Cappelletti

Cappelletti are a type of filled egg pasta shaped like small tricorn hats or, more poetically, like Venus's navel. The filling (batù) is usually made of pork, chicken, salami, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg, although variations and additions are not uncommon. They are traditionally cooked (and served) in capon broth, but the modern and, for many Ferrara natives, “blasphemous” practice of draining them from the broth and dressing them with cream is also widespread. The origin of this type of filled pasta has always been disputed between Ferrara, Modena and Bologna, but in favour of the Ferrara theory, we have Cristoforo da Messisbugo's book “Banchetti composizioni di vivande e apparecchio generale” (Banquets, food compositions and general table setting), published posthumously in 1549, which includes the recipe for “Tortelletti grassi d'altra sorte” (Fatty tortelletti of another kind) with a filling very similar to that of today's cappelletti.