Tortellini Bolognese Pasticcio Pie

5 from 36 votes

Tortellini Bolognese Pasticcio Pie

Tortellini Bolognese pasticcio (or timballo) is a pastry encased pasta pie filled with tortellini, Bolognese sauce and grated Parmigiano. This easy version makes a great family meal that's delicious eaten warm or cold. Perfect for picnics and potlucks too.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Course: lunch, Main Course, picnic, Snack

Cuisine: Emilia-Romagna, Italian, Mediterranean, Northern Italy

Keyword: authentic Italian pasta recipe, pasta pie, pasticcio, timballo, tortellini pie

Servings:

Calories: 547kcal

Author: Jacqui

Equipment

1 spring form 23cm/9in cake tin

Ingredients

400-500 g tortellini (14-17oz) I used fresh ready-made spinach and ricotta tortellini (see notes)
400-500 Bolognese sauce I used leftover homemade Bolognese
2 230g round short crust pastry sheets (8oz)
1 egg
140 g Parmigiano Reggiano or grana (5oz) grated
1 Lt beef broth (4.5 cups)

Instructions

Gather your ingredients pastry sheets brought to room temperature, warmed Bolognese, broth, grated cheese, an egg and tortellini.
If the Bolognese sauce/ragu is very liquid, simmer it to make it thicker. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before mixing it with the tortellini.
Pour the broth into a pot that is big enough to fit the tortellini. Bring the broth to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and then add the tortellini. Cook until very al dente (about 3 minutes for fresh tortellini). Then drain the broth and mix the pasta with ½ the Bolognese.
Grease your spring form pan well with oil and butter. Then line the bottom and sides with one sheet of short crust pastry dough. Don’t cut off the extra pastry until the pie is almost ready to bake.
Make a layer of tortellini with Bolognese, add some more meat sauce and some grated Parmigiano cheese on top. Then make another layer of pasta and sauce, plus more ragu and a generous sprinkling of cheese.
Finally, place the second pastry sheet on top of the dish, cut off most of the extra dough, leaving enough to fold the edges of the two pastry sheets together to form a sealed border. Then, prick the top of the tortellini pasticcio with a fork and brush it with beaten egg yolk. Bake the pie in a preheated oven at 180°c (356°F) for about 30-40 minutes.
The pie is ready when the pastry is golden and slightly crispy. If you think the top has cooked before the rest is ready, cover the pie in aluminium foil and cook for another 10 minutes. Allow your pasticcio to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Remove the sides of the spring form pan. Place a plate on top of the pie and carefully flip it over. The pie should release from the cake pan base without a problem. Then place another plate on top of the bottom of the pie and flip again. Serve cut into slices.

Notes

Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 2-3 days. This tortellini pie is delicious eaten cold or reheated in the microwave.

The tortellini for this pasticcio are usually filled with Bolognese, but I used spinach and ricotta tortellini. Other recipes call for tortellini with mortadella or prosciutto crudo (Parma ham), both of which are typical products from Bologna. Use which ever tortellini you prefer.

Nutrition