Carnia, Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Cjalsòns di Carnia are the most complex stuffed pasta in Italy: half-moon ravioli filled with a mixture of potatoes, raisins, chocolate, cinnamon, smoked ricotta, and sometimes a drop of grappa — a sweet-savoury-spiced filling that is simultaneously jarring and extraordinary. The pasta is served with browned butter and smoked ricotta. The filing reflects the medieval tradition of spiced meat pies in Carnia, and the sweet-savoury combination is a relic of Renaissance court cuisine preserved in the alpine valleys long after it vanished from the plains.
Half-moon pasta encasing a filling of potato, raisins, chocolate, and cinnamon — the strangest and most extraordinary stuffed pasta in Italy, a medieval sweet-savoury complexity preserved in the Alps
{"Filling components: mashed potato (the base), raisins (soaked in grappa), bitter chocolate (grated), cinnamon, smoked ricotta, salt","The filling must be cold before using — warm filling breaks the pasta seal","Pasta dough: 00 flour and eggs (standard egg pasta), rolled to setting 5","Half-moon shape (like a calzone), sealed firmly — the filling expands from the sweet components","Served with only brown butter and abundant smoked ricotta: no other sauce (it would obscure the filling)"}
{"Each family in Carnia has a slightly different cjalsòns recipe — the combination of sweet and savoury elements varies","The smoked ricotta (ricotta affumicata di Carnia) grated abundantly on top is the defining garnish","Cjalsòns are a celebration pasta — made at Easter, Christmas, and for feasts; the filling takes hours"}
{"Over-filling — the sweet components expand in the heat and cause the pasta to burst","Omitting the chocolate — its bitterness balances the raisin sweetness; without it the filling is unbalanced","Any sauce other than brown butter — the complex filling requires neutral butter to let it speak"}
La Cucina Friulana — Gianni Cosetti