Schlutzkrapfen and tortelli di erbetta. Pastaties

chlutzkrapfen... no, it's not a dirty word! They are the mezzelune of fresh stuffed pasta, typical of South Tyrolean cuisine. The word comes from the German "schluzen" which means to slip,probably in reference to the fact that at the time of tasting they must be slipped into the mouth, and "Krapfen", or the name of theleavened dough pancakes stuffed with jam or cream.

It is in fact a crescent-shaped raviolo, usually stuffed with spinach and ricotta, sometimes of nettles, turnips, mushrooms or potatoes. A typical dish of the South Tyrolean tradition, served in all the huts and restaurants of South Tyrol: ideal after - and, I recommend, not before - a hike in the mountains or a long skiing!

A recipe of the South Tyrolean tradition that involves the use of some of the key ingredients of Italian cuisine: flour, eggs, vegetables and cheese. Do familiar ingredients sound to you?

Emilia and South Tyrol, two regions quite distant not only from a geographical point of view but also from a historical-cultural point of view. Yet schlutzkrapfen have something reminiscent of the green tortelli (or sheather tortelli) of Parmesan gastronomy.

South Tyrolean ravioli have a different shape from the classic tortello, being crescent.

In addition, they are distinguished by a more tenuous color than the Tortello di Parma which, instead, thanks to the eggs, is colored a bright yellow. In fact, only one egg is used for fresh schlutzkrapfen pasta, but it is made with two different flours, wheat flour and rye flour.

However, as in the case of green tortelli, they have a filling consisting of a delicate cheese, fresh ricotta, and green leafy vegetables, spinach. Also in the last - but very important - step we find another common ingredient, symbol par excellence of the culinary tradition of Parma:Parmigiano.

Tradition has it that Schlutzkrapfen are served with plenty of melted butter, a sprinkle of finely chopped chives and a nice grated parmesan cheese.

The rule then, to give that (delicious) final touch, remains the same: even the sheb tortelli go "... foghè in-t-al butér e sughè col formaj", that is, drown in butter and dried in Parmesan.

So let's see the Schlutzkrapfen recipe (dose for 4 people).

For pasta:

 150 g rye flour

 100 g wheat flour

 1 egg

 50-60 ml of warm water

 1 C of oil

sale

For the filling:

 150 g boiled spinach (about 300 g fresh spinach)

 50 g finely chopped onions

 1/2 clove of garlic

 1 C butter

 100 g ricotta cheese

 1 C parmesan cheese

1 C chives

1 nutmeg dot

 Freshly ground pepper

 sale

other:

 Grated Parmesan cheese

 Melted butter

 Fina chopped chives

Sources: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlutzkrapfen#:~:text=Gli%20Schlutzkrapfe...(known%20also%20 as well,all%20la%20region%20of%20Tyrole https://www.ilparmense.net/tortelli-derbetta-la-ricetta/ https://www.suedtirol.info/it/esperienze/enogastronomia/ricette-altoates... https://www.pursuedtirol.com/it/su-di-noi/magazine/ricette/schlutzkrapfe...