Sopa de capeletti
Winter nights in Bento Gonçalves, Caxias do Sul and the wine valleys of the Serra Gaúcha call for sopa de capeletti, the Italian immigrants' soup that is still served at the start of every big Sunday lunch at galeterias and family tables. Small hats of fresh egg pasta, filled with chicken, Parmesan and nutmeg, are cooked in a clear, golden, deeply savoury chicken broth and finished with more grated cheese. It is light but nourishing, and the broth should taste concentrated enough to stand on its own. The trap people fall into is boiling the broth hard, which turns it cloudy and greasy; keep it at a lazy simmer. You can freeze the shaped capeletti on a floured tray and cook them from frozen. Chef's tip: roll the dough until you can just see the shadow of your hand through it; thick capeletti turn stodgy in the soup.







