National Tortellini Day

National Tortellini Day is celebrated on February 13 every year. This is the day for all pasta lovers to celebrate their favorite food. Tortellini is now famous all over the world.

History of National Tortellini Day

Tortellini, a type of stuffed noodles, is celebrated on National Tortellini Day. It is ring-shaped or navel-shaped; fit, it has an alternative name of "ombelico", which means navel in Italian. Tortellini is often stuffed with meats – such as pork tenderloin and prosciutto – or with cheese, and it is often served with beef or chicken broth, or both, or with sauces. It can be frozen, refrigerated or packaged fresh and is found all over the world, especially in areas with large Italian communities. A similar noodle is tortellini, which is larger in size.

Tortellini is native to Emilia, a region in northern Italy where the cities of Bologna and Modena are located. How tortellini was born is not known, but three different legends fill the void of this mystery, and make the truth all the more clear. One legend has it that Lucrezia Borgia stayed at an inn in Castelfranco Emilia, a town on the road between Bologna and Modena. The landlord is enamored with her and looks at her through the keyhole of her door. Only a few candles were lit in her room, and he could only see her navel, which prompted him to make navel-shaped pasta that night.

A similar legend has it that Venus and Jupiter stopped at a tavern on the outskirts of Bologna, after getting tired of participating in the battle between Modena and Bologna. After eating and drinking, they checked into the inn. The innkeeper watched everything they do through a keyhole, however, it was just Venus' navel. He went into the kitchen and made a tortellini in its image. A third legend holds that the tortellini was made to look like a turtle, as many seventeenth-century buildings in Modena feature turtle motifs. Regardless of how it came into being, it is now widely available, making it appropriate that it has its own date.

How to celebrate National Tortellini Day

The best way to celebrate Tortellini day is to learn how to make your own tortellini, it's not as hard as you might think. If this is your first time trying, buy ready-made pasta dough, as this will greatly reduce the amount of work required. Roll and cut the pasta dough into thin, 2-inch squares, then place a small amount of filling in the center. A popular choice that is both simple and traditional is to season it with black pepper and nutmeg.

Rinse the scrambled eggs with 1/2 teaspoon of water, then brush over the edges of each square of dough. Then you fold the dough in half, forming a triangle and pressing the edges together to seal. To finish wrapping your tortellini, draw points together, overlap, and press to stamp into a ring shape. Done!

You should probably make about 20 tortellini per person, and it's best to let them sit for an hour or so before cooking them in the brine. Tortellini can be served with a variety of sauces, brown butter and sage sauce, simple tomato sauce or spicy pesto sauce. To celebrate tortellini day, why not make a few different sauces and try them all? If you have more time, you can also experiment with different fillings and then decide which sauce complements each one best.