As I said in my previous post I had the privilege of learning how to make cappelletti from my daughter-in-law's nana who was in for a visit from out of town. This women is in her 80's and is a spitfire in the kitchen! Not a strip of dough was wasted that day, she took over the kitchen like it was a military procedure, every scrap of dough left over was made into something edible, she put all of us "younger" ones to shame as she kept saying, " Come on girls we still have more dough here!" She has the best personality, I want to be like her when I grow up!
Making cappelletti is a labor of love, I didn't realize it until I made them myself, you're working with small disc's of dough each one stuffed individually and then shaped into a little hat, it's very time consuming but so much fun when you're doing it with a bunch of people, there were 5 of us actively making them.
It didn't take me too long to catch on I think after about 15 tries I became an honorary cappelletti maker.
The dough was cut from a handmade disc the size being around 2 inches, then a savory filling of meat and cheese was piped right into the center. Next the dough was folded in half to make a half moon keeping the rounded edge facing down, after that you take the two top end corners and stretch them around the back until they meet, then just flip the bottom edge up a teeny bit to make a tiny brim..
After you sit doing them for a while you start to pick up speed and by the time we were finished we ended up with 800!They were then placed in the freezer single layer on baking sheets until frozen, then into freezer bags.
We each went home with our own goodie bags, I couldn't wait to make these, but such a labor of love requires homemade broth to place them in so that is what I did. The day before we ate them I made a rich chicken stock with leeks, onions, carrots and herbs, when it was finished simmering I strained it twice so it was nice and clear because after all the cappelletti is really the star here.
The next day I warmed up the broth and gently placed the frozen cappelletti in avoiding a rolling boil, you don't want them to break open! Less than 5 minutes later they were finished cooking.
Scooped out with a slotted spoon and gently placed in a bowl, now it's time to ladle your broth over them.
I added freshly grated parmesan cheese on top and savored every bite!
Scrumptiously good to the last drop! Thank you Lena!Buon Appetito
