serves
4
prep
1 hour
cook
40 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
1
hour
cooking
40
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 500 g pumpkin, peeled, seeded, roasted, mashed
- 2 tbsp finely chopped mustard fruits (see Note)
- 2 small amaretti biscuits, crumbled
- 80 g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra, to serve
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tsp water
- 100 g butter, chopped
- 20 sage leaves
- ½ lemon, juiced
Fresh egg pasta
- 200 g (1⅓ cups) plain flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Resting time 30 minutes
Instructions
To make pasta, mound flour on a work surface, make a well in the centre and place eggs in it. Using a fork, draw in flour until mixture is thick, then work in remaining flour using your hands. Knead dough for 6 minutes or until firm; add extra flour if sticky. Enclose in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
Divide dough in half and keep covered. Using a rolling pin, flatten 1 portion until 5 mm thick and about 12 cm wide – nearly the width of your pasta machine. Set your pasta machine at its widest setting, then feed the dough through, narrowing the settings on your machine one notch at a time until you reach the second last setting. Repeat with remaining dough. Cut pasta into 7 cm squares.
Combine pumpkin, mustard fruits, amaretti biscuits and one-third of the parmesan in a bowl and season with salt.
Place ¾ tbsp pumpkin mixture on each pasta square towards a corner, but not on it. Brush edges with egg white then fold pasta over filling into a triangle, removing any air and pinching edges to seal. Twist two furthest apart corners back to meet each other and pinch to seal. This makes the classic tortellini look. Don’t worry if you end up with triangles or squares; it’s a technique that takes practice.
Melt butter in a small frying pan over medium-high heat and cook for 3 minutes or until nutty brown. Stir in sage leaves, then remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and remaining two-thirds of the parmesan.
Meanwhile, cook tortellini in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente (the part that takes longest to cook is where edges are sealed, so cut a sliver off edge to test it’s done). Remove with a slotted spoon, drain, then divide among plates. Spoon sage butter over tortellini, season with pepper and scatter over extra parmesan. Serve immediately.
Note
• Mustard fruits, from specialist food shops, are candied fruits that have been preserved in a syrup with mustard seeds.
Photography Alan Benson. Food preparation Asher Gilding. Styling Michelle Crawford.
As seen in Feast magazine, April 2014, Issue 30.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
