How to Make a Giant Homemade Tortellone (Fresh Pasta Tips)

Yesterday I made fresh pasta again, with the formula I explained of 1 "etto" (100 grams) of flour per egg — making your own fresh pasta is addictive. Here is the other post, with the explanations.

I have to say I'm improving my pasta-making process. I've learned a few tricks by watching YouTube videos and reading websites.

Two things we could call tricks that I tried this time, and that really work (they make the process easier), are the following:

1) Once the dough has been kneaded for a good while (no less than 10 minutes), it's good to let it rest as a ball, wrapped in cling film, for about 20 minutes. This makes the dough more stable, helps the egg blend better into the flour and makes it more elastic, so it's easier to roll out.

2) Another trick: to stop the dough sticking to the work surface, it's better to use rice flour than the wheat flour the pasta is made with. It also makes it much easier to cut the pasta into thin strips by folding it — but maybe I'll show you that in photos another day.

I made tagliatelle again, but I had an offcut of dough left over and, as an experiment, made a tortellone — not several, just one very big one. I first tried these giant tortellini in Italy, in Parma to be precise, about 12 years ago. I think there were three on the plate they served me, and I was very surprised.

I made the tortellone from a 14 cm square — I probably overdid the size. I know the exact size because I used a ruler. Place the filling in the middle and close it into a triangle. Try not to leave any air inside the tortellone by pressing with your fingers (this is probably the hardest part of the process). Once the triangle is formed, press so it's well sealed — you can moisten the surface of the pasta with a little water first so it sticks better. Then fold upwards and outwards at the same time, achieving this marvellous shape — see the photo.

I filled it with mozzarella and cooked ham, since that's what was in the fridge. It was good enough, but when the pasta is this good, it's best with a little butter and not much else.

The photo with this post shows the tortellone I made, before boiling it. I chose this photo because after boiling it lost its shape a little (some air had stayed inside and it deflated as it cooked) — let's say I like this photo much better.

You'll say I'm showing off, but it's a beautiful tortellone — it looks like a Calatrava sculpture (the architect, of course).

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