Cappelletti or “i caplett” is one of the dishes that best represents Reggio Emilia tradition, bringing together all the know-how and mastery of “rezdore” – housewives who traditionally dedicated several days to preparing cappelletti ahead of feast days. Every family has its own recipe and uses very different ingredients depending on the region (lowland, town or mountain), the taste and the social class of the cook. In the countryside stronger flavours are favoured while in the city more subtle flavours were used. Breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and various meats are used to give these little pasta masterpieces a rich filling. The unique, intricate shape of cappelletti has mythological roots. According to poet Alessandro Tassoni, it owes its creation to an innkeeper who, having seen Venus’s navel, wanted to recreate this “divine, unique” shape and made a cappelletto. Others say that the pasta got its name from the word “cappello“, meaning “hat” as its shape resembles either a medieval headdress or a grenadier’s mitre cap. Mythology and Venus’s navel certainly have greater connotations of fortune and better denote the character of the cappelletto, which, over centuries, has tickled the taste buds and the imagination of generations. Every family has its own recipe and its own ideas about the size of the cappelletti, the thickness of the pasta and the wide variety of possible ingredients used for the filling; in days gone by pigeon, ham trimmings and offal such as gizzard and chicken liver were also used.
Here is a recipe to try:
Ingredients (serves 10): For the pasta 700g fine, white flour 7 eggs salt to taste 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil For the filling 200g lean beef 100g pork tenderloin 100g Prosciutto Crudo ham 100g veal fillet or capon 1 medium onion 1 stick of celery 1 carrot 1 glass of dry white wine 2 eggs 2 knobs butter 1 tablespoon oil 300g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 2 cloves nutmeg to taste breadcrumbs to taste salt to taste To serve Beef or capon broth and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Method Cut the meat into pieces (not too small). Cube the vegetables and place them in a casserole dish, then sauté them with the butter and oil. Add the meat and wine and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook slowly for about three hours until the pieces of meat are cooked but not too dry. Grind the meat. Brown the breadcrumbs in the remaining sauce, add the ground meat, eggs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and some grated nutmeg. Mix everything together to form a smooth, fragrant filling. Make the pasta, wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest for about one hour in the fridge then cut it into squares of 3 – 3.5cm. Place a blob of filling in the centre of each square and close the square to form a triangle. Join together the two sides, gently folding the pasta up at the edges.
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