Description
It’s fall now in Milan, a time when heartier fare is what’s called for. Root vegetables, sweet onions, heavier pasta and a bit of meat with a depth of flavor created by cooking for many hours over low heat. Save this one to create on a drizzly Sunday with a loved one. Pair with a Brunello.
Ingredients
Scale
- Cappelletti Pasta Dough
- 6 cups plus 2 tablespoons “00” flour
- 1 ½ cups Semola flour
- 11 medium eggs
- Salt to taste
- Genovese-style Pork Filling
- 4.5 pounds meaty pork ribs
- 4 or 5 medium yellow onions (each about size of an apple)
- Salt to taste
- Smoked Provola Cheese Sauce
- 8 ounces grated (sliced or cubed Smoked provola cheese (may substitute smoked provolone))
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Butter for glazing pasta
Instructions
- Cappelletti Pasta
- You could certainly make this the traditional way on a board, by sifting the two flours together, and creating a well for the eggs in the center, mixing and kneading by hand.
- Or use your mixer with dough hook and pasta maker.
- If your kitchen is warm, let dough rest in the fridge.
- Drop the “00” flour, the Semola flour and the eggs in a bowl and mix them for 5
- minutes, then add the salt and keep mixing the ingredients for 20 minutes.
- Once the dough is ready, let it rest for at least 1 hour.
- Genovese Filling
- Trim and cut the pork ribs into smaller pieces and cook them in the oven for 10 minutes at 180°C (356°F).
- Then drain fat and remove ribs to a large pot on top of stove.
- Add salt and pepper and heat them in a with extra virgin olive oil on low temperature.
- Julienne the yellow onions and add to the large pot with the cooked pork ribs and extra virgin olive oil.
- Cook sauce for at least for 5 hours on very low heat.
- Once it’s ready, separate the pork ribs from the onions and shred the meat while
- being careful to remove and discard the little bones.
- After that, blend back in the the onions and adjust salt to taste.
- Set aside.
- Smoked Provola Cheese Sauce
- Method:
- Melt the smoked provola cheese with the cream in a bain-maire.
- Pasta
- Roll out the dough thin, and cut out circle shapes that are 2 inches in diameter.
- Place a teaspoon of the onion/ribs mixture as a filling in the center of each circle.
- Moisten the edges of the circle lightly with a little water, using your finger.
- Fold the circles in half to form a half-moon shape.
- Press down with your fingers along edges to seal.
- Next fold the two sharp edges together and overlap one over the other slightly squeeze them together to adhere together forming a little pointed cap, the classic cappelletti shape.
- When the water is boiling, salt it generously and cook the cappelletti for 5
- minutes.
- After melting some butter in a sauce pan, sauté the pasta with the butter to glaze it, and in the meantime, heat the remainder of the pork ribs.
- To assemble the dish:
- Place a long strip of warmed pork ribs mixture on plate.
- Place a line of the cappelletti on top the meat, and spoon the smoked provola cheese fondue alongside on the plate or present on the side in a ramekin.
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Genovese