Tortellini

Inspired by Chinese New Year this week, I read a description of my Chinese Zodiac sign, the horse. The description claimed that those born under the sign of the horse are "good with their hands." My first reaction was one of disbelief, as I don't see myself as one who is terribly crafty or visually artistic, and am not usually enamored with creations born of my own hands. But then I got to thinking, well I *did* make these pretty little tortellini recently!

I was feeling slightly more inspired than usual on that day, and following the instructions in Giuliano Bugialli's book On Pasta, I think I succeeded in making some pretty photo-worthy little packages!

I do confess that these were actually not so hard once I got the hang of it. These little beauties can be filled with any pasta filling you desire. In my case I used a ricotta and freshly chopped herb filling.

Here's how you do it:

First you will need to make sure you have a round cutter for the task so that you can make your pasta into perfect, uniformly sized circles. I use these, very useful for all kinds of kitchen prep, even things so mundanely clever as making donut-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids ;)

For this recipe I chose a cutter 7 centimeters in diameter (that's about 2.75 inches).

Prepare your filling, then mix up a batch of pasta dough. I use 3 eggs per 2 cups of all-purpose flour for 1 lb of pasta. Roll the pasta out to the thinnest setting using your pasta machine.

Cut out as many 7 cm. circles as you can, then place a small dollop of filling in the center of each circle. Moisten the edges using beaten egg whites, then fold the circle *almost* in half, allowing just a small border on one side that sticks out a little past the rest. Then, wrap this half-circle around your finger and press the corners together with your thumb until they stick. Remove the little tortellino, give him a flip so that the top edge curls outward, and presto!

Good luck! It takes just a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you'll see, it's not so hard and really kind of fun!