Half-moon pasta parcels from Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Ladin valleys of the province of Belluno, filled in winter with cooked beetroot and potato — the filling stained a deep violet by the beet's pigment — and dressed with nut-brown melted butter, grated smoked ricotta and poppy seeds. A summer green variant swaps in spinach and wild chives.
Casunziei are the identity pasta of Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Ladin-speaking valleys of Belluno province, their name rooted in the Ladin vernacular and cognate with the Bergamasque casoncelli. The red variant — filled with beetroot and potato, finished with smoked ricotta and poppy seeds — reflects the centuries of Habsburg rule over the Ampezzo valley, which passed to Italy only in 1918; the combination of beet and poppy echoes the deep-rooted culinary traditions of Central and Eastern Europe. The seasonal alternation between a winter red filling (casunziei rosc: beet and potato) and a summer green filling (casunziei verdes: spinach and wild chives) mirrors the agricultural calendar of the Ladin mountain communities. A Christmas Eve variant documented at Cencenighe Agordino uses ground poppy seeds and honey as the filling. The dish is documented across the provinces of Belluno, Bolzano and Trento.
Silky pasta gives way to a sweet, earthy beetroot-potato filling; nut-brown butter pools in the half-moon's hollows, smoky ricotta adds a saline edge, and poppy seeds deliver a gentle crack that punctuates each mouthful.
Egg pasta gelatinizes rapidly in boiling water as starch swells and proteins coagulate, the skin turning translucent when done. Butter heated past 140°C undergoes Maillard reactions in its milk solids, generating pyrazines and furanones that produce a characteristic nutty aroma — the nut-brown stage. Beetroot betacyanin pigments are water-soluble but remain vivid inside the sealed pasta pocket, protected from the boiling water. Smoked ricotta contributes both fat and smoke-cured protein, which adhere loosely to the browned butter coating the pasta; poppy seeds' linolenic-acid-rich oil adds a further layer of fatty depth.
Variations
The summer green variant (casunziei verdes) fills with spinach and wild chives. A Christmas Eve version from Cencenighe Agordino uses ground poppy seeds and honey. Some households substitute a sage-butter dressing for the nut-brown butter. Across the neighbouring valleys of Bolzano and Trento, cognate pastas (crafuncins, cajincì) are served with a simpler melted butter, Parmesan and chives garnish.
On the Palate
Where Casunziei ampezzani sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 1 hour active + 30 min waiting
- 130 min
Mound 300g 00 flour on a work surface, form a well in the centre, crack in 3 eggs and add a pinch of salt; work inward until a rough dough forms, then knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and springy. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- 230 min
Boil 2 medium beetroots unpeeled in salted water for about 30 minutes until a skewer passes through easily; drain, peel while warm, then grate finely and squeeze hard in a cloth to remove excess liquid.
Watch outSqueeze the grated beetroot really dry in a cloth — leftover juice makes a wet filling that bursts the pasta open in the water.
- 310 min
Boil 1 medium potato until completely tender; drain, peel and mash smooth. Combine with the squeezed grated beetroot, 80g fresh ricotta, a generous pinch of salt and a grating of nutmeg; taste and adjust.
- 420 min
Roll the rested dough through a pasta machine to setting 5–6 (about 1.5mm); cut into 7cm rounds. Place a small teaspoon of filling at the centre of each round.
- 515 min
Fold each round over the filling to create a half-moon; press the edges firmly together and crimp with a fork to seal. Keep finished casunziei covered with a cloth to prevent drying.
Watch outPress the edges together with no trapped air and pinch tight — an air pocket balloons and splits the ravioli as it boils.
- 64 min
Cook casunziei in a large pot of generously salted boiling water for 3–4 minutes, until the pasta is tender but still holds its shape; lift out with a slotted spoon.
- 76 min
Meanwhile melt 60g unsalted butter in a wide pan over medium heat, swirling until it turns deep golden-brown and smells nutty. Plate the casunziei, spoon over the browned butter, grate smoked ricotta generously over the top, and finish with a scatter of poppy seeds.
Watch outSwirl the butter until it turns hazelnut-brown and smells nutty, then use it at once — a few seconds more and the milk solids scorch and go bitter.
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