Passatelli in Brodo

In the village of Monteveglio, about 12 miles west of Bologna, Italy, we tasted delicious homemade passatelli in brodo. Paolo Parmeggiani, owner of the small restaurant/hotel Trattoria del Borgo, demonstrated the dish—made with stale bread, cheese, eggs, broth and little else—which exemplifies cucina povera, or peasant cooking. Passatelli are small, squiggly dumplings, made by extruding dough through smallish holes, that are simply poached and served in chicken broth. We found that in lieu of a traditional passatelli maker, a potato ricer with 3/16-inch perforations works well for extruding the dough. Another alternative is to use a cooling rack with a ⅜-inch wire grid (instructions are included in the recipe). To make passatelli dough, Italian cooks use stale bread processed into breadcrumbs, but since we rarely have leftover bread, we start with fresh bread and dry it in the oven. Homemade chicken broth is a cornerstone of this dish, but if store-bought is the only option, be sure to use low-sodium, and you may wish to boost its flavor by dropping a chunk of Parmesan rind into the broth as it heats.

-Editor's Note, 2/24/25: We recently redeveloped this recipe, which originally appeared in the November-December 2020 issue of Milk Street Magazine, as well as season four of Milk Street Television.