Pumpkin Tortelli; recipe from Mantova. (2024)

For the pasta

• 400 g Italian '00' flour (14oz) You can also use all purpose flour to make pasta)
• 4 eggs
• 1 pinch salt

For the filling

• 1 kg pumpkin Italians use pumpkins from Mantova like Delica. Try to use a pumpkin with bright orange slightly sweet flesh.
• 2 eggs
• 100 g Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano (3.5 oz) grated Strict vegetarians should use a vegetarian cheese.
• 100 g Amaretti biscuits (3.5 oz) crushed
• 1 lemon for zest
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
• salt to taste
• 3 tablespoon Mostarda Mantovana optional but leave out lemon zest if you use mostarda

For the dressing

• 80 g butter
• 6-8 sage leaves
• grana or parmigiano as required

Make the filling

• Grind the amaretti biscuits in a food processor or crumble them finely using your hands. If using, chop the mostarda as finely as possible.

• Cut the pumpkin into large pieces, remove the seeds and cook it in the oven at 200° for about 20 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your pumpkin pieces and your oven. You need it to be soft and slightly browned on the outside.

• You can also steam the pumpkin but the original method is ‘baked’and the taste will be slightly less sweet. Remove the peel from the baked pumpkin pieces and place the pulp in a bowl, puree it with a fork or hand held blender. It needs to be a little rough, not too smooth.

• Add the grated cheese, the crumbled amaretti, the chopped mostarda (if you have it), the eggs, a little grated nutmeg, the zest of one lemon and a little salt. Mix the ingredients well until you have ahom*ogeneous mixture. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 24 hours or overnight in the fridge or a cool place.

Make the pasta

• Sift the flour into a little mound on a pastry board, make a well in the middle, then add in the eggs. (you can do this first part in a bowl or stand mixer. Then turn the dough out onto a pastry board and finish kneading by hand)

• Mix and knead the ingredients by hand until you obtain a soft and non-sticky mixture. If it is too sticky (it may depend on the degree of absorption of the flour) add a little more flour. If, on the other hand, the dough is dry, you can moisten it by adding a little water at room temperature.

• However, it’s advisable to respect the egg to flour ratio to obtain a perfect egg pasta.

• Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in transparent film. Let it rest at room temperature in a cool place for at least 30 minutes. Then take the dough and divide it into about 4 parts (as you work it, leave the rest covered with cling film so it won’t dry out). Use a rolling pin or pasta machine to make rectangles that are about 1 mm thick.

• Place the ready rolled out dough rectangle on a lightly floured work surface, cut it with a pastry cutter to make a strip about 9-10 cm wide. Place some teaspoons of filling along the upper part of the strip (leaving at least 1 cm from the edge) and 2-3 centimeters from each other. Fold the strip of fresh pasta over to cover the filling. If the dough is a bit 'dry, you can brush it slightly with a little water.

• Press between the spaces of the small pieces of filling to remove any air and prevent the dough from separating. Then cut out the tortelli with a serrated pastry wheel. The shape and size of the tortelli can vary according to taste and traditions. I made them rectangular and I also made some semi-circular by using a round pastry cutter!

• Repeat with the other pieces of dough. As you make the tortelli, place them on a tray lined with lightly floured dry paper or kitchen cloth. Continue until you finish the fresh pasta and the stuffing.

Finish the dish

• Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.

• While the water is boiling, melt the butter in a small frying pan or skillet. Add the sage leaves and cook until they start to crisp. Remove from the heat.

• Cook the tortelli in the boiling water until they rise to the surface. Should be about 4-5 minutes depending on the size and amount of filling. (remove and try one if they don't seem to rise.

• Remove the tortelli from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the pan with the sage butter. Mix a little so the tortelli are coated in the butter and then plate with a sprinkling of grated cheese. Serve immediately.

If you use the Mostarda Mantovana, you can leave out the lemon zest. Recipe times don't include leaving the filling in the fridge overnight.

Pumpkin tortelli can be frozen uncooked. Spread them on a tray in the freezer first and once they are frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag. You can cook them from frozen. But, better a few at a time, otherwise the water temperature will drop.

Strict vegetarians should use a vegetarian cheese not made with animal rennet.