The chef Sara, wife of Claudio, owner of the Trattoria Balurdù di Crema, today delights us with a typical recipe of their area: the Tortelli Cremaschi. It’s a particular first course with a sweet and delicious filling, which we decided to combine with our Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Rive di Santo Stefano Extra Dry sparkling wine.

Let’s see together the ingredients and steps to create this particular recipe:

Ingredients for 12 people

Dough for Tortelli:

• 1 kg of flour 00
• 1 egg
• 500 ml of warm water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Tortelli filling:

• 450 g cocoa macaroons
• 80 g sultanas
• 50 g candied cedar
• 1 monster
• 4 mints
• 1 egg
• 1 small glass of dry Marsala
• 200 g grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ nutmeg

Procedure

Let’s start preparing the filling for the Tortelli Cremaschi (prepare it the day before!).

First, before starting, soak the raisins.

Chop the macaroons that should not be too fine, grate the nutmeg and mints and with the crescent, chop the cedar and the dried and dried raisins.

Take a bowl, insert the prepared ingredients, add the grana, egg, salt and mix with your hands. The mixture will be dry, then add a little Marsala being careful to keep it compact. Transfer the filling to a box and place in the fridge to rest.

Preparation of the dough

Pour the flour, egg, oil into the planetary mixer and start kneading by adding water flush to form a ball. The dough should not be sticky. If not, add a little flour or if too hard, a little water.

Continue to knead for a quarter of an hour until the dough becomes velvety. Wrap it in a cloth and let it rest in the cool for an hour.

After resting, resume the dough and with the dough sheeter pull it into pieces. Keep a kitchen towel both above and below and, imported, do not add more flour!

If passing to the first hole, the strips of dough that you will get are not nice smooth, repeat the operation giving a turn of the fold, that is, bringing the dough towards the center first to the right and then to the left.

Next, take each strip and pass it once with a turn of the fold to an intermediate number of the dough sheeter (ex. number 4 if they are 9 in total). It must not be thin, otherwise, it risks breaking during cooking.

With a round ravioli mold, cut the circles, put on each circle a small teaspoon of filling, and press first with your fingers and then with the prongs of the fork to seal the dough.

Pull again the scraps of dough that you will get with the dough sheeter to be able to create other Tortelli. Proceed until the filling is exhausted.

Cooking

 The cooking of Tortelli Cremaschi must take place in plenty of salted water. At first don’t touch to mix, but only after that. The fire must be low and must cook for 15/20 minutes. You can possibly put a drop of oil in the water.

Meanwhile, prepare plenty of melted butter and sage and grated parmesan.

When cooked, drain the Tortelli and make a first layer in the pan, pour a little butter, sprinkle with the grana, drain other Tortelli, lay them on top of the others and continue the stratification until exhaustion. Finally, mix everything to mix.

And as the Cremaschi say, the Tortelli must be “negat an dal buter e sutrat sota l’furmai!” (Drowned in butter and buried by cheese).

Lunch is served, enjoy your meal!

Trattoria Balurdù, Via Capergnanica, 8H – 26013 Crema (CR) – Italy