How to Make a Famed Stuffed Pasta from a Florence Restaurant

Name: Pear u0026amp; Gorgonzola Tortelli
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups 00 flour; 3 large eggs; 1 ripe pear, chopped into 1 cm cubes; 1/2 cup Gorgonzola, crumbled; 1 tablespoon butter; 1/4 cup unsalted butter; 6 fresh sage leaves; salt, to taste; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, for garnish

In his "From Restaurants to Recipes" series, our contributor reconfigures a famous ravioli dish from a Florence ristorante.

By Alex Palermo

10:00 AM EDT on April 2, 2025

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Pear & Gorgonzola Tortelli from Alex Palermo.

This recipe is part of my "From Restaurant to Recipes" series, where I try to recreate some of the most popular dishes from restaurants around the world—whether I’ve seen them online or experienced them in person.

I’ve always had a passion for recreating dishes, breaking them down, and bringing a taste of different places into my own kitchen.

La Giostra's pear ravioli is one of Florence’s most iconic dishes, known worldwide for its unique balance of sweet and savory. While I’ve never been to Florence myself, my family has, and they’ve always talked about how special this dish is.

I wanted to recreate it for them, at a Tortelli, to bring a little piece of that experience home.

Pear & Gorgonzola Tortelli

Recipe by Alex Palermo

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

hour

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

For the Pasta Dough
2 cups 2 00 flour
3 large 3 eggs
For the Filling
1 1 ripe pear, chopped into 1 cm cubes
1/2 cup 1/2 Gorgonzola, crumbled
1 tablespoon 1 butter
For the Sauce
1/4 cup 1/4 unsalted butter
6 6 fresh sage leaves
salt, to taste
1/4 cup 1/4 grated Parmesan, for garnish

Directions

Roll the pasta dough to the second-thinnest setting on a pasta machine or about 1mm thick if rolling by hand.
Cut into squares (about 2.5 x 2.5 inches).
In a pan over low-medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add the chopped pear. Cook for 5 minutes until softened.
Add the crumbled Gorgonzola and continue cooking for 7 minutes or until creamy and fully melted. Let cool for 30 minutes.
Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each pasta square.
Fold into a triangle, pressing the edges to seal, then bring the two bottom corners together to form tortelli.
Boil the pasta in salted water until they float (about 2-3 minutes). Reserve ¼ cup pasta water.
In a separate pan, melt ¼ cup butter over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add sage leaves and let them crisp up (3-5 minutes).
Toss the cooked tortelli in the brown butter, adding a splash of pasta water to emulsify for 2 minutes.
Plate and finish with freshly grated Parmesan.