Casoncelli alla Bergamasca

Casoncelli (also casonsèi in Bergamasque dialect) are the filled pasta of Bergamo — large, crescent-shaped parcels with a filling that defies categorisation, combining minced beef or pork, breadcrumbs soaked in broth, Parmigiano-Reggiano, raisins, crushed amaretti biscuits, garlic, parsley, and sometimes pear or quince. This sweet-savoury-meaty-fruity filling is distinctly Bergamasque and reflects the same medieval taste for combined flavours seen in Mantua's tortelli di zucca. The pasta wrapper is standard egg sfoglia, rolled thin. Each casoncello is formed by cutting large circles (7-8cm), placing a generous amount of filling off-centre, folding into a half-moon, and creating a decorative pleated edge by pressing and folding the sealed rim. They are traditionally served with burro fuso, sage, and pancetta crisps — the pancetta rendered until crunchy, the sage fried in the pork fat, and the whole spooned over the cooked casoncelli with a generous grating of Parmigiano. The pancetta crunch, sage perfume, and the complex filling create a layered eating experience that is one of Lombardy's great hidden pleasures. Casoncelli are less known outside Bergamo than their Emilian cousins, but they represent one of the most technically interesting filled pastas in the Italian canon — the filling's combination of meat, fruit, and biscuit is unique.