Tortelli di Patate Recipe

Peel and finely mince carrot, celery, and onion.  Set aside (minced vegetables can be placed all into same bowl during prep process).

Coat bottom of medium sauté pan with extra-virgin olive oil. When hot, add diced vegetables and herbs to taste and cook until lightly browned. Add meat, cook over high heat. When meat browns, adjust to taste with salt.

Continue cooking until meat has shed extra liquid. Add red wine, allow to evaporate, then add tomato pulp. Cover pan, lower heat, and continue cooking for at least 2 hours.  If sauce appears too dry, add small amount of room temperature water.

Wash potatoes and boil in salted water until softened. Remove potatoes from water, allow to cool slightly and peel.

Press potatoes through vegetable mill or mash into clean, medium bowl with potato masher. Allow to cool thoroughly.

Once potatoes are cooled, add Parmesan cheese, stir.  Set aside.

In medium bowl, blend semola with eggs, and knead dough until it reaches smooth, soft consistency that holds rounded shape when formed into ball.

Continue kneading dough with palm of your hand on floured working surface. Keep kneading until dough is soft, elastic, and compact.

Shape into ball, cover with plastic wrap to avoid drying out. Allow to rest at room temperature 15 minutes or more.

Unwrap pasta dough and shape dough into rectangle more or less width of pasta machine to be used.

Begin to roll out dough using prepped pasta machine, dusting machine with semola to avoid sticking. Roll out through machine until you reach desired thickness, adjusting knobs to make dough thinner each time it goes through machine.

Dust working space well with semola. Place sheet of pasta on top of prepped work space, and using round pasta cutter, cut out individual shapes, utilizing all dough with minimal waste.

Gently brush small amount of water on top of each pasta shape with small pastry brush. Place small teaspoon of filling just off-center of each shape.

Cover pasta by lifting up larger side of pasta and cover filling entirely with this side of the shape. Using fingers, gently press down around filling, removing as much air as possible. Press down firmly around borders of filling to seal, being sure all shapes are well-sealed.

Join the two points of each sealed pasta shape to create tortello form. Dust kitchen tray with semola flour, and top with completed tortelli shapes.

Boil large soup pot of salted water. Add tortelli shapes, allow to cook 2-3 minutes. Drain from water, and place into pan with beef ragout.

Blend pasta and sauce, putting immediately onto individual serving plates. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese and serve promptly.