Tortellini in Beef Broth Emilia-Romagna Style

Take a large pot and put in it cold water and all the vegetables washed and cleaned whole.

Rinse the various meats under running water and add them to the rest, at this point put everything on the stove and once the water has reached a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 2 hours.

In case some foam forms on the surface, remove it with the help of a skimmer. Salt generously when the cooking is almost completed.

The broth should be very savory to the taste. Strain the broth through a fine strainer and set aside.

In a medium bowl pour the flour and break the eggs in the center, mix the two ingredients with a fork to form a rough dough that you will then knead by hand on a pastry board for 3-4 minutes until the dough is smooth and malleable.

If the dough is sticky, add a little flour and continue to knead it, vice versa if it is too hard and dry, add a little water.

Form a ball, put it in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Cut the pork into slices and cook it in a pan with a knob of butter over low heat, salting it lightly. Set aside and wait for it to cool. In the meantime, grate the Parmesan cheese and coarsely chop the prosciutto and mortadella on a cutting board.  

Once the meat has cooled, place it in a food processor or powerful blender.  Add the Prosciutto Crudo and Mortadella cubes, and blend or chop until the meat is completely ground and blended.

Add the Parmesan cheese, ground nutmeg, and black pepper.  Continue to process or whisk the mix until all ingredients are finely blended together.  Adjust to taste with salt, if necessary (taste your filling first because it may have already reached the desired salt level, as parmesan and prosciutto are both fairly salty ingredients). 

Using the pasta machine, roll out the dough by decreasing the width of the knobs as you continue to pass the dough through the machine until you reach the desired thickness of about 0.5 cm. 

If you are an experienced cook, you can roll out the dough by hand with a rolling pin on the wooden pastry board. 
Unroll the prepared dough and divide it in half, as we will be working with one piece at a time.  

Be sure to cover the remaining segment of dough with plastic wrap, otherwise it will dry out.  If the dough sticks to the pasta machine, lightly dust both the dough and the machine with more flour.  Repeat the process with the second piece of reserved dough.  

Using a metal tortellini or ravioli cutter, cut the dough into small squares 3- 3.5 cm wide on each side.  

Place a small scoop of filling in the center of each square. Lightly moisten the sides of each square if they are too dry (filling side up) with your fingertips, this allows the dough flaps to stick together well. Fold the dough with the filling inside making a triangle and seal the edges together tightly, fold the vertex corner upward by pressing it lightly against the filling bubble.  

Turn the dough edges of the sides around a finger (usually the index or pinky) overlapping them at their end and press them with the opposite thumb thus closing the tortellini. Place the made tortellini on the wooden pastry board (with a light dusting of flour to prevent them from sticking).

Do not stack the tortellini or place them too close together.

Return the broth to medium heat and slowly bring back to a boil.  Add the fresh tortellini and cook 3-4 minutes.  

Turn off the heat and let stand another 3-4 minutes.

Pour the broth and tortellini into a soup plate and add pepper and parmesan to taste serve immediately.