Mugello potato tortelli served with meat sauce are an excellent first course made with fresh pasta and stuffed with potatoes flavored with garlic , parsley and cheese . They are typical of Mugello an area in the province of Florence, in our Tuscany that offers many typical dishes. A somewhat elaborate dish that requires some time and patience but for sure you will be rewarded for so much effort when you taste them.
To prepare these potato tortelli you have to organize yourself in time, usually it is better to prepare the meat sauce at least the day before to take advantage, so the next morning you can devote yourself to the potato filling and make the pasta, flatten it, fill it and shape the tortelli. The peculiarity of this special tortello lies in the potato filling which has a delicious flavor thanks to the various ingredients used to perfume it. Pasta must be prepared, cooked and eaten because the next day it tends to stick and it becomes difficult even to cook it.
DIFFICULTY: AVERAGE PREPARATION TIME: 1 HOUR COOKING TIME: 4 HOURS
TOTAL TIME : 5 HOURS PORTIONS: 6
INGREDIANTS:
For fresh pasta
-
500 g you flour (+ for flour for kneading).
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- sale q.b.
For the stuffing
- 1kg of potatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce
- 100g of Parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
TOOLS REQUIRED:
- Crescent moon
- Toothed wheel
- Pastry board
- Rolling pin
PREPARATION:
The stuffing
Boil the whole potatoes with the peel and possibly the usual size in a pot full of water to ensure uniform cooking. For cooking it will take about 30 minutes from when the pot comes off the boil and in any case I advise you to always check with a fork, the potatoes must be cooked but not undone . Drain and let them cool, then peel them and pass them through a potato masher.
Wash the parsley and peel the garlic and chop very finely using a crescent. In a saucepan, sauté with 2 tablespoons of oil and the chopped parsley and garlic, then add the tomato puree (to make the filling pink) and heat for a few more minutes.
In a large bowl, collect the mashed potatoes, add the freshly prepared sautéed, grated cheese, salt, pepper and mix everything together until all the ingredients are well blended; let the filling cool and keep it to one side.
Fresh Pasta
Put the flour on a large pastry board and break the eggs in the center, add the salt and a tablespoon of oil, then mix all the ingredients with your hands, mixing the eggs well into the flour. Add more flour or water if necessary until it reaches the right consistency (it should not stick to your hands). Form a loaf and let it rest covered with a damp napkin for about half an hour.
After the resting time, take some pieces of dough and roll out the dough with a rolling pin or with the special machine , thus making strips as regular as possible in shape and not too thin (otherwise they could break while closing the tortelli and during the cooking).
Realization and Cooking
Now arrange on the first half of a sheet of dough balls of filling the size of a walnut, helping yourself with a spoon and spacing them about 2 cm apart from each other, then fold the second part of the sheet to cover the first.
Squeeze the sides of each pile of filling with your hands and press so as to seal the two sheets well together. Cut out the excess dough with a toothed wheel , thus forming the tortelli giving a rectangular shape, flour them lightly and let them dry a little on both sides.
Meanwhile, boil a large pot of salted water and throw them a few at a time and cook until they float (it will take 3-4 minutes depending on the thickness of the pasta). Drain them with a slotted spoon, toss with the meat sauce and serve with a good sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.