Tortellini

Tortellini are small rings of fresh egg pasta with a meat filling, the emblem of Bologna's cooking. The Dotta Confraternita del Tortellino has deposited their recipe by notarial deed: a sheet cut into 3 cm squares, a filling of pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella and Parmigiano, a finished weight of 5 g, and service in broth. ¹⁹

The deposited recipe. On 7 December 1974, with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, the Confraternita filed the authentic filling of the Bologna tortellino and fixed the broth: beef and free-range hen only; the prefect and mayor Renato Zangheri signed as witnesses. ¹ On 15 April 2008 it deposited at the Chamber of Commerce the shape, filling, sheet thickness and the 5 g weight. ¹

Dough and filling. For about 1,000 tortellini the dough takes 1 kg of flour and 10 eggs; the filling 300 g of pork loin browned in butter, 300 g of prosciutto crudo, 300 g of mortadella di Bologna, 450 g of Parmigiano Reggiano, 3 eggs and nutmeg. ¹ The loin rests two days under salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic, then cooks slowly; everything is minced, kneaded and left for 24 hours before filling. ¹ Many families prefer a raw filling, the Confraternita notes. ¹

The broth. In October 2026 the Confraternita deposited the broth recipe as well, completing filling, pasta and broth. ² For 2.5 kg of tortellini it uses half a capon at least five months old, 1 kg of beef, a beef femur bone, 30 g of coarse salt, an onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, half a tomato and a crust of Parmigiano Reggiano aged 24 months. ¹

Legends and history. A late-19th-century burlesque by Giuseppe Ceri set the tortellino's birth in Castelfranco Emilia, halfway between Bologna and Modena, where an innkeeper copied the navel of Venus; the Confraternita calls it a game with no documents behind it. ³ Real records begin with «tortelli» in a parchment of 1112, and in Bologna in 1289 a student was arrested for going out at night to buy «tortellos». ³

Cream and baked tortellini. The Confraternita insists tortellini belong in broth: with cream, it says, it must be skimmed from fresh milk, because industrial cream smothers the filling. ¹ The Accademia's «pasticcio» for 4 bakes 350 g of tortellini cooked al dente in broth, layered with 200 g of ragù, 60 g each of butter and parmigiano, in shortcrust pastry for about 40 minutes at 180 °C. ⁴

Shop-bought tortellini. Divella's fresh meat tortellini cook in 3 minutes and give 265 kcal, 11.2 g of protein and 1.8 g of salt per 100 g; its prosciutto crudo ones take 6 minutes and give 324 kcal. ⁵⁶ Tortellini contain wheat and egg, and the Parmigiano in the filling adds milk: all three are allergens that EU labels must highlight. ⁸¹

Tortellini vs tortelloni, cappelletti and ravioli. The Confraternita maps the Via Emilia as the road of «twisted» filled pasta: anolini in Piacenza and Parma, herb tortelli and meat cappelletti in Reggio Emilia, tortellini from Modena to Bologna, cheese cappelletti in Forlì and squash cappellacci in Ferrara. ¹² Italy's list of traditional foods keeps «Tortellini di Bologna», tortelloni and three kinds of cappelletti as separate products. ⁷ Tortellini are the smallest: 5 g each. ¹

Why it matters to you. For the Bologna classic, fill 3 cm squares of thin egg dough with loin, prosciutto, mortadella and Parmigiano, and cook them in a beef and capon broth. ¹ Shop-bought fresh tortellini need only 3 to 6 minutes. ⁵⁶ Check the label for wheat, egg and milk. ⁸