A dish that warms body and soul on cold winter evenings are certainly the Passatelli in broth.
The name “Passatelli” stands for “going through” the iron used to make them.
A poor dish of the Romagna tradition, it has spread, in short, throughout the region finding its greatest glory in Modena.
It was prepared with recycled ingredients, such as bread for example, became too dry to be served at the table, eggs, cheese, lemon and nutmeg.
Today there are various versions to make this delicious dish … every family keeps its own!
The Passatelli are born from the brilliant mind of the Azdore, “the queens of the house”, which in their rural poverty, had to solve the problem every day, to feed their families.
A simple dish, made with few ingredients, but rich in nutrients.
The dough was passed with extreme skill under “al fer”, “the iron” for passatelli, from which a sort of large irregular spaghetti is obtained to be cooked immediately in the boiling broth.
Cooking is fast … a few minutes so as not to lose the soft but compact consistency that characterizes them.
The “iron for passatelli“, today is not easy to find. It can be replaced with a potato masher.
In the past, Passatelli were the dish on Easter Sunday or on holidays, (since Parmigiano Reggiano cheese was a real luxury back in time), when the family was reunited, served strictly in broth.
Today they are also popular with a variety of sauces, for example at the beach, on the Adriatic Coast it’s normally served with a seafood sauce.
Let’s make them together! A very simple procedure, but with such a delicious result … you will be thrilled.
Buon Appetito
INGREDIENTS
80g grind breadcrumbs
80g grind parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2eggs
2tablespoons of flour
½ grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
PREPARATION
In a bowl beat the eggs, add and mix the breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, flour, salt and nutmeg. Knead well for a few minutes letting all the ingredients combine and stick together
Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap, leave to rest in the fridge for about an hour. Use a potato masher, only with large holes.
Place the portion of raw pasta inside the potato masher and the passatelli will come out.
Drop the passatelli directly in boiling broth, on the fire, (or water if you prefer using another sauce, for example, seafood sauce) and let cook until they rise to the top.
As soon as the passatelli rise to the surface, remove from the heat and serve steaming. Never leave the surfaced passatelli to boil, in a very short time they will melt and disperse in the broth.
If you are a food lover and want to discover all the secrets of the ancient recipes of the Emilia Romagna region, this is the right place: come and cook with us!
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