The Pasta Man’s tarragon and mortadella anolini in brodo

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Like many of Italy's best recipes, anolini in brodo is beautiful in its simplicity. Born from a combination of high-quality ingredients, culinary traditions and, perhaps most importantly, the expertise and hard work of Italian nonnas, the meat-filled pasta is served swimming in a warm, crystal-clear meaty broth.

It's a dish that's typically reserved for special occasions, as it can be quite time consuming. The broth, which will carry the delicate pasta morsels, needs to simmer gently for several hours to achieve the perfect depth of flavour, while shaping the pasta requires a light touch and a little patience.

Mateo Zielonka, also known as The Pasta Man, shares his version of anolini in brodo in his new cookbook, Pasta Masterclass: Recipes for Spectacular Pasta Doughs, Shapes, Fillings and Sauces. Mateo is known for bringing creative flair to authentic pasta recipes, and has quickly become an authority on the art of pasta making.

Whether you save this recipe for a special occasion or just decide to treat yourself to a bowl, this is a dish that will nourish your soul. As Mateo adds: "It has the added advantage of bringing a hint of sunshine to your bowl, as the shapes are like small golden suns."

Things to note:

Mortadella is often sold pre-sliced as it's a popular sandwich filling. For this recipe, you want to ask for a chunk of mortadella at the deli counter. If they have ends available, even better; they’re often sold at a discount, and you’ll be chopping the meat anyway.

To make the pasta you'll need a pasta machine and an anolini stamp or a small cookie cutter.

You’ll need to rest the filling and the pasta dough for at least 30 minutes. You can make the dough a day or two ahead if preferred, as it will sit quite happily in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

The meat broth should ideally be made a day ahead and it will need to simmer for at least two hours – this is reflected in the cooking time, though ideally it should simmer for longer if possible. If you have more broth than you need for this dish, you can easily freeze any leftovers.

For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select 'Cups'.

For the meat broth:

For the rich egg dough:

For the filling:

To shape the anolini:

Step-by-step anolini making (Photography: Dave Brown)

To serve:

Recipe adapted from Pasta Masterclass by Mateo Zielonka. (Quadrille, £26) Photography: Dave Brown

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