Roasted pumpkin tortellini with sage butter
Making tortellini from scratch is easier than it looks. Sure, it will take some patience — but after combining it with sage butter, you will be delighted.
It's true, making tortellini — or any kind of homemade pasta — requires some patience and time. You will end up loving it, we promise, but you can get discouraged in the process. And that's something you should embrace: after all, most of the extraordinary things in life can be frustrating at first.
It helps if you do it with your family or with friends — it will even look like a real Italian restaurant. Plus, the final result of this roasted pumpkin tortellini, with the sage butter and some of the sage leaves fried, it will make you smile with pleasure. The flavour and the crunchiness of the sage leaves will make the perfect contrast with the softness of the tortellini.
We can think of anything better than a great afternoon with people you love and good food. If you're down to make it, here are the steps to make this wholesome recipe.
Roasted pumpkin tortellini with sage butter
ingredients
½ portion pasta dough
pumpkin filling
1 kg pumpkin
1 Tbsp melted ghee/butter
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp fine rock salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
sage butter and toasted leaves
60g unsalted butter
40 sage leaves – divided
salt and pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp peanut oil
to serve
pine nut parmesan or regular parmesan
few rounds of black pepper
a sprinkling of fine rock salt to taste
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. Filling: slice the pumpkin in half after unpeeling it. Scoop out the seeds and then slice each half into 5-6 wedges and place in a large bowl. Drizzle over the melted ghee or butter and toss with your hands to coat.
3. Place them in a baking tray and roast for 30 – 40 minutes until soft. Allow to cool down. Scoop the pulp away from its skin with a spoon and place in a medium bowl. With a hand blender, puree until smooth. Drain it through a cloth or fine sieve for 1 hour.
4. Put pumpkin back into the bowl. Sprinkle over some nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
5. Prepare the dough: start by dividing the pasta dough into thirds. Work with one piece at a time and keep the other ones covered. Follow the detailed instructions here. Roll your dough as thin as possible – #6 on pasta roller.
6. Shaping the tortellini: cut the pasta into rounds using a 3-inches cutter or tin. Gather the scraps into a ball and put them with the remaining pieces of dough to roll later.
7. Filling the tortellini: place one teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round. Patience is key here: don't overfill them, or you might break them. Dip your finger in a bowl of water and run it along the edges of the circle. Fold the rounds into a crescent shape, pressing the top together carefully and pressing out any air trapped inside. Then work your way along the sides. Bend the bottom two corners round to meet each other and press to seal. Set aside, spacing them apart slightly, on well-floured board, covered.
8. Cover the rolled tortellini with a cloth, or if you are making them a few hours in advance lightly dust them with semolina flour.
9. When ready to cook, bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. While waiting for the water to boil, make the sage butter.
Sage butter
10. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add half the sage leaves and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
11. Toast the remaining sage leaves, in a small skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat and fry 6 – 8 sage leaves at a time until crisp, 2–3 seconds. Transfer with a fork to paper towels.
12. Once the water is boiling, gently drop the tortellini into the water and cook 1½ – 2 minutes – they will rise to the top. Gently lift out with a slotted spoon onto individual plates.
13. To serve, drizzle with the sage butter, sprinkle over a few spoons of pine nut parmesan or regular parmesan, a few rounds of pepper and decorate with the crispy sage leaves.