Ravioli with capon broth

To prepare the ravioli with capon broth, start by making the broth. Take the carrots, peel them, and cut them into chunks; after cleaning the onion, cut it as well as the celery into chunks 1. Now take a pot with a non-stick bottom and high sides: pour in plenty of water and add the cleaned capon (and possibly singe it if there's too much plumage). The water should completely cover the capon. Add the carrots and onions as well 3.

Then add the celery 4, bay leaves 5, and juniper berries 6.

Also season with whole peppercorns 7. Cook over very low heat for about 3 hours: the capon should be tender by the end of cooking. Remember to continue skimming the broth with a skimmer 8. While the capon cooks, work on the fresh pasta: in a large bowl, pour the flour 9.

Break the room temperature eggs with a fork and pour them into the bowl 10: mix the ingredients with your hands 11, or use a fork if you prefer, until you create a homogeneous dough to shape into a ball 12. The dough should be sufficiently elastic: if it turns out too hard and difficult to work with, you can add a bit of lukewarm water; if it turns out too sticky, add more flour, but not too much to avoid the opposite effect. Wrap the obtained dough in a sheet of transparent plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature, away from drafts, for at least 30 minutes.

At this point, the capon will be almost cooked: ten minutes before the end of cooking, adjust the salt 13. Adding salt at the end of cooking will allow you to better gauge the saltiness of the broth. Once you've finished cooking the broth, strain it through a fine mesh strainer 14 and set aside. Take the capon and debone it 15.

Place the meat in a mixer and blend it 16. Take the smoked bacon, cut it into strips and then into cubes 17, which you will put in the mixer and blend 18.

Put the blended capon and bacon in a large bowl 19, seasoning with finely chopped parsley 20. Add the grated cheese 21.

Also add the eggs to the bowl 22 and season with nutmeg 23: knead the ingredients with your hands 24 until you get a homogeneous mixture. Set the mixture aside while you prepare the dough for the ravioli.

Take the dough you set aside to rest and divide it into two. Lightly dust one piece (you can keep the other covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out) with semolina flour and roll it out with a rolling pin or using a pasta machine 25: pass it through the rollers from the widest setting to the penultimate thickness of the pasta machine until you obtain rectangles about 1/5 inch thick. The width of the pasta sheet should be about 3 inches. Repeat these operations for the second piece as well. Place the sheets on a lightly floured work surface with semolina flour and place the filling divided into small balls, using a teaspoon 26. Space them out evenly on the sheet, about 1 inch apart, so you can later fold it over. Now fold the pasta sheet lengthwise to completely cover the filling and align the long edges 27.

With your fingers, apply pressure between the little heaps of filling to let the air out and adhere the pasta 28. At this point, cut out the tortelli with a fluted pastry cutter 29: they should measure 1.5x1.5 inches. As you make them, place them on a tray with a clean kitchen towel lightly floured with semolina flour 30: you will get about 80 ravioli.

Pour the filtered broth into a pot with high sides and heat it. When it is boiling, add the ravioli 31, a few at a time to cook them: about 3 minutes will be enough 32. When they are cooked, plate your ravioli with capon broth in individual dishes and enjoy them steaming hot 33!