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Soup season · Bologna, Italy
The best bowl in Bologna: Tortellini in brodo
Tiny hand-folded pasta filled with pork, mortadella, prosciutto and Parmigiano, floating in a clear capon and beef broth.
Bologna's Christmas lunch and its whole idea of itself: pasta as small as a fingernail, folded by hand, in a broth so clear you can read through it.
Trattoria Anna Maria
Via delle Belle Arti 17/A, 40126 Bologna
Get: Tortellini in brodo
Tortellini in brodo, per favore.Tortellini in broth, please.
Anna Maria Monari has been making what many Bolognesi call the city's best pasta since the mid-1980s; the broth is deep and golden and the tortellini are folded in the house.
Tuesday to Sunday, lunch and dinner. Book, or arrive at opening.
Make it at home
Tortellini in brodo
Make the broth the day before and chill it so you can lift off every bit of fat. Folding takes a while the first time; put on music and get help. A tortellino should be smaller than your thumbnail.
You need
- For the broth: 1/2 capon or 1 small chicken (about 2 1/2 lb / 1.1 kg), 1 1/2 lb (700 g) beef brisket or shank, 1 beef marrow bone, 1 onion halved, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 ripe tomato, 5 quarts (4.7 l) cold water, 2 tsp salt
- For the filling: 3 oz (85 g) pork loin, 1 tsp butter, 3 oz (85 g) mortadella, 3 oz (85 g) prosciutto crudo, 4 oz (115 g) Parmigiano Reggiano aged 24 months finely grated, 1 egg, a grating of nutmeg
- For the pasta: 3 cups (400 g) 00 flour, 4 large eggs
How to make it
- Broth: put the meats and bone in a large pot with the cold water. Bring slowly to a simmer over medium-low heat, about 40 minutes, skimming. Add the vegetables and salt. Keep it barely trembling, never boiling, for 3 hours. Strain through a cloth-lined sieve, cool and refrigerate overnight; lift off the fat.
- Filling: brown the pork in the butter over medium heat, 4 minutes a side, until just cooked; cool. Grind or finely chop the pork, mortadella and prosciutto together until it's a fine paste. Mix in the Parmigiano, egg and nutmeg. Chill 1 hour.
- Pasta: mound the flour, break the eggs into the middle and work them in with a fork, then knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough very thin (setting 7 or 8 on a pasta machine, or until you can see your hand through it). Work with one sheet at a time and keep the rest covered.
- Cut into 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) squares. Put a chickpea-size dot of filling in the center of each. Fold corner to corner into a triangle, press out the air and seal. Wrap the two long corners around your fingertip and pinch them together. Set on a floured tray.
- Bring 2 1/2 quarts of the broth to a gentle boil, taste for salt, add the tortellini and cook 2 to 4 minutes, until they float and the pasta is tender at the folds.
- Ladle into warm bowls, about 20 tortellini each, with plenty of broth. Pass more Parmigiano.
Pans and tools
- 10-quart stockpot
- pasta machine or long rolling pin
- fine sieve and a clean cloth
Chef's tips
- Never boil the broth hard; it clouds. Cooked gently, it's clear and golden.
- Freeze folded tortellini on the tray, then bag them; cook from frozen, 1 minute longer.
- The leftover boiled meats are bollito misto: serve with salsa verde.
Four more bowls in Bologna
Passatelli in broth
Short fat strands of breadcrumbs, Parmigiano and egg pressed straight into simmering capon broth.
Trattoria Bertozzi · Via Andrea Costa 84, 40134 Bologna
Get: Passatelli in brodo, then the bollito if it's on
Dei passatelli in brodo, per favore.Passatelli in broth, please.
Named by Bologna's food guides for passatelli that taste of the good Parmigiano in the dough.
Make it at home: Passatelli in brodo
A potato ricer makes passatelli in seconds. The dough should be firm, like modeling clay.
You need
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) good chicken or capon broth
- 1 cup (100 g) fine dry breadcrumbs
- 1 cup (100 g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve
- 3 eggs
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- A grating of nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
How to make it
- Mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Add the eggs and knead to a firm, smooth dough. If sticky, add a spoonful of breadcrumbs; if crumbly, a spoonful of broth.
- Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
- Bring the broth to a gentle simmer. Press the dough through a ricer with large holes, cutting the strands with a knife every 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) and letting them drop into the broth.
- Simmer 2 minutes, until they float. Serve at once with more cheese.
Chef's tips
- If they break apart, the dough is too wet: knead in more breadcrumbs.
Imperial soup
Little cubes of baked semolina, egg and Parmigiano floating in clear broth, the soup Bologna's grandmothers make on Sundays.
Trattoria di Via Serra · Via Luigi Serra 9/b, 40129 Bologna
Get: Zuppa imperiale, then the tagliatelle
Una zuppa imperiale, per favore.An imperial soup, please.
A trattoria known for its devotion to local ingredients, named by Bologna food writers for a textbook zuppa imperiale.
Mostly a cold-weather dish.
Make it at home: Zuppa imperiale (semolina cubes in broth)
It looks like a cake when it comes out of the oven. Cut it into small dice and they puff in the broth.
You need
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup (120 g) fine semolina
- 3/4 cup (75 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve
- 4 tbsp (60 g) butter, melted
- A grating of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) good chicken or capon broth
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan and line it with parchment.
- Beat the eggs until frothy, then beat in the semolina, cheese, melted butter, nutmeg and salt. Rest 15 minutes.
- Pour into the pan (it should be about 3/4 inch / 2 cm deep) and bake 25 minutes, until set and pale gold.
- Cool completely, then cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes.
- Bring the broth to a boil, add the cubes, simmer 2 minutes and serve with more cheese.
Chef's tips
- The baked cubes keep in a tin for 3 days.
Pasta and bean soup
Borlotti beans, a little pork and fresh pasta scraps in a thick, peppery soup.
Osteria dell'Orsa · Via Mentana 1/F, 40126 Bologna
Get: Pasta e fagioli or the passatelli, at the long shared tables, with a glass of Sangiovese
Una pasta e fagioli, per favore.A pasta and beans, please.
The students' and locals' osteria for cheap, honest Bolognese cooking; shared benches and no fuss.
The menu changes daily; ask what's on.
Make it at home: Pasta e fagioli, Emilian style
In Emilia it's made with fresh egg pasta, usually the maltagliati, odd-shaped scraps left from cutting tagliatelle.
You need
- 12 oz (340 g) dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
- 3 oz (85 g) pancetta, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) water or light broth
- 8 oz (225 g) fresh egg pasta (maltagliati or broken tagliatelle)
- Salt, black pepper, olive oil and Parmigiano to serve
How to make it
- Cook the pancetta in the oil until it renders, then add the onion, carrot and celery and soften 10 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste for 2 minutes.
- Add the drained beans, rosemary and water. Simmer, partly covered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the beans are very tender.
- Take out the rosemary. Blend or mash about half the beans and return them, so the soup is thick but still has whole beans.
- Season, bring to a simmer and add the pasta; cook 3 to 4 minutes.
- Rest off the heat 5 minutes, then serve with olive oil, black pepper and Parmigiano.
Chef's tips
- Use canned borlotti in a hurry: 3 cans, rinsed, and simmer 20 minutes.
Cappelletti in broth
Little hat-shaped stuffed pasta, filled with cheese and meat, in a clear golden broth.
Trattoria Valerio · Via Avesella 10, 40121 Bologna
Get: Whatever is in brodo today: cappelletti, tortellini or passatelli, all made by hand
Dei cappelletti in brodo, per favore.Cappelletti in broth, please.
Its pasta, from tortellini to passatelli and zuppa imperiale, is made to the old recipes, and Bologna's tourism office lists it as a local classic.
Make it at home: Cappelletti in brodo
Cappelletti are the bigger, cheese-forward cousins of tortellini. A rainy afternoon and a friend at the table make them go fast.
You need
- Dough: 2 cups (250 g) 00 flour, 3 eggs
- Filling: 4 oz (115 g) pork loin and 4 oz (115 g) chicken breast, cubed, 1 tbsp butter
- 2 oz (60 g) mortadella
- 1 cup (100 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve
- 1/2 cup (115 g) ricotta, drained
- 1 egg, a grating of nutmeg, salt
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) capon or chicken broth
How to make it
- Make the dough: mound the flour, break the eggs into a well, mix and knead 10 minutes until smooth. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
- For the filling, brown the pork and chicken in the butter 8 minutes, cool, then grind or chop very fine with the mortadella. Mix in the cheese, ricotta, egg, nutmeg and salt.
- Roll the dough very thin (you should see your hand through it) and cut into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) squares. Put a hazelnut of filling on each, fold into a triangle, seal, then wrap the two corners around a finger and pinch them together.
- Bring the broth to a gentle boil and cook the cappelletti 3 to 4 minutes, until they float and are tender.
- Serve in the broth with more Parmigiano.
Chef's tips
- Freeze them on a floured tray, then bag them; cook from frozen, 1 minute longer.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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