Description of the folding
The tortellini achieves its famously distinct shape through a very specific process of folding. After stretching the dough thin, divide the sheet of dough into halves and in order to prevent it from drying, place it under plastic. Place each half on a floured board and cut it into 1 ¾ to 2 inch circles. A biscuit cutter or drinking glass can be used for precision. Place a ½ teaspoon of filling in the circle, then wet the edges of a circle and fold it over. Press the edges to each other to ensure the filling will stay inside the dumpling during its boiling. To make the dumplings distinct ring-shape, wrap the half-circle around a finger and stick the sides together. Other recipes call for cutting the dough into squares and folding it into triangles and place the filling in the center. Finally, “with the index finger of the right hand push the tip of the triangle down, folding it toward you. Then, as you bring both ends together, forming a ring, slip the tip of your right index finger in the center of the ring. Let the two ends overlap slightly, and press them firmly together between thumb and index finger.” (Hazan, 174) John Dixie describes the wrapping process as follows: “each tortellini is then folded around the tip of the index finger- rather as a waiter might fold a napkin around his hand, Apparently this procedure works best if the relevant fingertip is 18 millimeters in diameter. The result, for anyone patient enough to follow these instructions to the letter, is a fat, flat yellowish crown the size of a small coin.” (Dickie, 301)
Photo: Root, Waverley & the editors of Time-Life Books. The Cooking of Italy. New York: Time-Life Books, 1968. 98.