Nidi di rondine is a baked pasta specialty of San Marino, the spirals resembling birds' nests. A festive primo showing the region's fresh-egg-pasta tradition.
Lift a nido di rondine and the pasta spiral holds a creamy core of ham, beef, and melted cheese, topped with golden béchamel and tomato. Bite: tender egg pasta wound around a savory, cheesy filling, the béchamel rich and the tomato bright, the top crusted and golden. A festive baked pasta, as pretty as it is comforting — the Sammarinese Sunday primo.
Rolling filled pasta sheets and slicing them gives the pinwheel 'nests' that stand upright to bake evenly. Blanching the sheets first ensures the pasta cooks through. Béchamel inside and out keeps everything moist and binds the spiral; baking crisps the tops and melds the filling.
Variations
With mushrooms in the filling. With spinach. Ragù instead of plain béchamel. With peas. Lighter, tomato-only top. Made smaller as a starter.
On the Palate
Where Nidi di Rondine sits in the Sammarinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour waiting
- 135 min
Make egg pasta from 300 g flour and 3 eggs; rest 30 min, then roll into thin wide sheets.
- 26 min
Blanch the sheets briefly, then lay flat to dry.
Watch outBlanch the sheets just until pliable, then lay them flat so they don't stick or tear when filled.
- 38 min
Make a béchamel from 50 g butter, 50 g flour, and 600 ml milk.
- 410 min
Spread each pasta sheet with béchamel, then layer with thin ham, cooked minced beef, and grated cheese.
- 58 min
Roll each sheet into a log and slice into 4-cm pinwheels.
Watch outSlice the rolled log into even 4-cm pinwheels so they bake at the same rate.
- 66 min
Stand the pinwheels upright, cut-side-up, in a buttered dish.
- 74 min
Top with tomato sauce, the remaining béchamel, and more cheese.
- 845 min
Bake at 190°C for 35 min until golden and bubbling; rest 10 min and serve.
Watch outPull them from the oven when the tops are golden and the sauce bubbles at the edges.
