchese Ravioli with Meat Sauce
Serves 10-12 as an appetizer
Il Ripieno
Meat Filling
1 1/2 pounds meat (beef, pork, rabbit, chicken, and/or turkey), cut into 3-x-3-inch cubes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (sage, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and Italian parsley)
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound Swiss chard, well washed and stemmed
1/2 cup day-old coarse bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped cured meats (such as mortadella, salami, or prosciutto)
5 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 egg, beaten
Homemade Beef broth, as needed
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the meat with salt, pepper, fresh herbs, spices, and 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Place the mixture in a roasting pan and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the meat is well done.
While the meat is cooking, place the Swiss chard with the water still clinging to its leaves into a medium pot, cover, and heat it over medium-high, stirring occasionally. When the chard has wilted, after about 7 minutes, drain it, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Chop the chard roughly.
In a medium frying pan, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped Swiss chard. Cook it for 2 minutes, then set aside to cool.
When the meat is done, place it in the bowl of a food processor long with its roasting juices, the Swiss chard, bread crumbs, cured meat, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and egg. Pulse until everything is well blended. If the mixture is dry, add some beef broth, a tablespoon or so at a time. Adjust the seasoning and set the mixture aside, allowing it to cool before using it.
Pasta per Tordelli
Tordelli Dough
Making pasta by hand takes patience and time. After 2 or 3 tries, you'll get it right, and be happy you did.
4 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
4 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
Mound the flour on a clean work surface and form a well in the center. Add the eggs and the egg yolks to the well and scramble them with your fingers or with a fork. Add in the olive oil, 1/2 cup of the water, and the salt. Use one hand to mix up the eggs and the other to hold up the wall of the flour well from the outside. Gradually begin incorporating the flour from the inside wall of the well into the eggs.
When the eggs are no longer runny, push in the walls of the flour and work the mixture into a mound of soft crumbs. Gather the mass together and begin working it into a ball. (If it seems too dry here, add up to 1/4 cup more water, a tablespoon at a time.) Once the dough has formed, knead it vigorously for 10 minutes, until it is elastic and smooth. Shape the dough into a flat oval. Cover it with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for an hour.
To make the tordelli, clean, then lightly flour your work surface. Pinch off a baseball size portion of dough and shape it into a flat oval. Begin rolling it out with a rolling pin into a rectangular sheet, no more than 1/8 inch thick, preferably thinner. With a knife, trim the pasta into a long strip, approximately 3 inches wide.
You must work quickly so the dough does not dry out. Pinch off pieces of meat filling and roll them to form small, marble-size balls, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Center the balls, approximately 2 inches apart, in the middle of the strip of dough. Fold the pasta over the balls, presing down on the pasta between each ball with your fingers to seal the dough. Cut out the tordelli by using a pastry wheel with a wavy edge to make half-moon shapes. Repeat the process with the rest of the filling and dough. Dry the tordelli on a flat screen until ready to use. If you are not going to use the tordelli withint 24 hours, cover them lightly and refrigerate them. They will also keep frozen for 2 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator before using.
When ready to use, cook the tordelli for approximately 8 minutes (depending on the thickness of the pasta) in a pot of abundant boiling, salted water. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the water to keep the tordelli from sticking to each other.
Ragu di Carne
Meat Sauce
(Makes 10-12 cups)
1 large yellow onion
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 medium carrot, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
4 thin slices pancetta, chopped
4 thin slices prosciutto, chopped
2 cups white or red wine
1 (28-ounce) can whole Italian tomatoes, drained
1 cup crushed canned tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice or a dash each of grated nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon
In a large saucepan, saute the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until the mixture is tender and translucent, about 15 minutes. Just before the mixture begins to color, add the pork, beef, veal, pancetta, and prosciutto. Continue cooking until the meat is browned, about 8 or 9 minutes.
Add the wine, and raise the heat to reduce the liquid. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for about 50 minutes. Add the water, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and spices and cook for another 50 minutes, until the sauce is thick and flavorful. (Check occasionally to make sure the sauce isn't drying out. If it is, add a bit more water.)
Assembly:
Frshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
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