I need this Italian recipe!

[jkath]

We went to a FABULOUS italian restaurant recently and my meal was to die for! (We liked it so much, we came back the next evening!)
It was called "Beef Tortelloni Di Carne" and was homemade pasta filled with beef (pate consistency), in an amazing cream sauce with mushrooms, peas and prosciutto ham.

Any suggestions?

 

[Andy M.]

I've actually had some success asking for the recipe. Sometimes ou just get lucky.

 

[TheHummer]

I might be off the mark, seeing as my understanding of Italian is non-existant, but I do have this recipe for Meat Stuffing which I think is Ripieno di Carne, I have used it in Ravioli but as the recipe says it is suitable for stuffing any fresh pasta, so Tortelloni should be possible.

2 Tbs butter
1/4 lb lean ground veal
1/4 lb pork ground loin or fillet
1/4 lb lean ground beef
1 cup red wine, strong and dry
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
1/8 lb prosciutto
1/8 lb mortadella
2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
6 Tbs Parmigiano
1 egg
salt
pepper

1 Brown the butter in a large casserole with a heavy bottom with the finely chopped fat part of prosciutto. Add the meat, let brown, and then add wine, the clove of garlic, the bay leaf, and a little salt. Cover and cook on a very low heat for about 3 hours (it should not boil). Stir occasionally while cooking. If necessary, add spoonfuls of boiling broth or water. The sauce should be quite concentrated and the meat well cooked.
2 Drain the mixture and grind it in a food mill along with mortadella and the lean part of prosciutto. Strain the leftover liquid and use to moisten the breadcrumbs. Without squeezing them, add to the meat mixture. Add egg, Parmigiano, a pinch of freshly ground pepper and salt according to taste and mix well (the best way is by hand). The stuffing is now ready.
3 The stuffing will be more flavorful and easier to handle if allowed to stand in a cool place, covered, for a few hours.

This stuffing suits all fresh stuffed pasta, particularly for the small-size types. Pasta with this filling may be served in broth, with tomato or beef ragù, or with just butter and Parmigiano.

 

[jkath]

Whoa, Hummer! That sounds fantastic!

anyone willing to post a "knock-your-socks-off-sauce" now?

 

[Darkstream]

Jkath,

While TheHummer’s recipe is a good approximation/version of a cappelletti Bolognese filling and has every appearance of being delicious in it’s own right, I do not think that that is what you had.

From the little information you are able to give, I would guess that it is principally a beef tortellini, and that judging from the language, “beef tortelloni of meat”, that this is probably a family run Italian restaurant, i.e. you are getting home recipes.

I would therefore guess that what you have had is a home made take on the famous anolini di Parma. It is made from a rich beef and pork (sweet Italian) sausage carbonade which is then allowed to get cold, minced, and used to stuff the ravioli.

The carbonade is called Stracotto (I am making it tonight with homemade Italian sausage, low fat of course).

Before attempting this confection, familiarise yourself with my posts regarding the fabrication of ravioli etc. in the pasta section. I give below the recipe which appears in Elizabeth David’s “Italian Food”.

1. The Stracotto

1 pound of beef in one piece, 3 ounces of sweet Italian sausage/luganaga, (but NOT one containing fennel which will dominate the flavour), (or if you cannot get one, then some fresh pork, minced and made up into meatballs with a little salt, pepper and mace), one carrot, one onion, a stick of celery, 3 ounces of white wine, a cup of beef broth, a tablespoon of tomato puree, 2 cloves.

Brown the meat in butter, and then the vegetables chopped. Cook for 10 minutes slowly, add the wine, tomato paste, and mix in and reduce, add the broth and cloves, salt and pepper.

Cover the casserole with a piece of greaseproof paper, place the lid on it and cook slowly for a few hours (3-5 if you can). It is ready when the beef can be cut with a spoon, and the sauce is thick.

You can of course eat it as a main meal. The smart thing to do is to make 50 to 100% more so you have a meal one day, and anolini from it later.

2. The Anolini

Let the Stracotto get cold and keep it for a day in the fridge (the flavours develop even more).

3 ounces of bread crumbs, 2 ounces of parmesan, (2 eggs but I never use them), nutmeg.

Mince the stracotto twice (now you see why it is a paste, eh?). Mix in the breadcrumbs, parmesan, nutmeg (and eggs).

Make your pasta dough and get stuffing.

Serve them as you like, or go the whole hog:

Pasticcio di Anolini

Line a deep dish pie plate with a sweet/biscuit pastry. Fill with cooked anolini (and cream and mushroom sauce), put on the lid, seal and bake. But make sure your life insurance is up to date first.

Bon apetito,

 

[lindatooo]

I really need to get a cover for my keyboard because I drool so much when I read these posts!

I checked my Marcella Hazan cookbook and didn't find anything close.

 

[jkath]

Darkstream.......I think you've got it! Wow!Wow!
thank you so very much!!!

 

[jkath]

I was going to go to pf chang's last night, but due to nooooooo reservations available, we went back to the italian place - and of course, after this thread, I got the tortelloni dish again - (*angels singing*)
I really think I tasted a cinnamon in it too...but not the typical cinnamon I'm used to. Then I wondered if it was like the difference I was reading in a post (was it ishbel?) talking about the difference between real cinnamon and cassis. Anyway, it was marvelous again.

 

[lindatooo]

jkath...I see an addiction forming....take great care!


That recipe looked wonderful Darkstream - I may have to do that myself!


2

 

[Darkstream]

Cinnamon? Or could it have been a hint of cloves which are traditional?

Cinnamon is normally associated only with Venetian cooking (at least in meat dishes, and principally with lamb).

Cassis is the blackcurrant cordial that the french mix with white wine for a summer drink.

Cassia is a cinnamon tasting bark. It is more pungent and pronounced than true cinnamon (which is the stuff that looks like a rolled up parchment). Cassia is what is invariably sold in Indian spice shops as cinnamon, and is what normally counts in the US, particularly in chocolate flavourings, as cinnamon.

Personally, I prefer it to true cinnamon which I find a bit insipid in comparison. But that is probably because I mostly use it in curry.

You should really have a go at the anolini. They are not any more difficult to make than other ravioili which require a cooked filling. You just need to plan a bit in advance.

My Stracotto last night was delicious!

.

 

[norgeskog]

jkath, google it using the name of the restaurant. Oftentimes there are imitation recipes. That is how I found a great recipe from Olive Garden which I make regularly.