Pork and Prosciutto Tortellini

Recipe notes

The envelope fold

After you pass the dough through the widest setting, fold it in thirds like a letter, press it flat with your hands and pass it through on the same setting again. This envelope fold strengthens the gluten network and gives you a more even, silky sheet. I do this a couple of times before stepping down through the settings. Don’t rush the stepping down process. Each pass thins the dough gradually and gives it time to stretch without tearing.

Filling the tortellini

It’s tempting to load up each square but overfilling makes the tortellini almost impossible to seal properly, and they’ll burst during cooking. A heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre of each 50mm square is the right amount. Make sure there’s a clear border of pasta around the filling for the seal to hold. Wet the edges with a little water using your fingertip just before you fold.

Tortellini fold

The tortellini fold has a few steps and it can feel awkward on the first few you make. Fold the square diagonally into a triangle, press the edges to seal, then curl the two base corners around your finger and press them together. Don’t worry if the first few looks rough, you will improve with each one... and they’ll still taste exactly the same. Also, folding the tortellini in batches will prevent them from drying out too much before sealing them. 

Your sauce

Brown butter goes from perfect to burnt very quickly. Once the butter melts and the foam starts to subside, you’ll see the milk solids begin to turn golden on the bottom of the pan. That’s the moment to add the sage. The residual heat from the pasta will continue cooking the butter, so pull it off the heat a little earlier than you think you need to.

Serve immediately

Fresh pasta in brown butter should always be served straight away. Once you toss the tortellini in the butter and sage, get it straight onto the plate. The pasta absorbs the butter fast and the sauce disappears if it sits too long. Finish with a few extra sage leaves from the pan, a grating of Parmesan and some cracked black pepper for an extra touch.

Storage

Cooked tortellini in butter sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. Uncooked, filled tortellini can be refrigerated uncovered on a semolina-dusted tray for up to 24 hours before cooking. To freeze, lay them out on a tray to freeze individually before transferring to a freezer bag. They’ll keep frozen for up to 3 months and can be cooked from frozen, straight into boiling salted water.

Ingredient notes

Prosciutto and mortadella:

I always use a quality prosciutto from the deli if you can access it, as I prefer freshly sliced versions. If not, pre-sliced will still be fine. A good prosciutto brings a clean, salty, slightly sweet depth to the filling.

Pork mince:

You can use some chopped pork loin in the filling rather than mince. There are versions that cook the mince before processing with the other meats which also works.

00 flour:

Tipo 00 flour is finely milled soft wheat flour and it’s what you want for fresh pasta. The low protein content means the dough rolls beautifully thin without tearing. You can use plain (all-purpose) flour in a pinch but you’ll find the dough a little stiffer and harder to work with, especially on the final thin settings of the pasta machine.

Butter:

This is a brown butter sauce, so the quality and fat content of your butter genuinely matters. I use a good European-style butter with a higher fat percentage, which gives you more flavour and a better colour when it browns. Watch it closely once it starts foaming. You want it golden and nutty, not dark and bitter.