IT ISN’T CHRISTMAS WITHOUT CAPPELLETTI

For us Italians, food is always on our minds. Christmas preparations are in full swing: lights and decorations have brightened the cities for the last month, people are combing the shops for bargains and that perfect gift but … apart from the gifts, the Christmas tree and the wreath on the door … our thoughts are focussed on what will fill the dishes for that very important Christmas dinner
There are no great innovations or changes to the menu; tradition always wins out, even if Italy seems to be divided. In the South, we celebrate at the evening meal on Christmas Eve while in the North, the celebration is held at dinner on Christmas Day. Every region has its own local specialties: from tortellini to fish, from panpepato to pandoro (traditional cakes). In Umbria, for example, the cornerstone of Christmas dinner is cappelletti, those delicious home-made tortellini with meat filling cooked in broth. Another typical Perugino dish is parmigiana di gobbi: gobbo or cardone is a typical winter vegetable that must be boiled before being assembled in layers with cheese and a tomato/meat sauce and cooked in the oven like an aubergine parmigiana.
The best part of the tradition though is not only in the eating but also in the preparation (some time ahead) of the dishes that will fill the table during the holidays. ¨Making the cappelletti with Mom or Auntie is one of the most important and meaningful moments of the Christmas season. It involves craftsmanship and exacting work that takes time and patience; first the pasta, then the filling and then the broth, but the fun is in closing the cappelletti because they all turn out different-looking depending on the hands that made them and the way they were closed.
Here is a cappelletti recipe for you:
Ingredients:
400 g flour
4 eggs
100 g chicken breast
150 g pork
100 g mortadella
100 g Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt to taste
Knead 400 g flour with 4 eggs for the preparation of the pasta, made strictly at home and if possible by hand!!! For the cappelletti filling, cook the chicken and the pork, mincing them with the mortadella and when the mixture is smoothly blended, add the Parmesan, an egg
and the salt. To make the cappelletti, roll the pasta into sheets to the desired thickness, cut the pasta into small squares and fill them with a bit of the filling, fold each square to form a triangle and then fold the ends over to close it and form “little hats” … CAPPELLETTI !!! These little hats are then cooked in a boiling, rich chicken broth before being served together as cappelletti in brodo.
Buon appetito e Buon Natale!!!