Pumpkin and ricotta tortelloni with a sage butter sauce
Pumpkin and ricotta tortelloni with a sage butter sauce
I’m forever saying that this dish or that dish is my favourite Italian food, but I really do think that filled pasta is my absolute favourite. I love every kind: ravioli, agnolotti, tortellini. And the combinations of fillings and sauces are endless. Some of my favourites, which may feature in upcoming posts, include spinach and ricotta with tomato sauce, crab and prawn with lemon butter sauce, and mushroom with truffle cream sauce.
Here I’ve shaped the pasta into tortelloni (big tortellini), filled generously with pumpkin, ricotta and nutmeg, and tossed in a sauce of butter and sage. It’s the perfect dish to ease into Autumn (or Spring for my southern hemisphere readers - hi Mum and Dad!).
Unfortunately you do have to make your own pasta for this recipe. If you don’t have a pasta machine, you can use a rolling pin. Just make sure you get the pasta nice and thin.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the filling
500g pumpkin or butternut squash
3 tbsp olive oil
200g ricotta
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
For the pasta dough
200g 00 or pasta flour
2 eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk
To serve
100g salted butter
20 sage leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peal the pumpkin, remove the seeds, and chop into large pieces. Place on an oven tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake the pumpkin in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until soft.
Meanwhile, prepare the pasta dough. Place 200g of pasta flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in 2 eggs, plus 1 extra egg yolk. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, then slowly incorporate the flour until a rough dough is formed.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading. If the dough feels too dry, then add a little water; if it feels too wet, then add more flour until you get the right consistency (the dough should not stick to your fingers). Keep kneading for about 10 minutes, or until soft and stretchy. Shape the dough into a ball and cover with an overturned bowl while you prepare the filling.
Mash the cooked pumpkin with a fork, then mix with the ricotta, egg, parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut the pasta dough into quarters, remove one piece, and cover the rest to prevent it drying out. Roll the piece of dough through your pasta machine, reducing the thickness, until the dough is thin and slightly translucent (or use a rolling pin to achieve the same result).
Cut the dough into 10cm squares. Place a dollop of the pumpkin filling in the centre of each square. Brush water along two edges of the square and fold the opposite corner over to make a triangle. Press the edges firmly together, sealing the filling in. Bring the two opposite tips of the base of the triangle to meet, and pinch to seal. Repeat with the remaining squares. Transfer the tortelloni to a floured baking sheet or chopping board, and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Cook the tortelloni in a large pot of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes. At the same time, melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the sage leaves and allow the butter to froth and the sage leaves to turn crisp, about 30 seconds. Drain the tortelloni and immediately toss in the pan with the butter and sage. Serve topped with finely grated parmesan.
