P
Italian · Carnia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Cjarsòns di Carnia
Carnia's extraordinary stuffed pasta — perhaps the most complex filling in the Italian canon: a sweet-savoury-spiced mixture of ricotta, cooked spinach, raisins, pine nuts, candied citrus peel, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, and smoked ricotta affumicata, encased in a simple semola-and-water dough half-moon, boiled and dressed with browned butter, smoked ricotta, and a drizzle of elderflower vinegar. Every village in Carnia has its own version — the filling can include up to 25 ingredients. Named from the Friulian 'cialzòns' (literally 'little trouser'), the pasta's shape resembling old-fashioned breeches.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the dough
300 g
semola rimacinata (fine durum semolina)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 ml
water
warm
Your own market
1 tsp
fine salt
Your own market
For the filling
250 g
ricotta
well-drained
Your own market
150 g
spinach
cooked, squeezed dry, finely chopped
Your own market
40 g
raisins
soaked in warm water, drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
pine nuts
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
candied citrus peel
finely chopped
Origin · United StatesNot yet stocked in British Columbia
20 g
dark chocolate
finely grated
Your own market
50 g
ricotta affumicata (smoked ricotta)
finely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
ground cinnamon
Your own market
¼ tsp
freshly grated nutmeg
Your own market
For the dressing
120 g
unsalted butter
Your own market
60 g
ricotta affumicata (smoked ricotta)
finely grated, to finish
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
elderflower vinegar (aceto di sambuco)
or elderflower syrup reduced by half with white wine vinegar; or a drop of balsamic diluted with white wine vinegar
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Combine the semola and salt in a bowl. Add the warm water gradually, mixing until a firm, cohesive dough forms. Turn onto a work surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap tightly and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. The dough is ready when it springs back slowly under a fingertip.
2
Combine the drained ricotta, chopped spinach, raisins, pine nuts, candied citrus peel, grated chocolate, grated ricotta affumicata, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix thoroughly until uniform. Taste: the filling must read as savoury and complex, with the chocolate, raisin, and cinnamon present but not dominant — the ricotta and spinach must hold the ground. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight, before using.
3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Roll the rested dough to 2 mm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut rounds of approximately 8 cm diameter. Place a scant teaspoon of filling at the centre of each round. Fold the dough over to form a half-moon, pressing firmly from the centre outward to expel all air. Seal the edge by pinching hard between thumb and forefinger with no gaps. A correctly sealed cjarsòn holds its shape under gentle pressure without any filling visible at the seam.
4
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a full rolling boil. Lower the cjarsòns in batches — do not crowd. Cook until the pasta is just tender and the edges are set but the pasta has not begun to tear, approximately 3–4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and hold briefly on a warm plate.
5
Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling regularly, until the milk solids turn a deep golden brown and the kitchen carries a distinct hazelnut scent. Remove from heat immediately — the butter must not pass from hazelnut-brown to acrid. Pour over the cooked cjarsòns.
6
Divide the cjarsòns among warmed plates. Spoon the browned butter over each portion. Grate ricotta affumicata generously over the top and finish with a single drizzle of elderflower vinegar. Serve at once — the dish is complete when the smoke of the grated ricotta rises with the warmth of the butter.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Ricotta di malga from a Carnic mountain dairy, ricotta affumicata aged and smoked over local wood, organic spinach, and aceto di sambuco from a Friulian producer — the filling made 24 hours ahead.
02
Estate — Good Italian ricotta well-drained overnight, imported ricotta affumicata, hand-picked spinach, and elderflower vinegar made by reduction from quality elderflower syrup and white wine vinegar.
03
Market — Fresh supermarket ricotta pressed dry in a cloth, the best available smoked ricotta, frozen spinach squeezed thoroughly, and balsamic diluted with white wine vinegar as directed by the entry.
04
House — Standard ricotta with excess whey pressed out, a light smoked cheese grated fine in the absence of ricotta affumicata, frozen spinach, and white wine vinegar alone — the dish is diminished but coherent.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The rested dough springs back slowly and evenly under a fingertip — neither sticky nor cracking at the fold.
◇Taste. The raw filling reads savoury first, then complex — chocolate and cinnamon register without sweetness dominating; ricotta and spinach are the ground note.
◇Touch. Each sealed cjarsòn holds its half-moon shape under gentle thumb pressure with no filling visible at the seam and no air pocket felt beneath the surface.
◇Sight. The cooking pasta holds its sealed edge intact and the dough turns from opaque to just translucent at the thickest fold — it is done before any tear appears.
◇Smell. The browning butter shifts from cream to hazelnut-scented noisette — remove from heat at the first clear hazelnut note before any sharpness enters.
◇Where it lives or dies. The cjarsòn must be sealed with absolute completeness — no air pocket, no gap — because the sweet filling expands with heat and a single breach releases it into the cooking water, destroying both the pasta and the pot.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
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