Fall is the time for pumpkins. In Italy, pumpkins are central to a combined sweet and savory filling for tortellini or the bigger tortelloni. A basic filling is pumpkin, nutmeg and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Naturally, regional variations abound, and some with quite surprising additions: crush amaretto cookies, raisins or fruits. In the vinegar capital of Modena, the dish must be drizzle with balsamic.
This recipe comes from Flour + Water: Pasta, the seminal pasta cookbook by San Francisco chef Thomas McNaughton. The addition here is pumpkin seeds. And, Top is particular about his pumpkins preferring the Cinderella variety which has less water and makes for easier purees and filings.
One ingredient here is Tom’s Rav Dough pasta from Page 7. I’m not going to duplicate that recipe here. I’m trying, not too subtly, to encourage you to buy the book and make his pasta treasure. In the directions below, there are references to page numbers in the book for fuller explanation of some of the techniques; this really is a pasta textbook.
In terms of equipment, this do-it-all-from-scratch recipe calls for a blender, pasta machine, rolling pin, straight wheel cutter, and optionally a piping bag. Besides the pasta, there are another 15 ingredients. Don’t retreat here. Go ahead, spend the afternoon, and experience pasta on a scale and with a quality that cannot be surpassed. Author and Chef Thomas McNaughton will easily guide you to one of his signature dishes.
Pumpkin Tortelloni with Sage and Pumpkin Seeds
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 ¼ pounds Cinderella pumpkin (1 kilogram), halved, seeded, and stringy fibers removed (seeds reserved)
- Pure olive oil
- Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 ½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
For the tortelloni:
- 1 recipe Rav Dough (page 7)
For finishing:
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- ½ teaspoon pure olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 fresh sage leaves, cut in chiffonade
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted and the foam has subsided, cook, stirring constantly, until the butter becomes a light tan color. Smell the butter; it should have a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To make the filling, cut the pumpkin in half, drizzle olive oil over it, and season liberally with kosher salt. Place the pumpkin, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast the pumpkin until fully tender when pierced with a knife, 45 to 60 minutes. The pumpkin should be soft to the touch but not mushy or deflated. Scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin and discard the rind. Add the warm pumpkin to the jar of a blender along with the brown butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vinegar. Puree until smooth and season with salt. The puree should have a nice balance of sweetness and acidity. If the pumpkin lacks sweetness and depth of flavor, add 1 tablespoon of honey to balance the flavor. Spoon the puree into a bowl and fold in the Parmigiano-Reggiano. You should have about 314 cups filling. Cool in a refrigerator, covered.
Dust a 2 baking sheets with semolina flour and set aside.
To make the pasta, using a pasta machine, roll out the dough until the sheet is just translucent (see page 10). Cut a 2-foot section of the dough sheet and cover the rest of the dough with plastic wrap.
Using a straight wheel cutter or sharp knife and a ruler, cut the dough into 2 ¾-inch squares. Using a piping bag or spoon, place 2 teaspoons of filling into the middle of each square.
Fold the pasta in half so the opposite corners meet, forming a triangle. Use a spritz of water from a spray bottle to help seal it if necessary. Gently press out the air around the filling by running your fingers from the tip of the triangle downward. With your thumbs along the base of the triangle and your index fingers halfway down each side of the triangle, gently pinch your index fingers and thumbs together and rotate your left index finger to fit under the base of the triangle. Wrap the corners around your left index and middle fingers and pinch them together to seal. You should have a small gap between the filling and the pinched dough, like a ring.
Working quickly, place the tortelloni on the prepared baking sheets, spaced apart, until ready to cook. Don’t let the tortelloni touch each other or they may stick together. Repeat until you run out of dough or filling. You should have 30 to 40 pieces.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To finish, bring a large pot of seasoned water to a boil (see page 18).
In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin seeds with the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Evenly distribute the seeds on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 11 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Drop the pasta into the boiling water.
Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over high heat. Add 14 cup of the seasoned pasta water and the butter and bring to a simmer. Once the pasta is cooked 80 percent through, until almost al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes, add it to the pan along with the sage and swirl until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Reserve the pasta water. If needed, add a few more tablespoons of pasta water to keep a saucy consistency and continue cooking until the pasta is tender, about 90 seconds. Season with salt.
To serve, divide the pasta and sauce between four plates.
Finish with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Source: Flour + Water: Pasta by Thomas McNaughton [Ten Speed Press, 2014]
Photography Credit: Eric Wolfinger