Cappelletti

Cappelletti are small stuffed pasta hats, filled with minced pork and Parmesan and served in hot beef broth.

Cappelletti is both a pasta shape and the dish made from it, and the name means "little hats." The dish is shared by Romagna, a region of Italy, and San Marino, the small republic that lies entirely inside Italy. It is served on festive occasions in both places.

What it really is

Egg pasta dough, made from flour and eggs, is rolled thin and cut into small squares or rounds. A little filling goes in the centre: minced pork and Parmesan, seasoned with nutmeg. Each piece is folded over and pressed around a fingertip into the small hat shape that gives the pasta its name. The pasta is boiled and then served in beef broth, so the dish is closer to a soup than to a plate of pasta with sauce.

How it's served

• Hot, in a shallow bowl, with the pasta and the broth together.
• As a first course, in a small portion, before the main dish.
• At festive meals, which is the occasion the dish is kept for in Romagna and San Marino.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the pasta and the filling: "Cappelletti with minced pork and Parmesan in beef broth."
• Flag wheat in the flour, eggs in the dough and milk from the Parmesan.
• State the meats clearly: pork in the filling and beef in the broth. Guests who avoid pork, beef or meat stock need to know before they order.
• Say that it is served in broth, so guests expect a soup-style bowl rather than pasta with sauce.
• Give the portion as a starter size if you sell it that way.