Tortellini
tortellinisay tor-teh-LEE-nee
Venus's navel, swimming in capon broth.
LDDated text, with a legend attachedFamily D · Mediterranean filled pasta
- Region
- Italy
- First record
- 1650 · Renaissance & print
- Fold
- Ring
- Cooked
- Boiled, in soup
- Wrapper
- Wheat doughNavel ring
- Filling
- Pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella, Parmigiano
- Cooked
- Boiled, in soup
- Size
- About 2 cm across
Tastes of
- mortadella
- prosciutto
- Parmigiano
- capon broth
Texture
- delicate
Field notes
Story
Tiny navel-shaped pasta filled with pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella and Parmigiano. The official filling recipe was deposited at Bologna's Chamber of Commerce in 1974.
- How to eat it
- In brodo, never with heavy sauce (by Bolognese custom).
- When
- Christmas Day.
History
The Dotta Confraternita del Tortellino lodged the filling recipe with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on 7 December 1974, and the full "Tortellini di Bologna" recipe followed on 15 April 2008 (Bologna Welcome).
Did you know Legend says an innkeeper shaped them after glimpsing Venus's navel through a keyhole.
Where
From Bologna/Modena.
Pin · Bologna (Bologna–Modena area)
- OriginBologna · Emilia · Italians
- Claimed originModena/Castelfranco Emilia · Emilia
Evidence
Fairly sure. A dated text records it by 1650. Part of its origin story is legend.
The grade comes from the project's source report and has not yet been checked source by source. How grading works.
First record Scappi, Opera, 1570, 'tortelletti' (D); Tanara mid-17th c.; Venus's navel story is L
This entry is drawn from the World Dumpling Atlas, §6.17, the project's source report. Its grade, D dated text, says how far that has been checked against a primary source.
The tagline and story are editorial; facts trace to the atlas research.
Family D
Kin
More mediterranean filled pasta
