STUFFED! Potato tortelli from Mugello and spinach and ricotta tortelli from Maremma

Meet me for our next exclusive Cook Along, on Sunday January 19th, 2025

When I teach cooking classes, I always ask my students which recipe they think is most representative of Italian cuisine and the country’s culinary traditions. Pasta is the answer I receive nine times out of ten.

Even though I like to consider stale bread as Tuscany’s staple ingredient— the star of many a soup and salad, from ribollita to panzanella and pappa al pomodoro—we also have a good share of fresh pasta recipes.

Exploring Tuscany through its fresh pasta dishes offers a delightful journey into the region's diverse culinary traditions. Each area boasts unique pasta specialties that reflect local ingredients and historical influences.

Lunigiana is a borderland—a slice of Tuscany wedged between Liguria and the sea, the Apuan Alps and Emilia-Romagna. The neighbouring territories influence its accent and its cuisine, which is based on everything that comes from the forest: chestnuts and mushrooms have fed generations of farmers. Fresh pasta here is made partially with chestnut flour (as in these tagliatelle from the newsletter archive) and is served with olive oil and Parmigiano, or with a walnut and cream sauce.

The nearby area of Garfagnana is still influenced by Emilia; on Sunday women roll out their fresh pasta by hand and make tortellini, just as in Modena. Chestnut flour is also used in Garfagnana, both in fresh pasta and potato gnocchi.

On the coast of Versilia, and especially in Camaiore, tortelli proudly become tordelli, distinguishable as well for their rich, flavorful filling. As often happens, these tordelli were born as a made-over dish, prepared with the leftovers from Sunday’s roast along with bread, Garfagnana pecorino, egg and thyme. Such a rich, flavorful recipe.

Another interesting area is Mugello. A mountainous area just north of Florence, it was the hunting reserve of the Medici family during the Renaissance. Being a border area, the culinary tradition of Mugello shows influences from Emilia, Romagna and Florence. The locals borrowed tortelli from Emilia and stuffed it with a cheap, meatless filling such as mashed garlicky potatoes or chestnuts with a hint of nutmeg. In some areas of Mugello they still mix ricotta into the potatoes, showing an even stronger influence from the nearby region.

In Florence, along with tagliatelle and pappardelle, you can find crespelle alla fiorentina, with their typical ricotta and spinach filling. They look like thin pancakes and are rolled up as cannelloni, as though they were fresh pasta.

The most popular Tuscan tortelli, though, are those made in Maremma, with a filling of ricotta and spinach, and sometimes a hint of marjoram or nutmeg, with wide edges of pasta all around the soft heart. In the past borage was used instead of spinach, as it was a much cheaper green leafy vegetable that could be found along ditches and hedgerows.

Finally, pici are another great example of Tuscan fresh pasta. They are strongly related to a specific area of Tuscany – Siena – and especially the southern part of the province, which covers the beautiful Val d'Orcia where they used to grow wheat. Pici are homemade thick spaghetti, very rustic, very long, typical of the rural tradition of a simple, homemade pasta, made just with flour and water, without eggs.

Sunday Cook-Along: two stuffed pasta parcels from Tuscany

Join me online this Sunday, January 19th, at 9:00 PM CEST | 3:00 PM EDT | 12:00 PM PDT for a special cook-along reserved for all paid subscribers dedicated to two favorite stuffed pastas from Tuscany: tortelli from Mugello, stuffed with potatoes and garlic, and tortelli from Maremma, with a filling of spinach and ricotta. two of the most appreciated dishes we make during our cooking classes.

A recording of the class will be available for all paid subscribers after the event. (Here you can see the recording of one of our previous Cook Alongs when we made fresh egg pasta).

The recorded videos will always be available here on Substack: we’re slowly building an archive of video recipes you can access whenever you need to refresh your technique to make orecchiette, or ricotta gnocchi.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS IF YOU WILL BE THERE, SO I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU!

(For paid subscribers: all the recipes, ingredient lists, the Cook-Along Working Sheet, and the link to join the session are available behind the paywall.)

Mark your calendar for the next events!

• Sunday, February 16th | 9:00 pm CET | 3:00 pm EST | 12:00 pm PST
  Theme to be announced soon.

• Sunday, March 16th | 8:00 pm CET | 3:00 pm EST | 12:00 pm PST
  Theme to be announced soon.

Tortelli Maremmani on the left and Tortelli Mugellani on the right

The recipes

Tortelli Mugellani, fresh pasta parcels stuffed with potatoes and garlic
Tortelli di patate are a symbol of the culinary influences of nearby Emilia-Romagna. While the pasta is rolled out in the same manner, the filling is potato-based rather than meat—an adaptation that speaks to the region’s scarcity.

Get the recipe here.

Tortelli Maremmani, fresh pasta parcels stuffed with ricotta and spinach
Hailing from Maremma, a wild area in the South of Tuscany, these tortelli were originally made with borage gathered from fields. Today they are filled with spinach and ricotta, and sometimes seasoned with marjoram. Today they are still my favorite, while Tommaso continues to favor the potato-filled Mugello variety—understandably, given his Mugello origins.

Get the recipe here.

Cook Along Working Sheet

74KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Make ahead of our Cook-Along

• Read the recipes thoroughly to ensure you have all the ingredients and equipment you’ll need.

• Prepare your mise-en-place: measure and organize all the ingredients into separate bowls and have them ready at your workspace.

• Choose a sauce to dress the tortelli: browse the archive for some ideas

• Invite your friends or family to join you and enjoy the tortelli together!

Notes. Both the tortelli freeze well. Arrange them on a tray dusted with semolina in one layer and then close in a freezer bag. One they are frozen, collect them in a zip log bag and keep in the freezer for a couple of months. Cook in boiling water just out of the freezer. They might just take a little bit longer to cook.