Meet Catherine – a wonderful travel blogger and a huge fan of Italy. We met at the last Tbex conference in Dublin and since then we are following one another activities. Naturally the stories focused on Italy are most interesting and the one of Catherine is totally awesome! I would say she experienced Italy with all her senses and her hands get very dirty along. This sort of first hand experience is really priceless. Read her story, follow her blog and enjoy her passion towards this amazing country! Hands-on in Emilia-Romagna One of the aspects of travel that I enjoy the most is the opportunity to step out of a normal routine and try new activities, especially those that introduce you to the people and the culture. At home, I don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen and there’s little time for crafts. So I was excited by the chance to delve into some cooking and creative activities while visiting the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Working side-by-side with wonderful people who take much pride in their traditions, I was delighted to take part in these hands-on experiences. Making fresh pasta, of course – this is Italy! Michele and Laura, owners of Pasta Fresca Laura in Santarcangelo, were kind to welcome us into the kitchen of their shop for a lively crash course in making pasta. The quarters were tight, generally used by just the two skilled professionals. It was very warm and humid in the kitchen, partly a result of the weather but also, we were told, for the optimal climate for pasta making. I put on an apron provided by Laura and set to work. Michele got me started with a flour volcano filled with water, mixing the dough by hand on the table. As you can see in the photo, I needed a little extra hands-on guidance in the proper way to combine them and then remove the excess from my hands. Under the guidance of Michele and Laura, my three companions and I made several kinds of pasta, including noodles (tagliatelle), ravioli-like tortelli, and cappelletti with close-to-professional results. They were patient as they demonstrated techniques, encouraging when mistakes were made, and enthusiastic with praise at every accomplishment. I can still hear Michele saying, “Brava, Catherine, Brava!” Later that evening, we sampled our handiwork at nearby Collina dei Poeti Winery where our pasta and accompanying sauces were prepared by a professional chef and paired with their wonderful wines. Bread making Among his many talents, Matteo Cameli of Al Vecchio Convento in Portico di Romagna is an excellent bread-maker and chef. Before we began our bread making, he got the outside wood-burning oven super hot with the fire. Working as a team, my companions and I diligently followed every instruction as we rolled our bundles of dough into loaves of country bread. As we went along, Matteo explained the process, including techniques for each step; information about the ingredients; the restaurant’s devotion to local sourcing and its benefits; and bread-making traditions. When the loaves were ready, Matteo cleaned out the ashes before we put the loaves into the hot oven. And below we have the finished product! We were really proud to have our delicious bread served that evening in the restaurant. Truffle hunting Emilia-Romagna is known for its truffles, both black and white. The extremely valuable white truffles are found in October which is when the village of Sant’Agata Feltria (note from editor: not that far from a place I visited recently: Brisighella) celebrates its annual truffle festival. But in June, we were happy to be on a hunt for black truffles in Portico di Romagna. Matteo and his dogs, Rex and Otto, did all the work, and it was fascinating to watch. I eagerly followed after the dogs as they sniffed about the tree trunks and was excited when they signaled that they had found the treasure. Holding the truffles in my hands, I enjoyed feeling their textures and smelling the earthy garlic-like scent. On the following morning, it was a treat to taste those delectable truffles as they were shaved onto our scrambled eggs. Harvesting grapes I’ve spent a bit of time in the vineyards of Northern California, but never tried my hand at picking grapes – something I’ve seen from a distance and envisioned to be hard physical work. Indeed, the work is physical, and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to get hands-on experience. I now really appreciate how much hard work goes into harvesting grapes by hand — a job that also requires knowledge, skill, and time. A big benefit of hand-picking the grapes is that the picker can identify grapes that aren’t ripe or have any defect, resulting in a better quality wine. Alessandro Giunchi, one of the owners of the family-run Alta Vita Winery, instructed us in some harvesting basics as we began our work down the rows of Sangiovese grapes. My hands became sticky with the juice of the deep blue grapes that I’d picked, evidence of the truly hands-on experience. We also watched “our” grapes being de- stemmed, toured the storage room, and then topped off the day with wine tasting. It’s nice to think that someone will be drinking wine made from the grapes that I picked with my own hands. Be assured, I picked only the finest. Weaving My hands-on experiences weren’t all about food. Guiliana is a skilled weaver in Portico di Romagna who works on a loom in the old traditions of weaving. There is a beauty in selecting the colors and textures to be used. Red is my favorite color and I accompanied that with a neutral beige – initially not knowing exactly what I’d be creating. It wasn’t until the lesson was nearly complete that I looked upon what I had done so far, and decided that it would make quite a nice necklace. I think that I tested Guiliana’s patience with my fumbling, but we both persevered, and I left her shop with a sense of satisfaction as well as a heightened admiration for the skills and art involved in this creative endeavor. Unfortunately, my necklace was accidentally left behind in Italy. Perhaps I’ll have a chance to...

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If you follow my FB fan page you know that last Sunday I was having a muffin day. Muffins remind me my stay in Nova Scotia (Canada) few years ago. I was staying at the most charming Canadian B&B ever: The Changing Tides. I have already told you the story here so no need to repeat it however the smell of the muffins is still floating in the air and it brings memories from Canada. Although Pam is a muffin champion for me and she was preparing blueberry muffins like no one else I would like share an easy recipe for chocolate muffins. You could bake your own muffins to celebrate Canada Day! Here it comes: Ingrediens:  Flour: 300 g Butter: 150 g Milk: 180 ml 4 medium eggs Baking powder powder: 6 g Dark cocoa powder: 70 g Salt: 1 g Sugar: 300 g 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Bicarbonate: 2 g Grated dark chocolate: 100 g Preparation: First: beat the softened butter with the sugar and the vanilla extract. When it is light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time. Mix all the ingredients for a few minutes and then put it in a large bowl. Second: mix separately the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. When its a cohesive powder (dark brown) add it to the rest of mixture, alternating the addition of milk (room temperature). Finally add the grated dark chocolate. Lastly: placed the pastry inside a mold muffin and bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees, for 30 minutes. I hereby certify that I baked the chocolate muffins using this very recipe. Successfully! So, don’t think twice and celebrate the Canada Day! And send your photos!  

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Sharing a recipe on how to prepare cappellacci rossi is a tricky job to do. Mostly because of the language issues. The Italian cook who shared this recipe with me called the basic ingredient rapa rossa. Dictionary translates it to the English beetroot BUT when you translate it back to Italian the dictionary says it’s barbabietola rossa. In order to avoid misunderstanding I’m pasting below a photo of this vegetable and call it as you want! This recipe was given to me while I was assisting an Italian cook in his preparations therefore all quantities are proximate. He was preparing huge amount of food designed for the whole bunch of hungry people rather than for a small family. And of course just like all professional cooks: he has never used any sort of a scale! I saw the famous Italian quanto basta (“to taste”) in practice. Ingredients to prepare pasta: 6 eggs 600g of flour a cup of grind beetroots Ingredients to prepare filling: 4 patched beetroots 300g of ricotta (sort of the Italian white cheese) 100g of parmiggiano (sort of the Italian cheese) salt pepper The way you prepare pasta is similar to the one published already here. The only difference is that when the pastry is almost done you add a little quantity of the beetroots. You need to grind it carefully in order to get a smooth pasta. The trick to prepare filling is finding a good proportion between ricotta and beetroots. When I was observing the cook he was adding ricotta fervently. The  cheese added to his cappellacci was produced by the farm located within agriturismo. I filmed a few short clips on how to prepare cappellacci but I still need to work on it before it’s published. The final effect of this dish was also strengthened by the way of serving it. The final touch was up to the poppy seeds mixed with small amount of mascarpone and sweet cream. Exquisite dish! Credits: photo of beetroots was downloaded from Flickr on the Creative Commons license, author of this photo is Marj Joly.  

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My last trip to Ferrara in Italy was full of events and one of the unexpected attractions was a short visit in a chocolate factory Offelleria Rizzati. I got invited to see the process of chocolate production, however, I hope to visit this place again as I didn’t have enough time to get the details, take good photos and-OK let’s go public- to eat enough chocolate! Although short this was a fascinating visit. I am generally curious of how particular things are being made, especially if its about food. Rizzati is a family business and their production has started about 10 years ago. They import cocoa beans from: Equador, St. Domingo, Peru, and Madagascar. The cocoa seeds are cultivated and harvested 2-3 times a year depending on the weather conditions. This is the reason of diversification of the seeds’ origins. Some years are very generous while some others modest and as the factory needs to run all year round they need to secure the import. The main focus of this company is to make the chocolate produced of high quality. They have a strong preference towards techniques and productions process that takes more time than usually employed in huge factories. Moreover, they offer some products of their own recipe, like tenerina without flour or creams of consistency similar to Nutella but prepared of crushed nuts and sugar solely. I felt really strange trying particular types of chocolate like you normally do in a vinery or something. I have never thought that the proportion of the cocoa beans or the process of crushing and melting it can change the final taste. One of the chocolates prepared of more than 80% of cocoa left a sensational small pieces of cocoa in my mouth, similar to the grains of sand. I also ate the cream made of pistacchio and it was one of the sweetest thing I have ever eaten. The company also produces candied fruits. Unfortunately, I didn’t  have time to go into details but of what I heard the main characteristics of their fruits is related to long process of frying and drying with huge amount of sugar. I hope to visit this place again pretty soon to give you some further details.  

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Let’s face it: there is no way to eat the real bistecca alla fiorentina outside Tuscany. That is the reason why this post is not accompanied by ingredients’ list. Mostly because it would contain: best quality meet and…literally nothing else. I’m not trying to say that going to Florence or Arezzo and eating bistecca is trivial. Absolutely not! Even if you come to Florence the chances to eat exquisite bistecca are low. Especially if you follow the touristic tracks and you’re easily persuaded by the waiters and other crooks. Luckily, this post will reveal some of the secrets how to eat exquisite bistecca alla fiorentina even if you are a tourist. Just like thousands of Italian habits, events and dishes also bistecca is dated back at least to the renaissance times when Florence was run by noble family of Medici. Having a DISH few hundred years old is impressive but keeping its original recipe and eating it today just like 500 years ago is even more so. To celebrate holiday of San Lorenzo there were some entertainment events organized on the streets, and some good quality meet was grilled on campfires. One of the most powerful members of the Medici family was Lorenzo so called Il Magnifico and the festival was organized on August 10th, to celebrate this famous leader who ruled the city. The best fiorentina I have ever eaten was prepared by excellent cooks in trattoria Za’Za’ in Florence (Piazza del mercato centrale, 26). The secret behind the perfection of this dish is hidden in quality of meat and process of grilling. Normally, the best meet comes from two cows’ breeds: chianina and maremmana. Both breeds are reared in Tuscany, Umbria and northern parts of Lazio. The meet used in fiorentina comes from sirloin steak part and is grilled together with T-bone. As other steaks fiorentina can be rare, medium or well done, depending your own preferences. The restaurant I recommend here is large and very busy. If you want to make sure that you’ll have a table book it in advance. In peak seasons the quality of fiorentina can be slightly worse due to the huge number of customers, however, this is still the best place to eat fiorentina. Don’t be surprised if after entering the restaurant or trattoria you will actually see a half of cow lying on the table. It happened to me once. It was in Arezzo. I entered a recommended restaurant famous of its fiorentina and in front of the huge grille there was a cook standing and literally half of cow was lying on the table. To satisfy the customer you can actually choose the particular piece of meet which seams to be the best one. The grilling process takes a while but in a meantime you can enjoy watching cutting the finger-thick steak and then the process of grilling. My piece was excellent and I swear that the cook did not add any spices! Fiorentina is eaten with roasted potatoes and with red wine. This is the real celebration of the local history and exquisite kitchen tradition. The photo of maremmana cow was downloaded from GeoLocation under the license of Creative Commons. The photo was taken by tuchulca. The photo of chianina cow  was downloaded from Flickr under the license of Creative Commons. The photo was taken by dorineruter.  

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Probably you are right when thinking this list should be titled ‘Best Food of Emilia-Romagna’, however, I added two delicious foods popular outside the region and I thought the title ‘Best Italian Dishes’ is justified this way. Fair enough. I spent years in Italy eating the best food in the world. Months after months I have been discovering nuances, particularities and exceptions of the Italian taste. It seams to be obvious but let me say it loud: not EVERY Italian food is of high quality. Being a tourist in this lovely country makes you vulnerable for cleaver tricks of dishonest people. So, to try the best food in the world you need to be ‘vulpine’. Here is a list of 6 best Italian foods and if you’re ever in Italy you can’t leave without trying them! And you can now taste all of them! How? Well, by coming to Ferrara of course! If you join me this September you will taste them all! For more details click here. Tigelle or gnocchi fritti con affettati misti Let’s start with a starter or as we call it in Italy antipasto. In Emilia-Romagna, but also outside the region, one of the most delicious starters contains a variety of local ham, sausages and beacon. If you’re a vegetarian you can always try the local cheeses instead. All of these goodies are eaten with traditional bread which also varies across regions but you should try it with warm tigelle or gnocchi fritti. Quite often along these two you can also try the local marmelades or honeys. It is simply delicious. Beware: it’s so good you need to control yourself not to be full before the first course come! Pizza Naming pizza one of the best Italian foods is not trivial, I assure you. This is simply one of the things that are impossible to eat with delight outside Italy. Even if you find an Italian cook somewhere in the world he/she will tell you that flour, leaven, tomatos or even water (!) is so different than in Italy. The best pizza I have ever eaten is served in one of the local restaurants in the countryside of Emilia-Romagna. As I am a huge fan of very thin bottom I truly enjoy pizza at La Corte del Duca. This pizzeria is so good that at the weekends people are ready to wait for a table for about an hour. The service is excellent and you can also drink a local beer. I think that the secret lies in good sfoglia but also exceptional compositions of the ingredients at the top of it. One of my favorite ones is called Pinuccio and it has smoked cheese (scamorza affumicata) and sort of mountain bacon (speck) on it. If you add a bit of spicy oil on it you’ll get the best pizza ever. Cappellacci di zucca I have the impression that on my blog I’m talking about this dish over and over again. Whatever the truth is I still think this is one of these things that you should try while visiting Emilia-Romagna. Mainly because of its particularity of combination sweet and sour, which is often associated with Chinese food rather than with typical Italian dish. After years of eating cappellacci especially during the season which starts in september I realized that the best filling comes from the sweetest pumpkins. When the summer is sunny and considerably dry the pumpkins are incredibly sweet so you don’t need to add any sugar.  The combination of mashed pumpkin, nutmeg and parmigiano ‘swaddled’ with soft sfoglia is unforgettable. So do not hesitate to plan your Italian experience including this dish. Ah, right, there is stil an ongoing discussion between two cities: Ferrara and Mantova, how the real cappellacci should be eaten. While in Ferrara and Bologna you eat it with meat sauce (ragu) in Mantova you’ll eat it with butter and salvia. Just recently I got one explanation why is that. It says that in Mantova you add amaretti (sweet grated cookies) to the filling and it would be distasteful to combine it with meat. In any case, you should absolutely try it. Tortellini alla panna This is one of my favorite dishes of all kitchens in the world. Tortellini are very small dumplings staffed with meat and served with cream. There are two particular things about this plate: the dimension and the filling. The perfect dumplings are really small, so you could place at least three of them on one spoon. It takes a lot of time to prepare a hundred, and it takes even more time to prepare thousands so each customer receives a substantial plate. In Italy beside the possibility to eat it in a restaurant you can prepare it by yourself at home. You simply buy 300g of filling and using 3 eggs you prepare sfoglia. Then you spend the whole morning in the kitchen and you can enjoy your evening meal. However, the filling is not available outside Italy, so to try these you need to visit Emilia-Romagna. My favorite way of serving is, as I said, with cream but in a cold winter day I equally appreciate it when served in brodo. Tiramisu As you’ve noticed this list contains starter, first course and now it gets to the desserts. This is what I normally do in Italian restaurants: I skip the second course. It’s not that I don’t like meat but for me the best part of the Italian kitchen is hidden in pasta however eaten (dumplings, lasagne, cappellacci or simply pasta asciutta). Let’s get back to the point and discuss tiramisu- the famous Italian dessert. The main problem related to this dessert is its frequent presence in foreign menus. Everybody tried tiramisu whether they did it in France, the US or on the moon! Most of them, however, has nothing to do with the real Italian dessert, prepared of high quality mascarpone cheese. This dessert is not difficult to prepare but if you have a lousy cheese you will never get an exquisite tiramisu. The one eaten recently was really delicious! Ah, and the cafe used to...

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My recent stay in Italy was full of marvels. I booked a room in so called agriturismo, just as I did many times before. What I mostly appreciate in such accommodation is high quality local food and friendly owners who share their passion with you. I consider myself lucky to know Italian and to be honest it is very helpful while travelling around Italy. Speaking Italian is useful but not necessary while visiting large cities it is crucial if you want to experience how the real Italian life looks like. What is agriturismo? The rules concerning agriturismo are pretty straightforward: most of the ingredients used in food served need to come from your own garden or farm. Therefore typical agriturismi are rather large properties with fields, gardens, orchards or pastures. Such business is usually family run and the owners are usually the previous farmers, but this not always the case. The owners are normally the locals and are well inserted into the context: they are familiar with history of the place, they know the traditional recipes, and most of all they are usually passionate about their activity. Using their own ingredients each company serve some exceptional dishes, which- obviously- has roots in the local kitchen tradition. How to find a decent agriturismo? There is an association established in cooperation with Camera di Commercio called Strada dei Vini e Sapori. I will publish a separate post focused on the activities of this association later but their website is a good resource to find a nice place to stay. They gather owners of B&Bs, agriturismo, shops, travel agencies and restaurants. Membership in this association is restricted and regularly monitored so choosing one of the companies listed on their website you can be sure that you support the local business, you get know the locals and the quality of food and vines is really high. Strada dei Vini e Sapori is divided into 3 routes. Along one of them called Via delle Corti Estensi the agriturismo I was staying at is located. What to expect from agriturismo? There are three basic strands of the typical agriturismo activity defined: providing accommodation, food and their own products to sell. While the quality of the accommodation of the particular agriturismo might vary the quality of food is always exceptionally high. La Rocchetta– the place where I was staying at- provides exquisite traditional kitchen with some modern variations. The company runs their own garden, orchard, small vinery, and they also keep livestock. They have two specialities that are worthy to try: cappellacci rossi and duck. As I had the opportunity to see the process of preparation I can assure you the cappellacci are really hand made. I hope to publish short movie on how to prepare these delicious dishes so please be patient. La Rocchetta also prepares their own marmelades of various tastes. The breakfast I had everyday contained of fresh yogourt, home made juice, freshly baked bread or cakes, home made marmelades (fig, apple, pumpkin, plum and cherry), and cappuccino. Each day I could practice my Italian talking to the owner about kitchen, recipes and weather. What I really like about La Rocchetta, beside their excellent kitchen, is their educational scope. They host school age children to show plants and animals and to explain the process of production of typical Italian food. Moreover, they organize workshops focused on handmade pasta sfoglia. This is excellent opportunity to get closer to the Italian tradition. And you know what? You can do it as well! La Rocchetta is organizing such workshops regularly. Before you book your stay there ask if Franca will teach you how to prepare this Italian goody. Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!  

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Ragù is one of the basic dishes prepared in province of Bologna. Just like in case of parmigiano there are some popular myths to address in this blog. Ragù is often called outside Italy ‘alla bolognese‘ and it usually means a sauce prepared of tomatoes and meet and served with pasta. If you wish to try the real ragù you need to visit Bologna or you can prepare it at home following my recipe. This is important, however, to use proper ingredients. In terms of difficulty this is an easy recipe but you need quite a bunch of ingredients and at least 2,5h to cook it. Ingredients: 1 carrot celery 1 onion 1 cup of white wine 100g of lard 800g of minced meet (the best is mix of pork and beef) 150g of sausage (however, it needs to be RAW, so if you’re not in Italy you can use a sort of raw meet with spices like garlic, etc.) 1 cup of can tomatoes (in Italy passata di pomodoro is used so if you have access to it, then use it) 1/2 cup of milk salt, pepper 1 large spoon of butter 2-3 spoons of oil Start with oil: put it in a large pot and when it’s warm  add chopped vegetables (carrot, celery and onion) and wait until it’s fried (about 5 min). Then add butter and lard and let it melt. When the lard has already changed a color add sausage and try to shred everything so you get very small pieces. At this point you need to add all minced meet you have and salt it. This is quite a large amount of meet so you need to work on it shredding and mixing carefully. When the meet has slightly changed color this is the right time to add tomatoes mixed with milk. It should become very liquid, a soup like. The last ingredient you add is white wine. Now, the longer it cooks the better it gets. I would say it needs at least 2 hours of slow cooking. This is the time needed to melt all fat and the wine to evaporate. You should mix it from time to time to not to burn the pot. You’ll know when it’s ready if you checked the consistency: take a spoon of sauce and spill it on a plate. If the liquid is dense then you know it’s ready. As a dish it is served with pasta called tagliatelle (the one prepared of eggs and of a ribbon shape), used in traditional lasagne or as I previously written over cappellacci, mailny in Ferrara province.  

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I think this is highly controversial theme to write about. For a large group of people there is no difference between Parmigiano-Reggiano and parmesan. The other half of the world is confused about it finding contradictory information on food&kitchen blogs about this issue. Even on the official BBC website you find the following phrase: “Parmesan, or Parmigiano-Reggiano to give it its proper name…”. Well, it’s not about the name of the same thing. For the Italians Parmigiano and parmesan are two very different things. Technically, Parmigiano-Reggiano as an official trademark is restricted to the cheese produced in a certain manner within the provinces of Parma, Reggio-Emilia, Modena, and specific regions in the provinces of Bologna and Mantova (it is protected due to the D.O.P. laws- Denominazione di Origine Protetta). ALL cheese produced outside the above mentioned regions are NOT Parmigiano-Reggiano (to give it its proper name:-). While searching for the explanation of this issue in Internet you may find an information that parmesan is an English name for Parmigiano,  you know, a simple translation of a foreign word. I believe, however, that there are many things that are not translated into English and Parmigiano-Reggiano should be one of them. You don’t translate Ferrari, Nutella, Fiat, mozarella or pizza, do you? In Italy they produce a very similar cheese in terms of a production process and ingredients called Grana Padano but despite its similarity it is called differently just because it does not fulfill the basic condition and is not produced within the above mentioned provinces. Now, if the Italians themselves distinguish between two similar kinds of cheese why the foreigners don’t? To sum up: there is no such thing as non-Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can call parmesan whatever you like, but for pity’s sake, don’t call parmesan a damn better real Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano! As for the Italian habits they use Parmigiano-Reggiano as aperitivo, eaten with olives or plain aceto balsamico. They also use its freshly grated version over their first course (primi piatti).  You can even see the Italian while eating a piece of grana as a snack. BBC is right about one thing: the taste of real Parmigiano-Reggiano is magical! Enjoy the real one! The rest is FAKE! All pictures were downloaded from Flickr on the license of Creative Commons. Photo authors: Dèsirèe Tonus, DiKol, micmol. Update After this post was published I got a message from Roberto- the owner of the cheese shop where one of the pictures was taken! This is incredible! He recognized his parmigiano! He and his wife Vanna sell their parmigiano in Modena on Mercato Albinelli. If you’re in Modena you’re more than welcome to visit them and purchase their products.  

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I am a bit scared when writing this post. Mostly, because it is very hard to describe the cooking process of the real cappellacci di zucca. I might prepare a video some day to make it easier to follow the cooking process but before I do this I wrote the recipe down with a short description how to prepare traditional cappellacci di zucca. Ingredients to prepare pasta: 6 eggs 600g of flour Ingredients to prepare filling: 600g of pumpkin 200g of parmiggiano nutmeg salt pepper You should start with the pumpkin: the one we have in Italy is pretty small but VERY SWEET. Now, if the pumpkin you have is not sweet enough you can add sugar but the taste will not be the same. Take your pumpkin and cut it to 6-8 pieces. Put it into the warm oven  (180 degrees) for about 30-40 minutes. It needs to become smooth so you could using a fork take the pulp out of the peel. Take it out of the oven and leave it until it is cool. Using a potato press you should get rid of the internal fibers and receive a smooth pulp. Freshly grated parmiggiano is ideal for this dish so if you have an access to original Italian products use it! Add freshly grated nutmeg and using salt and pepper season it according your preferences. As for pasta the thing is more complex. First trick is that you should be very careful with flour and if you’re not sure about the exact weight or size of the eggs always take less than advised. Mix all eggs with whole flour at once starting with fork. Then, slowly knead it for at least 15-20 minutes. The final dough should be very smooth. The second useful trick is to leave to dough for at least half an hour in a plastic bag. The longer the dough ‘rests’ the smoother it becomes (no extremes, though!). Divide the dough into two pieces and while you work on the first one the rest still waits closed in a plastic bag. Using a traditional pastry dough roller or a modern version of roller machine you need to get a large piece of pasta. You cut it into regular squares of about 4 cm and put small bits of filling (just like on the photo above). You close the squares and put it on the tray or wooden board.  When all cappellacci are ready (you should have about 180-200 of them) put into boiling water for 10 minutes. There is a funny story about how to serve cappellacci depending on where do you eat it but I will tell you this story another time.  

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