Turtel Sguasarot originated in the Gonzaga court of Mantua in 1664 under Chef Bartolomeo Stefani from Bologna. Known for his imaginative creations, he created a large, tortelli-shaped tart filled with bean purée and flavoured with cacio cheese and herbs. This was then wrapped in pastry made without eggs and cooked in a bean broth. In these parts, it was easy to find these ingredients and so, being simple to prepare, it became popular in the southern Mantua area. Over time, the recipe was handed down by word of mouth and unsurprisingly contaminated with ideas from the neighbouring areas of Rovigo, Ferrara and Modena. New ingredients were added such as dried chestnuts, plum preserve and vino cotto (literally, cooked wine, made using must), changing the dish into a dessert and make it far less widespread (only in Borgofranco sul Po, Carbonara di Po, Sermide and Felonica). The vino cotto gives it a definite flavour that has to be tasted rather than described.
Tortello Fritto
Ingredients for the dough - 4-6 portions
500g fine flour
12g fine salt
200g water
50g corn oil
12g caster sugar
Ingredients for the filling - 4-6 portions
200g boiled Borlotti beans (100g when dried)
200g quince mostarda
200g boiled chestnuts (100g when dried)
everything must be chopped finely and well mixed. The filling should be relatively solid.
Garnish
250g vino cotto
100g freshly squeezed mandarin or orange juice
250g plum preserve
mix the ingredients together well
Method
Mix the flour, water, sugar, salt and oil to make a fairly solid dough. Roll out into a 1mm thick sheet. Use a special rolling pin to cut 12 x 7cm rectangles from this sheet and place the filling in the middle (20-25g). Fold the pasta over after dampening the edges. Squeeze out any air. Fry in hot oil. Leave to cool and dip in the dressing. Place alternating layers of the tortelli pasta and garnish in an oven dish. It can be kept in the fridge for a few days.
Tortello Lesso
Dough
500g fine flour
12g fine salt
5 eggs
all the other ingredients are the same.
Method
After boiling the pasta, leave to cool and dry well. Follow the same steps as for the Tortello Fritto.