Casoncelli - making the stuffed pasta

The meat filling and pasta dough were made the day before Thanksgiving to keep it manageable on Turkey (not so much this year) day. In preparation for cooking dinner we pulled the pasta dough and meat filling out of the refrigerator early enough to allow it to reach room temperature before use. That is where the story begins ...

We cut the dough log into six even pieces and ran them through the pasta press 3-4 times starting on the thickest setting and getting thinner with each pass until they appeared to be "just about right". The recipe called to press them to the thinnest setting but the dough was almost see through at that point and we did not trust we could make the stuffed pasta with dough that thin without tearing, etc. We pressed the dough into long strips approximately 4 inches wide and placed them on a lightly floured working surface.

Spray the pasta sheets lightly with water to keep them from drying out - if you don't do this you will have a terrible time trying to get the pasta to seal around the filling - and cover with a towel.

Place 1/2- to 3/4-inch balls of filling at approximately 1 1/2-inch intervals down the center of the center of the dough sheet. Carefully pull the dough over the meat filling like a blanket and then press the dough tightly around the filling balls to seal the filling in the dough. If your dough is too dry, or if you did not mist the sheets with water (failing to follow the recipe like we did the first round), you can dribble water along the edges need sealed and carefully work the dough together - it works but can be very messy!

Once you have the pasta sealed together you can use a biscuit cutter to make the individual stuffed pasta.

Place the finished pasta on a lightly floured baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for at least 1-hour before cooking. At this point the casoncelli can be frozen in freezer bags for up to 1-month (just be sure to add 1-2 minutes to the boiling time if you are cooking it from the freezer).