What to eat: the Cappelletto Romagnolo
Cappelletti, or “ Caplét ” in dialect, are one of the most famous and appreciated preparations of Italian cuisine. In Romagna they are stuffed with different ingredients, depending on the geographical area and according to their use, but we can say that usually the Ravenna-Cesena tradition does not accept meat ; the one from Forlì is optimistic; those of Rimini and San Marino even require them, and want three types: pork, veal and capon. On the other hand, everyone agrees that they go perfectly with both broth and meat sauce or blackberry sauce.The first official testimony of the Cappelletti Romagnoli can be dated back to 1811 . In that year, the then Kingdom of Italy promoted a survey of the traditions, customs and dialects of the inhabitants of the countryside. Using the information provided by priests, teachers and podestà, the prefect of Forlì arranged to draw up a final report in which there is a smiling mention of the Cappelletti, mainly linked to the tradition of Christmas day .
The Azdores , those who took care of the house and who had access to the secrets of the kitchen, usually prepared the cappelletti the evening before the meal and were closed "one by one" involving all the women and children of the house.
The recipe calls for the preparation of classic pasta with flour, eggs (1 for about 100 g of flour), and possibly a little water. From the dough, once rolled out with a rolling pin, squares of 4-6 cm on each side are obtained on which a spoonful of filling is placed and then closed according to tradition: the square is folded back on itself in a triangle, matching the two points and two extremes come together giving the classic shape of the cappelletto.
The Cappelletto is not to be confused with its Emilian cousin : the Tortellino. They are two completely different pastas in that the tortello is distinguished by 4 important aspects: the filling always contains meat, it is considerably different in size, it is closed in a different way and finally it is accepted exclusively in broth (rarely also with cream but for many it is considered a sacrilege… and we agree with it).