Tortellini in brodo is Bologna's Christmas-and-Sunday pasta: tiny egg-yolk parcels stuffed with mortadella, prosciutto di Parma, pork loin and Parmigiano Reggiano, served floating in a clear capon and beef brodo.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
The tortellino reached its modern form in the 16th-century kitchens of the Emilian nobility, with Bologna and Modena both claiming origin. The legend places it at a Castelfranco Emilia tavern, where an innkeeper modelled the pasta on a noblewoman's navel. The Confraternita del Tortellino deposited the legal recipe with the Camera di Commercio of Bologna on 7 December 1974: pork loin, prosciutto di Parma, mortadella, Parmigiano Reggiano, egg and nutmeg, hand-folded into 5g parcels and served only in capon brodo. Trattoria Anna Maria, Diana and Tamburini serve the canonical version.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy
Tip from the editors. The brodo must stay clear; never let it boil hard once the tortellini are in or the parcels burst. Pasta should taste of pasta, not be a filling vehicle.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Trattoria Anna Maria in Bologna near Via Zamboni is the city's most-photographed sfoglia trattoria, run by Anna Maria Monari since 1985 with hand-rolled tortellini.
Signature: Tagliatelle al ragu, Tortellini in brodo, Lasagne verdi
Order: Tagliatelle al ragu, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi, gnocco fritto.
Tip: Book a week ahead for dinner. Lunch is calmer and the sfogline still hand-roll pasta in the window between services.
Tamburini in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the 1932-founded salumeria-and-self-service operating from Via Caprarie, with cured-meat counters, a daily-changing carte and aperitivo from 18:00.
Signature: Mortadella tagliere, Tortellini in brodo, Cotechino
Order: The mortadella tagliere, the daily pasta plate, a tigella with squacquerone.
Tip: The self-service runs 11:00 to 22:00 daily; the salumi counter closes at 19:30 and the aperitivo crowd takes over after 18:00.
Why locals love it: At the foot of the 666-arch portico up to San Luca; the post-Sunday-walk lunch destination that requires a 25-minute portico stroll first.
Tip: Book a week ahead for Sunday lunch; the portico walk from Porta Saragozza is the traditional pre-lunch passeggiata.
Why locals love it: Saragozza's 28-seat osteria from Daniele Minarelli and Valeria Tonelli; the canonical Emilian carte at full editorial precision.
Tip: Book three weeks ahead by phone; the room seats 28 and the lunch service has the easiest tables.
More cities are in research. Want tortellini in brodo covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.