Tortelli/Cappellacci

Tortelli (‘little cakes’) resemble fortune cookies, and are also called cappellacci (‘little hats’). A square of pasta is stuffed and folded diagonally to make a triangle (or a circle to make a semicircle), the two longer arms twisted to meet together, and the broader point folded up to make a pleat around the bulge of filling, which acts as a trap for sauce. The form is particularly popular in Emilia-Romagna, along with tortelloni (larger ones) and tortellini (tiny ones), but the two most distinctive fillings come from Lombardy. Tortelli Cremaschi (tortelli in the Cremona manner) are filled with amaretti, raisins, candied citron, nutmeg, Parmesan and sometimes a little mint or cocoa. The second classic is cappellacci di zucca, equally famous in Modena (Lombardy) and Ferrara (Emilia-Romagna), with the version from Mantua being made in a different shape more similar to caramelle. As with the Cremonese recipe, it blurs the boundary between sweet and savoury in a delightful manner when well-executed, sickly when not.