Passatelli Romagnoli in Brodo: Traditional Italian Pasta from Romagna

Passatelli.

For many people in Romagna, just hearing this word is enough to make an irresistible craving appear.

They are a traditional Romagnolo first course, quite famous throughout Italy, although there are still people who have never eaten them or even heard of them. Children love them, adults love them, and when a steaming bowl arrives at the table, it feels like a little celebration.

They are especially comforting in winter, but true Romagnoli have absolutely no problem eating a steaming bowl of passatelli even in August.

Passatelli are also a wonderful example of how humble ingredients can become something truly special. Traditionally, breadcrumbs made from stale bread and leftover hard cheese were transformed into a rich and satisfying Sunday dish.

They are usually served in meat broth, although nowadays you will also find passatelli served "dry" in restaurants, with all sorts of creative sauces and toppings.

Making passatelli at home

There is a traditional tool specifically designed for making passatelli. It is particularly common in Romagna and the nearby Pesaro-Urbino area and can be surprisingly difficult to find elsewhere.

Today, of course, the internet makes almost everything available.

But there is another tool that works beautifully: a potato ricer with large holes.

I actually find it easier to use. With the traditional passatelli tool, the strands are prepared first and collected on a plate or tray before being transferred to the boiling broth. With a potato ricer, you can squeeze the dough directly over the pot, cutting the passatelli to the length you prefer with a knife.

There is one small problem: the dough is quite firm and squeezing it takes a little strength.

In my husband's family, this was an official job. My mother-in-law would call my husband to the kitchen at exactly the right moment and put him in charge of squeezing the passatelli.

From a Romagnolo point of view, these are responsibilities and recognitions, not something to laugh about!

Don't worry if you don't have strong arms available, though. Just put a small amount of dough into the ricer at a time and anyone can do it.

Now, let's make passatelli.

Passatelli Romagnoli in Brodo

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Resting time: While the broth is prepared
Cooking time: 3–4 hours for the broth + 2 minutes for the passatelli

Ingredients

For the passatelli

• 150 g grated Parmesan cheese

• 150 g breadcrumbs, made from fat-free stale bread

• 3 eggs

• Zest of ½ lemon

• A generous grating of nutmeg

For the meat broth

• 3 litres cold water

• 1 peeled onion

• 2 carrots, trimmed

• 1 celery stalk

• ½ hen or chicken, with the skin

• 500 g beef, such as beef ribs or ossobuco

• 1 generous pinch of coarse salt

Method

1. Mix the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, eggs, lemon zest and nutmeg until you have a firm but not excessively hard dough.

2. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator.

3. Prepare the broth well in advance. Put the water, onion, carrots, celery, chicken, beef and salt into a large pot.

4. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 3–4 hours. Remove any foam from the surface with a skimmer if necessary.

5. When the broth is ready, strain it through a very fine-mesh strainer directly into the pot you will use to cook the passatelli.

6. Bring the strained broth back to a boil.

7. Put some of the dough into a potato ricer fitted with large holes. Squeeze the dough directly over the boiling broth, cutting the strands with a knife when they reach the length you prefer.

8. Continue until all the dough has been used.

9. Cook the passatelli for about 2 minutes, then serve immediately, piping hot.

Notes

The breadcrumbs are very important.

Traditionally, bakers and grocersin Romagna sell breadcrumbs specifically for making passatelli. Outside Romagna, however, you can make your own.

The bread should be completely free of added fat. This means that most ready-made breadcrumbs from the supermarket are not suitable.

You can use stale bread, such as a simple Tuscan-style loaf, and reduce it to fine crumbs in a food processor. Alternatively, ask your trusted baker for suitable breadcrumbs.

If the bread contains too much fat, the passatelli may fall apart while cooking and you will end up with something closer to an egg-drop soup than passatelli.

As for the broth, you can certainly skim off the fat by cooling it until the fat solidifies on the surface and then removing it.

But be warned: any Romagnolo sitting at your table may consider this an unforgivable offence.

You've been warned.