<TORTELLINI di ZUCCA - PITIGLIANO>
(Butternut Squash-filled Pasta with Butter/Sage Sauce)
Serves 6-8
Ingredients for Filling of Tortelli:
2 lbs. of butternut squash
1/2 cup of amaretti cookies, finely crushed.
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.
1/2 cup mostarda (spicy pears and apples compote from Lombardy)
Nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste
Breadcrumbs (if needed)
Directions for Filling:
Cut open your butternut squash, cut it into large chunks, remove seeds and fibers with a spoon. Roast the squash in a 350°F oven for about 45 minutes, or until the flesh is quite tender when pricked with a fork. Let the squash cool, turning it over to allow any excess liquid to drain out. (If the pumpkin pieces seem watery, wrap them in cheesecloth and squeeze dry.) Scrape away the cooked flesh from the skin into a food processor. Add the amaretti, parmesan and mostarda, and process until you have a perfectly smooth, stiff paste.
Season the mixture generously with freshly grated nutmeg, fresh ground pepper and salt. If the mixture is too soft or wet, mix in some breadcrumbs, a little at a time, until the stuffing is stiff and holds together well. Cool.
Ingredients for Fresh Tortelli
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, room temperature, and lightly beaten.
Directions for Making Tortelli:
Sift flour onto a clean work surface and form a mountain. Make a well in the center of the mountain and pour the beaten eggs into the center. Using a fork, stir the eggs into the flour from the center of the well, by incorporating more and more flour until the dough is soft and begins to stick together. Approximately 3 minutes. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it becomes satiny, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 1 hour.
Having allowed the dough to rest for 1 hour, divide the dough into four parts. Keep three of those sections covered with the kitchen towel while you work on the first section. Follow the directions on your pasta machine to process the dough to form the thinnest sheets possible.
Lightly flour a workspace and while using a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut as many circles into the dough as possible. Taking the bowl of pumpkin filling and a clean teaspoon, place a spoonful of filling into the middle of the pasta circle. Do not overfill. Fold the circle into halves. Dip your fingers into a cup of water and moisten the edges to stick it together. Take the corners of the mezza luna (half-moon shape) and pull the corners together to touch and pinch them together lightly. Once they’ve been formed, lightly dust the tortelli with flour and place them on a parchment sheet on top of a baking sheet. Don’t let the tortelli touch once formed.
When you’ve made the filled pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon or two of sea salt. Bring back to a second boil and, with a slotted spoon lower the Tortelli into the water a few at a time. Stir the pot occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking on the bottom of the pot or to each other. Cook until all the Tortelli has risen to the surface of the pot, about 5 minutes. Taste one for doneness. Serve in a warmed serving bowl with your favorite butter sage sauce.
Sage Butter Sauce
Ingredients
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
12 medium fresh sage leaves
1/4-1/2 cup of pecorino or parmigiana cheese
Directions
Prepare the sage butter sauce by melting the butter on very low heat in a small saucepan. Stack the sage leaves on top of each other and with a sharp knife, cut the stack into thin strips. Swirl them into the butter and keep them warm, but do not continue to heat. (The sage will taste bitter.)
Pour over the Tortelli, and grate pecorino or parmigiana cheese over the top.