Tortelli is a type of
filled pasta
Filled pasta or stuffed pasta refers to a dumpling with a flour, especially pasta, wrapper or skin, usually sealed, surrounding a variety of filling (cooking), fillings. Such pasta is especially common in non-tropical regions of Eurasia. Example ...
traditionally made in the
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
,
Emilia-Romagna, and
Tuscany regions of
Italy. It can be found in several shapes, including square (similar to
ravioli
Ravioli (; singular: ''raviolo'', ) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though o ...
), semi-circular (similar to
agnolini), or twisted into a rounded, hat-like form (similar to
cappelletti (pasta)). It can be served with melted
butter,
bolognese
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nati ...
sauce, broth, or other sauces.
The same word is also used to describe small, fried
pastries filled with jam or cream.
Ricotta tortelli, served with butter and herbs, is a popular dish in
Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...
. Other typical dishes include tortelli with
pumpkin
A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
(common in
Mantua,
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...
,
Piacenza, and
Cremona
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
) and tortelli di parma (from
Parma), with ricotta and herbs, spinach, potatoes, or pumpkin.
Many popular forms of tortelli can be found in Tuscany. Tortello del Melo is typical in
Pistoia
Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...
. Potato torricelli is popular in
Arezzo
Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...
,
Florence, and
Prato
Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...
.
Maremma is known for an unusually large form of tortelli with ricotta and spinach.
Torricelli, a semi-circular form of tortelli with a filling of meat and herbs (such as
thyme), is from the
Apuan Alps
The Apuan Alps ( it, Alpi Apuane) are a mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy. They are included between the valleys of the Serchio and Magra rivers, and, to the northwest, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, with a total length of approximately .
...
region ("Torricelli" in the local dialect), particularly
Lucca,
Versilia Versilia is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca and southern part of Massa-Carrara, and is named after the Versilia river.
Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebr ...
, and
Garfagnana. It was originally a special meal for
Shrove Tuesday, but is now prepared year-round.
References
Sources
Sourdough Tortelli Piacentini.
{{Pasta
Types of pasta
