Stuffed Pasta: Tortellini and Cappelletti

Sauté the pork loin briefly over medium heat until just cooked through. Allow to cool completely. Combine the cooled pork, prosciutto di Parma, and mortadella and grind them together to a smooth paste — no chunks are permissible. Work in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano, egg yolks, and freshly grated nutmeg. The filling is ready when it holds a sphere no larger than a hazelnut and the texture is fine enough to compress cleanly without crumbling.

Make the pasta dough from the flour and eggs and rest it, covered, for 30 minutes. Working one small section at a time — keeping the remainder covered — roll the dough to the second-to-last machine setting, or hand-roll to near-translucency. Cut immediately into 3–4 cm squares; the dough dries within minutes and will not seal cleanly once dry. Hold one square to the light: the pasta is sufficiently thin when the shadow of your hand is visible through it. If it is opaque, it is too thick.

Place a filling ball — hazelnut-sized — slightly off-centre on each square, keeping the filling at least 3 mm from every edge. No filling may touch the edge. Moisten the pasta edges with a fingertip dampened with water immediately before pressing — the moisture activates the dough's starch to strengthen the bond. Fold the square corner-to-corner to form a triangle. Press firmly from the filling outward, expelling all air, until the two layers feel like a single bonded sheet rather than two separate ones. This is where the dish lives or dies: press each sealed edge gently between thumb and index finger — there must be no give, no movement, no separation. Any tortellino that yields at the seal will open in the cooking water; re-seal it immediately or discard it.

Wrap the sealed triangle around the tip of the index finger with the pointed tip uppermost. Bring the two base corners around the finger and press them firmly together to form the characteristic ring. The join at the base must be as firm as the original triangle seal.

Bring the brodo to a steady, rolling simmer in a pot large enough for the tortellini to swim freely without crowding — insufficient liquid causes sticking and breaking. Lower the tortellini into the broth. From the moment they float, cook for 3–5 minutes. The brodo must remain clear throughout. A broth that clouds with filling particles is a visible sign of seal failure.

Ladle the tortellini into warmed bowls with an ample measure of the clear brodo. The pasta must be served immediately in the broth — not drained, not sauced. The dish is ready when the broth is clear and the pasta at the sealed edges is as tender as at the thinner, unfilled sections.