Tortellini in Brodo — Bologna's Little Rings

1. 01

   Make the broth

   Place the whole capon and beef chuck in a tall pot. Cover with cold water — about 2 litres. Bring to a bare simmer, skimming the grey foam off the top for the first few minutes. Add the halved onion, carrot, and celery stick. Let it bubble very gently — one or two bubbles per second — for two hours. The capon meat will fall from the bone; the broth will turn a clear amber. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing gently on the solids. Taste. Season lightly — you'll adjust later. Set aside to cool; skim any fat once it's cold if you prefer, or leave it for body. You can do this the day before.

   ~120 min
2. 02

   Roast the pork loin

   Pat the pork loin dry. Heat a knob of butter in a small pan over medium-high heat until it froths. Sear the loin on all sides until golden — about two minutes per side. Lower the heat to medium and cook gently until the centre reads 63°C on a meat thermometer — about eight to ten minutes. Rest it on a board for five minutes, then chop it finely. You want small, meaty pieces, not a paste.

   ~20 min
3. 03

   Make the filling

   Dice the prosciutto and mortadella into small, irregular pieces — texture matters here. Combine them with the chopped pork loin in a bowl. Add 60g of the Parmigiano, grated fine. Crack one egg into the mix and grate a single pinch of nutmeg over it. Fold gently with a fork until everything is bound — not smooth, but holding together. Taste it. It should taste like Christmas and salt and pork fat. If it's bland, add a turn of pepper.

   ~10 min
4. 04

   Make the pasta dough

   Tip the tipo 00 flour onto a clean counter and make a well in the centre. Crack your five egg yolks into the well. Using a fork, beat the yolks gently, then slowly draw the flour in from the sides, little by little, until you have a shaggy mass. Knead it — hard, using the heel of your hand — for ten minutes. It will be stiff and golden and slightly resistant. Wrap it in cling film and rest it for thirty minutes at room temperature. This rest matters; it relaxes the gluten.

   ~40 min
5. 05

   Roll the pasta

   Divide the dough into four pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered. Using a pasta machine set to the thinnest setting (usually 00), roll the dough through four or five times, folding it in half each time, until it's satiny and elastic. Then roll it through without folding, getting it thinner and thinner, until you can see your hand through it. Lay it on a flour-dusted table. Don't worry if it tears slightly; you'll patch it as you fold. This is where patience lives.

   ~30 min
6. 06

   Fold the tortellini

   Using a small knife or fluted pastry wheel, cut the pasta sheet into 5cm squares. Place a teaspoon of filling slightly off-centre on each square. Fold the square in half diagonally to make a triangle, pressing the edges to seal. Pick up the triangle and wrap the sharp point backwards around your index finger, then pinch the two other tips together. You should have a little ring — tortellini means 'small torte'. It takes practice; the first ones look wonky, but they taste the same. Lay each on a floured tray. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should have about 60 tortellini.

   ~50 min
7. 07

   Cook and serve

   Bring the broth to a gentle boil in a wide pot. Drop the tortellini in — they'll sink, then float. Simmer for exactly three minutes from the moment they rise to the surface. While they cook, warm four wide bowls. Ladle the tortellini and broth into each bowl — aim for about four tortellini per person, and plenty of golden broth. Scatter the remaining Parmigiano over each bowl. A turn of black pepper. Serve immediately, while the steam still rises.

   ~10 min

First spoonful: the broth hits you — capon, beef, celery, two hours of reduction meeting your tongue with warmth and depth. The tortellini is tender almost to the point of fragility, that egg pasta folding easily under a spoon. Inside, the filling is a savory surprise: the funk of aged prosciutto, the sweetness of mortadella, the clean meat of the pork loin, all rounded by Parmigiano and a single whisper of nutmeg that you feel rather than taste. The broth, meanwhile, does the work — it carries everything, enriches each bite, makes you want another spoonful. By the end of the bowl, you're spooning the last of the broth, scraping for those final specks of cheese.

• ·Don't skip the capon broth resting overnight — it will clarify and improve.
• ·Keep your pasta sheets covered while you fold; they dry out in minutes.
• ·If a tortellini falls apart, patch it immediately with a scrap of damp pasta and press it smooth.
• ·Cook the tortellini at the last moment — they don't keep well and they're best within minutes of folding.
• ·Taste the broth before serving and adjust salt then — this is where the final flavour lives.