Sausage and Potato Tortelli

Name: Sausage and Potato Tortelli
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Type 00 flour 2.3 cups; Eggs 3; Fine salt 1 pinch; Potatoes 0.5 lb; Sausage 8.8 oz; Extra virgin olive oil unfiltered raw to taste; Grana Padano PDO cheese to grate 2 tbsp; Thyme to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Extra virgin olive oil unfiltered to taste; Thyme to taste; Black pepper to taste

Lactose Free

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 60 min
Serving: 4

PRESENTATION

Craving a taste of northern Italy? Look no further than tortelli with sausage and potatoes. Honestly, it's all about bringing comfort and tradition right to your table. In places like Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, this is a go-to for Sunday family gatherings or chilly winter days.

The filling? Oh man, it's the star—creamy potatoes mixed with savory sausage, seasoned perfectly. It's so so good. The homemade dough is rolled out, cut, and filled with this moist, flavorful mixture, then cooked until everything's tender. Really tender.

And the sauce? Here's the deal: a quick sauté in a pan with high-quality olive oil and fresh thyme. This not only gives the pasta a golden hue but also brings out the sausage's rich flavors. In some spots, like around Arezzo, folks might use local sausage or sprinkle in a bit of nutmeg. Makes each sausage tortelli recipe unique to its town.

Thing is, in northern Italy, family gatherings often revolve around filled pasta like this. It's about spending time, creating something special together. This homemade tortelli recipe invites you to jump into dough-making. Every rich, savory bite shows that effort. Sharing these with friends on a chilly day? Pure coziness—the sausage filling is comforting, while potatoes add a soft, satisfying texture.

And look, while some might call these "stuffed pasta," nothing compares to the warm, rustic flavors of Italian sausage tortellini. Really, you'll find regional twists, but the combination of simple ingredients and laid-back vibes makes this dish beloved.

For those who love stuffed pasta dishes, this recipe offers a real taste of northern Italian comfort, capturing the heart of family, tradition, and culinary delight. Seriously good.

INGREDIENTS

For the fresh egg pasta (for about 30 tortelli): Type 00 flour 2.3 cups (300 g); Eggs 3; Fine salt 1 pinch

For the filling: Potatoes 0.5 lb (250 g); Sausage 8.8 oz (250 g); Extra virgin olive oil to taste - unfiltered raw; Grana Padano PDO cheese 2 tbsp (30 g) - to grate; Thyme to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

For seasoning: Extra virgin olive oil to taste - unfiltered; Thyme to taste; Black pepper to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Sausage and Potato Tortelli

To make sausage and potato tortelli, first boil the potatoes for about 30-40 minutes, depending on their size 1. Meanwhile, prepare the fresh pasta dough: place the flour on a work surface and form a well, then crack the eggs in the center 2 and add a pinch of salt 3.

Start mixing the dough, gradually incorporating the flour, using a dough scraper if needed 4. Continue kneading by hand on the work surface 5 for at least 10 minutes. You should achieve a smooth and homogeneous dough 6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool, dry place for at least 30 minutes.

Move on to preparing the filling: remove the casing from the sausage 7 and crumble it with your hands 8. Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the sausage 9.

Sauté the sausage for a few minutes, breaking it up as you stir 10. Once cooked, transfer it to a food processor 11 to grind it to a finer texture 12.

At this point, the potatoes will be cooked, so mash them in a bowl with a potato masher 13. Add the ground sausage 14 and season with extra virgin olive oil 15, salt, and pepper.

Fragrance with fresh thyme leaves 16, then add grated Grana Padano DOP cheese 17 and mix well to combine everything 18. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag without a nozzle.

Take the fresh pasta, separate a first piece (keep the rest wrapped in plastic wrap), flatten it with your hands 19, then use a pasta machine to roll it out to a thickness of about 1/25 inch, dusting with a pinch of flour 20. Divide the sheets in half lengthwise 21.

Pipe small mounds of filling, each weighing about 0.5-0.7 oz, spaced a few inches apart on one of the two halves 22. Cover with the second strip of pasta 23 and gently press around the filling to seal, making sure to expel the air from the inside 34.

Finally, cut the edges with a fluted pastry wheel 25 to obtain square tortelli about 2 inches 26. Proceed the same way until you finish the fresh pasta. Once all the tortelli are ready, cook them in lightly salted boiling water 27.

Meanwhile, take the pan where you browned the sausage and add a swirl of extra virgin olive oil with a few sprigs of thyme 28. Drain the tortelli 29 and transfer them to the pan along with a ladle of cooking water 30.

Toss to combine the tortelli with the seasoning 31. Finish the plates with some thyme leaves and a grind of pepper 32. Sausage and potato tortelli are ready to be served 33!