Last week, we shared with you the many meanings behind August 10th.
The night of the shooting stars, when we at Consorzio Gourm.it wish for "something good."
San Lorenzo, the patron saint of Pegognaga—a time of festivals and celebration—and the namesake of one of our members, Fattorie San Lorenzo.
This week, we shift our focus: no longer looking up at the sky in search of shooting stars, but toward the countryside where Fattorie San Lorenzo carefully raises cattle for its organic supply chain.
A leading company in organic meat production, held to the same high standards of quality that Mantuan tradition devotes to one of its most iconic dishes: cappelletti.
Fattorie San Lorenzo
Behind Fattorie San Lorenzo is the Bussolotti family, who for three generations has been dedicated to raising beef cattle through natural farming systems.
It is a bond with deep roots in Sardinia, where the company has maintained established supply chain partnerships for 50 years. Here, the cattle spend their first 9–10 months grazing in an environment that fully respects their natural rhythms.
The approach is clear to see: open pastures, freedom to move, and an unhurried growth cycle. Afterwards, they are transferred to Reggiolo for the "finishing" stage, where they continue to graze across the countryside of the Po Valley.
This level of care results in 100% Italian organic meat.
With Saturday bringing Ferragosto and barbecues taking center stage, it is the perfect time to highlight Fattorie San Lorenzo’s signature cuts: Organic Beef Costata, Organic Tomahawk, and Organic Fiorentina.
Yet that exact same quality shines through even when the meat is less visible: inside the filling of a traditional dish like cappelletti, where premium raw ingredients make all the difference.
Nonna Elsa’s Cappelletti
For Pegognaga, cappelletti are not just any traditional Mantuan dish—they are the festival dish. In every family, they are often prepared following a recipe passed down from generation to generation, jealously guarded and never fully written down: because certain measurements are learned by watching, not reading.
That was certainly the case for the Bussolotti family. Nonna Elsa, mother of Emilio Bussolotti (founder of Fattorie San Lorenzo), used to make this very recipe.
Out of respect for this tradition, we at Consorzio Gourm.it cannot reveal every secret either, but we are sharing the general guidelines and main ingredients for the filling so you can try to recreate that authentic flavor.
Ingredients (for pasta made with 20 eggs):
- 500g pork shoulder / lean pork
- 800g beef stew meat
- 2 fresh Italian pork sausages (salamelle)
- 150g cured pork belly (pancetta)
- 500g prosciutto end cuts (fondo di prosciutto crudo)
- 500g chicken gizzards
- 1 slice cooked ham (prosciutto cotto)
Method:
Gently sauté onions in olive oil and butter with herbs and spices (sage, rosemary, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon).
Add the meats and brown them thoroughly, then pour in a glass of white wine and let it evaporate.
Continue cooking for at least 3 hours, adding water or broth whenever necessary.
Once cooked, grind the meats finely and reduce the remaining cooking juices using breadcrumbs.
Allow everything to cool completely, then mix in grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, two eggs, and a grating of nutmeg.
A family dish like this, made with the right meat, needs no translation for us at Consorzio Gourm.it as we export across the globe: it can be shared far beyond our borders, fulfilling that endless desire for "something good" where our story first began.
