Marubini in brodo (Cremonese ravioli in broth)
Small ravioli filled with a stuffing of long-stewed roasts and grated cheese, poached and served in a golden broth perfumed with nutmeg.
Small ravioli filled with a stuffing of long-stewed roasts and grated cheese, poached and served in a golden broth perfumed with nutmeg.
Listen, friend: in Cremona, when an altarpiece was finally placed on the altar and the patron had paid, my good woman would make marubini. She'd knead the egg pasta as thin as the gold leaf I lay on the backgrounds, then fill it with the leftovers of our roasts, ground in the mortar with the good Lodi cheese. We'd drop them into the three-meat broth, and trust me, nothing warms a painter with stiff fingers from holding the brush all winter's day better.
- •Wheat flour — a good bowlful (pasta)
- •Fresh eggs — a few (pasta)
- •Leftover roast beef, pork, and capon — in proportion (filling)
- •Grated Lodi cheese — a handful (filling and serving)
- •Nutmeg — a grating (flavor)
- •Three-meat broth — a full pot (cooking and serving)
Marubini in brodo (Cremonese ravioli in broth)
Small ravioli filled with a stuffing of long-stewed roasts and grated cheese, poached and served in a golden broth perfumed with nutmeg.
Why this dish? The marubino is THE specialty of Cremona, Campi's hometown: a small ravioli stuffed with stewed meats, served in a three-meat broth on feast days. For a well-off artisan in Campi's workshop, this dish marked Sundays and the completion of major commissions.
Listen, friend: in Cremona, when an altarpiece was finally placed on the altar and the patron had paid, my good woman would make marubini. She'd knead the egg pasta as thin as the gold leaf I lay on the backgrounds, then fill it with the leftovers of our roasts, ground in the mortar with the good Lodi cheese. We'd drop them into the three-meat broth, and trust me, nothing warms a painter with stiff fingers from holding the brush all winter's day better.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — a good bowlful (pasta)
- Fresh eggs — a few (pasta)
- Leftover roast beef, pork, and capon — in proportion (filling)
- Grated Lodi cheese — a handful (filling and serving)
- Nutmeg — a grating (flavor)
- Three-meat broth — a full pot (cooking and serving)
Ingredients
- Type 00 flour — 300 g (pasta)
- Eggs — 3 (pasta)
- Braise beef + roast pork + roast capon or chicken — 250 g total (filling)
- Grated grana padano — 80 g (filling and serving)
- Nutmeg — 1 pinch (flavor)
- Egg (to bind filling) — 1 (binder)
- Beef, chicken, and bone broth — 2 liters (cooking and serving)
Method
- Prepare the dough: mix flour and eggs, knead for 10 minutes until smooth, let rest 30 minutes under a cloth.
- Finely chop the roasted meats, mix with grana, egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to form a homogeneous filling.
- Roll out the dough very thin, place small dollops of filling, fold and cut into squares; seal edges well.
- Bring the broth to a simmer, poach the marubini for 4-5 minutes until they float.
- Serve piping hot in the broth, with grated grana on top.
How it was made : The Cremonese marubino is attested as early as the 16th century; leftover meats from feast days were used to avoid waste. The 'in tre brodi' broth (beef, chicken, sausage) remains the classic version.
The contemporary twist : Serve a dozen marubini in a shallow bowl, pour the broth at the table from a small pitcher, add fresh grana shavings and a twist of nutmeg at the end.
Bernardino Campi · Charactorium
