Grandma’s Italian Pork-Filled Tortellini

Instructions

1. MEAT FILLING: Take the diced veal and pork, season with salt and pepper, and sauté on medium heat with the butter until cooked. Transfer to your food processor. Process the meats until it starts to break up and get crumbly. Add the prosciutto and mortadella, and pulse again. Add the Parmesan, egg, nutmeg and pepper. Blend thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and soft. Taste for salt and add only if it needs it. The prosciutto, mortadella and parmesan are already a bit salty, so you might not end up needing any additional salt.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.
3. PASTA DOUGH: Put the flour, eggs and extra virgin olive oil into your food processor. Slow blend until it starts to form a ball. Add a little ice water and blend again until a dough has formed into a ball. Remove the dough to a floured work surface. Knead the dough, press down in the middle, fold over and knead again. Keep repeating this process until it is smooth and totally incorporated. The dough should spring back when you poke it with your finger. Wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax. This will give you a more tender finished product.
4. After the down has rested, take your knife or bench scraper and cut the dough into fourths. Leave one on your work surface and re-wrap the remaining 3 pieces so they won't dry out. This will allow you time to work with a more controlled amount. Flatten out the dough with your hand until it is thin enough to fit into the largest setting on your pasta maker. This is most likely #7 on your pasta maker's roller settings. Pass it through once, fold it in half and pass it through again. After 2 passes, reduce the width size on the pasta roller and pass the pasta through two more times at this setting, continue doing that until you've reduced the roller to the #3 setting and completed the 2 pass throughs at the final setting.
5. Lay the pasta sheet out on your floured work surface. With a pastry wheel cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the pasta into 1 1/2" squares. Fill each square with a small amount of the meat filling
6. Using your finger or a small pastry brush, brush 1/2 of the inside edge of the square with the egg wash. Starting with one of the points, fold the pasta over the meat to form a triangle. Press the edges together firmly to seal. Take the top of the triangle, and fold down backwards. Take a little egg wash, and dab one of the remaining points. Gently press the other to overlap the other point and press together. Lay a towel out on a flat surface and spread out the finished tortellini on top to rest while assembling the rest.
7. Continue to roll out each section of the pasta one at a time, cut and assemble.
8. Salt a large pot of rapidly boiling water. Gently place the tortellini into the water and cook for 2 minutes or until they float to the surface. Gently remove them and serve with your favorite pasta sauce or brodo (broth).
9. Feel free to freeze any remaining tortellini... They freeze very well as long as they are well wrapped.

• Servings : 8
• Recipe Type : Dinner