Casunziei
Also known as: casunzei, casonziei, casunziei ampezzani
Filled pasta from the Dolomites (Cortina d'Ampezzo, Belluno): half-moons of egg pasta about 5–6 cm across with a red beetroot filling, served with butter and poppy seeds.
Casunziei are a filled pasta from the Dolomites, from the Ampezzo valley and the province of Belluno in the Veneto: half-moons of thin egg pasta with a bright pink filling of red beetroot. They belong to the filled pasta group.
Each one is about 5–6 cm across: a disc of dough is folded in half over the filling and the edge pressed firmly. The name is Ladin, from the dialect of Cortina d'Ampezzo, and refers to this particular mountain pasta; neighbouring valleys call similar pieces by other names.
The dough is wheat flour and egg. The classic filling is boiled or baked red beetroot, mashed with a little potato to bind it, plus a little grated cheese and nutmeg. Other versions exist too, with pumpkin, spinach or wild greens.
Fresh casunziei cook in 3–5 minutes, until they float. The way they are served hardly varies: melted butter, poppy seeds and grated cheese, either parmesan or the smoked ricotta that is grated over pasta in this area. The mix of sweetish beetroot, nutty poppy seeds and salty cheese is what makes the dish recognisable.
When buying, check that beetroot really is the main filling ingredient and that the dough is not cracked. Fresh pasta keeps a few days in the fridge; raw casunziei can be frozen and cooked from frozen.
Facts
| Raw material | Wheat flour, eggs; filling of red beetroot and potato |
|---|---|
| Region | Cortina d'Ampezzo and Belluno province, Veneto (Italy) |
| Duration | Fresh 3–5 min |
| Main use | Butter, poppy seeds, parmesan or smoked ricotta |
How it connects to Pasta
Casunziei → related → 🧀 Parmesan ← related ← 🍝 Pasta
Links
- What it contains
- Wheat flour, 🥚 Chicken egg
- Part of
- Filled pasta
- Similar and different
- Schlutzkrapfen, Mezzelune, Ravioli
- In other topics
- 🧈 Butter, 🧀 Ricotta, 🧀 Parmesan
Frequently asked questions
What are casunziei served with?
Classically with melted butter, poppy seeds and grated cheese, either parmesan or smoked ricotta.
Why are casunziei pink?
The filling is based on red beetroot mashed with potato, and its colour shows through the thin dough.
How do casunziei differ from Schlutzkrapfen?
Both are mountain half-moons, but classic casunziei from Ampezzo have a beetroot filling and are served with poppy seeds, while Tyrolean Schlutzkrapfen are filled with spinach and cheese, often in a dough with rye flour.
What to read next
- 🥚 Chicken egg — The egg of the domestic hen: in pasta it gives yellow colour, an elastic dough and protein, and in the EU it must be highlighted on labels as an allergen.
- Schlutzkrapfen — Filled pasta half-moons of the Alpine region: a thin dough of rye and wheat flour around a filling of spinach and Topfen (quark), boiled and served with melted butter and grated cheese.
- Mezzelune — Italian half-moon filled pasta: discs of egg pasta 5–7 cm across folded over a filling of ricotta, greens, mushrooms or pumpkin.
- Ravioli — Fresh filled pasta: pasta dough enclosing a filling; Garofalo's ricotta and spinach ravioli cook in 2–3 minutes.
Similar
Schlutzkrapfen · Mezzelune · Casoncelli · Pansotti · Agnolotti · Tortelli
Sources
- MASAF — Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (PAT)
- DPR 9 febbraio 2001, n. 187 — sfarinati e paste alimentari (Normattiva)
- International Pasta Organisation