A traditional stuffed pasta from the beautiful city of Bergamo in the Lombardia region of Italy. This casoncelli pasta recipe is the authentic version with pancetta and sage butter sauce.
2tablespoons(2tablespoons)grated Grana Padanoor Parmigiano Reggiano
2(2)sage leaves
Instructions
For the pasta dough
Arrange the flour on a pastry board, form a well in the center, add the eggs, a pinch of salt and a little water to mix the dough. Knead and mix thoroughly for at least 10 minutes.
When the dough is compact and smooth, wrap the ball of pasta dough in plastic wrap and let rest for half an hour.
For the filling
Peel and mince the garlic. In a pan, brown the garlic in a little extra virgin olive oil and add the minced meat at low heat.
When cooked, transfer everything to a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, eggs, grated cheese, then season with salt and pepper.
Making casoncelli
Roll out the pasta dough into a thin sheet with a pasta machine, starting from the widest setting and roll until the dough is a thin layer. With a pastry bowl cut into discs of about 7 cm (3 in aprox).
In the center of each of them, place a scoop of filling and close them carefully from the edges by pinching them between your fingers.
Cooking
Bring water to a boil in a large pot, then add salt.
In a medium saucepan melt the butter, sage and diced pancetta and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.
Cook the casoncelli in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. When they start to float in the boiling water, that means they are ready.
Carefully drain the stuffed pasta with a colander or remove them from the water with a small strainer.
Toss the casoncelli in a big serving bowl, pour in the melted butter flavored with sage leaves and diced bacon and mix carefully.
Some recipes include ingredients that are part of the culinary tradition of Lombardy like raisins, amaretto biscuits and nutmeg in the filling. The raisins are minced and the cookies are crumbled before mixing them in the mixture.