Tortellini in broth

Ingredients for 4 people

- 400 g of Nonna Gina tortellini
- Parmesan to taste

For the broth:
- half old hen (about 600 g)
- about 800 g of adult beef steak tip
- 1 broth bone
- about 3 liters of water
- 1 large yellow onion or shallot
- 2 carrots
- 1 stick of celery
- 4 cloves carnation
- coarse salt to taste

Preparation of the broth

Tradition says: "To make a good broth you need to put all the ingredients in cold water, to make a good boiled meat you need hot water".

For the tortellini the broth must be good, then:
- put the onion cut in half with two cloves inserted in each half in cold water, celery, carrots, chicken, beef, the bone
- bring to a boil, and continue to simmer for about 3 hours. Every now and then check the broth and skim it with a skimmer
- add the salt towards the end of cooking when the broth will no longer shrink
- when the broth is ready, about half the initial quantity, turn off the stove, remove the meat and vegetables, taste the broth and add salt if necessary
- filter through a sieve once or twice
- bring the filtered broth back to the boil, immerse the fresh or frozen tortellini and wait a few minutes until they come back to the surface (the time changes depending on the case)
- when cooked, serve i tortellini in broth with a sprinkling of parmesan.

Suggestions

Grandma Gina, sometimes she made broth the day before. After filtering it, she let it cool and put it in the fridge. The next day she removed the solidified fat with a spoon and the broth was even more degreased. Often, with the same procedure, but only with the broth that she had boiled for more than 4 hours, she made the jelly to then put on the boiled meat with pickles and mayonnaise.