Pumpkin and Sage Tortellini

I really wish it was possible to make pumpkin dishes year round, but then again, it might be their seasonal nature that makes them all the more special?
With the pasta maker at hand, pumpkin-filled ravioli and tortellini have now taken over pumpkin soup and became the new favourite of the season. Pumpkin and sage filling, wrapped into spinach pasta is an absolute hit!

You need:

1 portion of green and white pasta (the recipe is in the Pasta Frenzy Continues)
about 1 kilo pumpkin
3 tbs oil
2 tbsp dried sage
1 egg yolk, beaten
25 g grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp grated nutmeg
a handful of fresh sage leaves
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Begin the preparation with the pumpkin. Peel and dice the pumpkin, then place it on the baking tray greased with 3tbsp oil, season and sprinkle dried sage on top. Put the pumpkin into a the oven and bake it for about 40-45 minutes in 180C, until pumpkin is completely soft. Leave to cool, move the pumpkin to a large bowl and squash it with a fork, add the egg yolk, nutmeg, grated Parmesan and chopped sage leaves. Season to taste.

Flour the surface, roll the pasta dough as thin as possible, if you're using a pasta maker roll the dough through number 9 setting. Cut the dough into small squares (remember that they will swell up during cooking) and place a teaspoon of pumpkin filling leaving the edges clear. To make the edges stick together better, they may be brushed with a tiny amount of water. Put the edges together diagonally, so as you form a small triangle. Press the edges together, careful not to let the filling spill out. Then pinch together the two corners on the longer side.

Fill a large pan with water, add a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of olive oil, bring to boil. Put in the tortellinis, reduce the heat and cook until the tortellini start floating. Drain and serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Alternatively you may pour sage butter or tomato sauce on top of the tortellini.

Comments

My Take on Italian

Italian cuisine is often to be considered to be simple. I guess it is like with elegance - simplicity is the key. Good quality, real Italian ingredients are crucial, combined with a bit a passion, and not too complex a recipe. Pronto! Though, to tell you the truth, my very first steps with Italian cuisine included ... using instant sauces ... Nowadays I can't quite comprehend how anybody can claim they taste of anything, but I guess it takes trying to "the real deal" ... The very first thing I cooked from scratch, and we both instantly loved, was spaghetti Pomodoro e Basilico, as the Italian call it. Even though for the Italian it is "primo piato" (first dish), an introduction to the main meal, it is just the matter of the amount, as it surely can be the main meal as well! All we need is spaghetti pasta, 4-5 ripe, sweet tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of passata, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a few basil leaves, salt and pepper to seaso...

Gingerbread Layer Cake

This Christmas I decided to "pimp up" my gingerbread a bit, after a last minute inspiration. I saw a photo of this cake, literally a day before making the cake and decided it's an absolute must this Christmas. I really like how the cake combines gingerbread and gateau type cake features, it's both presentable and delicious. The cake (4 layers): 150 g honey (liquid) 200 g butter or margarine 500 g plain flour 3 yolks 4 tbsp milk 1 tbs purified soda 100 g sugar 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground cardamon 1tsp ground cloves a pinch of ground black pepper Combine the ingredients in a large bowl - as it's really hard to do, you may be best off using dough whisks on a food mixer. Cover the bowl with cling film and put into the fridge for 24 hours. After that time, divide the dough into 4 parts, place on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake in 180C for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool. The cream: ...

How come I'm in Italy?

My little students often ask me: "Miss, how is it possible that you speak Italian and also English?" It's very cute when they do, but others ask equally often - how come you live here? Well, some people have their "American dream", I've got my Italian one. That's it. I've always loved Italy. I've liked the sound of the language, Italian food's always been one of my absolute favourites, and one day as I was travelling in Italy I had a thought - why not try to live and work here? There are some many teachers like me, who work in this country, I could do it too! I like doing things my way instead of following the same path as others. Life's short and what's the point wasting it repeating the things other people have already done? And so, a day before the end of the year we landed in Brindisi, Puglia where our Italian life began. I'll always have a soft spot for Puglia. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I feel that it was the time o...

Search This Blog